Business Viewpoint

The solution pages describe each MaaSAI solution on its own; this page gives the shared business frame of the 23 solutions, as described in the business viewpoint of MaaSAI deliverable D5.2. For the roles and actors that use the solutions, see the Usage Viewpoint. For the architectural foundations, see the Architecture Overview.

D5.2 states that the aim of the business viewpoint is “to include, within the MaaSAI design work, the business vision, values, and goals to avoid the risk of building a system that focuses only on technology” (D5.2, §2). Following the IIRA, the four viewpoints form a layered structure (Business, Usage, Functional, Implementation) in which choices made in a higher viewpoint set requirements for the viewpoints below it (D5.2, §1).

Note

This page summarises the business viewpoint of D5.2. Implementation details reported in the M20 deliverables (D6.1, D8.1, D10.1, D12.1) take precedence where they differ.

Six Features

D5.2 explains that the MaaSAI tools “can be grouped into six main features that represent the typical workflow users follow when using the system”. Together, the six features cover all 23 solutions. They correspond to the six solution groups in the sidebar of this site (for example, the Cloud and Marketplace feature appears as “Cloud & Marketplace Solutions”).

Feature (D5.2)	What it covers (D5.2)	Solutions
Cloud and Marketplace	Helps “both providers and consumers find each other based on their specific needs and capabilities”.	Cloud MaaS Marketplace (CMM), MaaS Dynamic Catalogue (MDC), MaaS Collaboration Hub (MCH), Recommendation System (RS)
Smart Automation	The two agents “work together to automatically create production plans, check if they work with existing schedules, and negotiate terms between buyers and sellers”.	MaaS Consumer Agent (MCA), MaaS Provider Agent (MPA)
Monitoring and Analytics	The tools “work together to enable data analytics capabilities on all the data available”.	Control Panels (CP), Data Analytics (DA), Remote Monitoring and Control (RMC)
Data and Infrastructure	Described as “the main tools, each of which is used by several of the previous features for them to work securely and properly”.	Data Integrator (DI), EDGE Data Storage (DS), Digital Industrial Passport Designer (DIP), MaaS Blockchain (MSB), Point-to-Point Secure Messaging (PSM)
Smart Planning and Operations	The planners “plan when tasks should start and end for optimal scheduling before booking any slots” and work with the MCA and MPA in the negotiation.	MaaS Consumer Planner (MCP), MaaS Provider Planner (MPP)
Planning, Design and Assessment	Tools that “track production in real time, predict when machines need maintenance, help set up workspaces for different jobs, and create digital copies of physical equipment or supply chains to test scenarios”.	Digital Twins Designer (DTD), Predictive Maintenance Toolkit (PMT), Repair-Reuse-Recycle Toolkit (R3T), MaaS Supply Chain Simulator (SCS), MaaS Workspace Configurator (MWC), Smart Contracts Toolkit (SCT), LCA-LCC Toolkit (LCT)

Source: MaaSAI deliverable D5.2, §2.1 and Figure 3.

Business Processes

To make the features understandable to business respondents, D5.2 links them to four business processes: “Rather than asking about technical tools, the survey connected the six features to four simple steps that cover the complete manufacturing process from initial contact to final delivery”.

Business process (D5.2)	What happens (D5.2)	Main features
Provider-Consumer Attraction (also called Consumer-Provider Attraction)	The step “where companies looking for manufacturing services meet providers who can do the work”. The marketplace tools help both sides find each other and share information about what they need or can offer.	Cloud and Marketplace
Order Setup	Once a provider and a consumer connect, they agree on terms and schedule the work. The automation features handle the negotiation and the planning features work out when production should start and end. “Planning and agreement happen at the same time.”	Smart Automation; Smart Planning and Operations
Production and Maintenance Plan	Predictive maintenance, digital twins, workspace setup, supply chain simulation and design tools are used to prepare production. Planning starts before production and continues during manufacturing as plans are adjusted to real conditions.	Planning, Design and Assessment; Smart Planning and Operations
Production and Delivery Monitoring	Production is tracked in real time to spot problems quickly and make sure deliveries happen on schedule; analytics help improve future runs.	Monitoring and Analytics; Cloud and Marketplace may also be involved through the MaaS Collaboration Hub

The Data and Infrastructure feature is not tied to a single step: D5.2 states that it “supports all four business processes rather than focusing on one specific step”, with blockchain, messaging and data integration tools running in the background from attraction through delivery.

Source: MaaSAI deliverable D5.2, §2.1.

Stakeholder Groups

D5.2 identifies two stakeholder groups, each with its own interests and needs.

Stakeholder group	Description	Primary interests	Key needs
Providers	Manufacturing companies offering their resources on a rental basis	Resource utilisation, revenue generation, client diversification	Efficient resource allocation, transparent booking system, reliable payment processing
Consumers	Companies seeking manufacturing resources without heavy investment	Cost-effective production, flexibility, access to specialised equipment	Easy resource discovery, quality assurance, scheduling visibility

Source: MaaSAI deliverable D5.2, §2.1, Table 1.

