Design Product Service Systems by using hybrid simulation: a case study in the fashion industry

Nowadays, companies operating in different markets are re-thinking their business model in order to increase their environmental sustainability. In the fashion industry, an unexplored way to address environmental problem is the introduction of a sustainable-oriented service to the traditional production and distribution processes, with the establishment of the so-called Product Service System (PSS). This paper presents the preliminary results of an ongoing research on the definition of a new business model for the fashion industry, related to the possibility to rent a specific item (i.e. a bag, a shoe, a dress) using different channels (i.e. store, e-commerce etc..). SErvice Engineering Methodology (SEEM) and hybrid simulation have been used in order to define and assess the proposed model. AnyLogic® has been used in order to validate the model, composed by a traditional discrete event representation of a store and an agent-based part, where the Persona model has been introduced in order to describe the behaviour of the customer.