Exploring customer value and commercial viability of automation enablers

Abstract

This thesis is a research exploration into the commercial viability of advanced driver assistance services in the load handling industry, which eventually enable automation and autonomous activity.

Commercial viability is important for understanding the rate of change as well as the capability for digital transformation in the industry. Ongoing trends support the addition of technology onto hardware; this research seeks to understand whether this is commercially viable.

A case study method is used to deep-dive into the practicality from on-road load handling and the construction of advanced driver assistance services through the installation of software systems and external hardware. The case study company is a large original equipment manufacturer in the industry. A design science methodology is constructed and used, with the case study providing a research artifact for exploration.

Main results conclude that technology costs are greater than the monetary value created for customers, stating that in the short-term advanced driver assistance services are not commercially viable. However, trends such as urbanization, digitalization and the declining skills of drivers in the load handling industry support the long-term vision of automation and autonomous activity; in addition, there is a strong demand pull from the customers for increased automation, which also support the construction of driver assistance services.