The survey also classified each respondent by position (business decision maker, technical decision maker, or both) and by interest (consumer, provider, or both) (D5.2, Table 3).

Survey Findings

The D5.2 business viewpoint is based on a questionnaire. For each business process, respondents rated its importance and the improvement they expected from MaaSAI, selected the business needs MaaSAI could contribute to, rated organisational and technical implementation difficulties, and indicated which business KPIs MaaSAI could improve (D5.2, §2.1, Table 3).

Information was collected from seven companies in two phases: first from the project’s pilot companies, then from outside organisations reached through a webinar shared on social networks. Six companies gave the provider perspective and four the consumer perspective; three took part in both roles. Respondents included business and technical decision makers from manufacturing, private services and agriculture, and from micro, small, medium and large companies (D5.2, §2.2, Figure 4).

Indicative results

With a sample of this size, the findings below are indicative and describe the views of the respondents; they are not statistically representative. For Order Setup only two responses were recorded, so D5.2 notes that “it is not possible to make wider claims about this process”. The survey results are respondent priorities, not KPI baselines or targets.

Expected Value per Process

• Provider-Consumer Attraction received consistent support from business and technical leaders, consumers and providers, and is described as “one of the strongest areas of value for MaaSAI”.
• Order Setup was rated positively, but only by two respondents, both business leaders.
• Production and Maintenance Plan showed the widest range of opinions, with technical leaders giving lower improvement ratings. D5.2 concludes that the value of MaaSAI here depends on each company’s existing systems, production setup and ways of working.
• Production and Delivery Monitoring received the strongest and most consistent support: D5.2 describes it as “the most important for the businesses” and the process “that can be most improved with the MaaSAI solutions”.
• Consumers and providers rated all four processes in a closely aligned way.

Business Needs

• Operational Efficiency is the business need respondents most expect MaaSAI to improve, followed by Customer Satisfaction and Profitability.
• Scalability, Risk Management and Brand Reputation are of moderate importance; Intellectual Property, Human Capital and Financial Health are low priorities.
• Priorities shift by process: Operational Efficiency dominates in the two production processes, Customer Satisfaction and Profitability gain weight in Provider-Consumer Attraction, and Order Setup shows a more balanced spread that also includes Scalability and Revenue Growth.

Implementation Difficulties

The survey covered four technical difficulties (platform incompatibilities, complex integration, data management, lack of expertise) and four organisational ones (resistance to change, lack of training, lack of alignment, insufficient budget).

• Insufficient Budget is identified as the greatest difficulty; Data Management and Complex Integration are the main technical challenges.
• Micro companies reported the highest difficulty levels across almost all categories, and smaller companies rated insufficient budget as much more difficult than larger companies did.
• Production and Maintenance Plan and Production and Delivery Monitoring are perceived as the processes where MaaSAI solutions are most difficult to implement.
• Data Management is the top technical difficulty for the Cloud and Marketplace, Smart Automation, Smart Planning and Operations, and Data and Infrastructure features.

Business KPIs

Respondents indicated which of nine KPI categories (volume, OEE quality, OEE performance, OEE availability, resources, maintenance, energy, capacity and prototyping monitoring) MaaSAI would most improve in each process. Volume matters most in Provider-Consumer Attraction and Order Setup. Equipment-related KPIs (OEE availability and performance, maintenance and capacity) lead in Production and Maintenance Plan, and energy leads in Production and Delivery Monitoring, followed by OEE availability and performance. In the words of D5.2, “the shift from volume-focused KPIs to equipment-focused KPIs shows that different stages of business activity need different performance measures”.

Source: MaaSAI deliverable D5.2, §2.2 to §2.4.

Features and the Reference Architecture

The features group solutions by business purpose. D5.1 places the same solutions in environments and in functional domains (see the Architecture Overview). The table relates the two views.

Feature (D5.2)	Environment (D5.1)	Functional domain (D5.1)
Cloud and Marketplace	Cloud MaaS Marketplace	Not assigned to a domain; drawn as a separate “MaaS Web Portal” block in the cloud tier
Smart Automation	MCA in the MaaS Consumer environment; MPA in the MaaS Provider environment	Control
Monitoring and Analytics	CP in both the MaaS Consumer and MaaS Provider environments; DA in the MaaS Provider environment; RMC drawn as remote monitoring within the consumer Control Panel	Control (CP and RMC); DA is not placed in a domain in Figure 54
Data and Infrastructure	DI, DS, PSM and MSB in both the MaaS Consumer and MaaS Provider environments; DIP in the MaaS Provider environment	Information (DI, DS); Security (PSM, MSB); Application (DIP)
Smart Planning and Operations	MCP in the MaaS Consumer environment; MPP in the MaaS Provider environment	Application in the D5.1 text; Figure 54 draws the planners in the Control area
Planning, Design and Assessment	DTD, LCT, MWC, PMT and R3T in the MaaS Provider environment; SCS in the MaaS Consumer environment; SCT in both	Application (DTD, LCT, MWC, PMT, R3T, SCS); Security (SCT)

Source: MaaSAI deliverable D5.1, §3 and §3.4, Figure 54; feature grouping from D5.2, §2.1.