Due to increasing cost pressure, companies are expanding their product range and therefore increasingly offering so-called product-service systems (PSS) to increase sales. At the same time, PSS can also contribute to an increase in variety-induced complexity in the company, which ultimately further increases cost pressure. In this article, the causes and effects of variety-induced complexity through products, services and PSS are analysed and the need for a new PSS design method is then demonstrated. Finally, a new framework is presented that enables the design of variety-oriented PSS.

Introducing more customized products causes complexity costs, which are hard to estimate and measure. Researchers and practitioners have therefore developed approaches to measure these costs. This paper reviews the current approaches and reveals a lack of a holistic view on the underlying problem and, hence, deficits to certain economic questions. We therefore suggest using the Extended Axiomatic Design (EAD) framework as an interdisciplinary model that adresses the economic consequences of variety-induced complexity.