Leveraging the Digital Thread for Service and Asset-Centric Excellence

For more than 25 years, I’ve worked in the after-sales domain. In recent years, the digital thread concept has come to my attention. I’ve come to understand it as a powerful paradigm, especially useful in creating momentum for digital transformation. The continuous flow of product information from engineering to service and back creates a closed-loop approach for connecting data across the value chain. 

What’s so compelling about the digital thread?

Having been a service executive for many years, I like to talk about service excellence, but my actions often focus on service basics. When I hear a phrase like “data is the new oil,” I’m generally skeptical at first, and look for information that supports the rhetoric. 

In 2018, ServiceMax commissioned research on the rise of Asset and Service Data Gravity. This concept resonated with me because it highlighted the value of data across an organization, but also how siloed structures can stifle the flow of information. Since then, I’ve heard many stories about the value of data, but I’ve always missed the handle—the story that breaks down these siloes. The digital thread offers that story. It provides a tangible way to harness the power of data across the lifecycle helping to remove the silos between business functions.

Service and asset-centricity through the digital thread

At the heart of every organization is the product they sell. Some people ideate, others design, next comes production, and then the product is sold. But once the product goes into the field, the real challenge begins—helping customers install, operate, sustain, and eventually decommission that product. This is where leveraging service and asset data in the digital thread truly shines.

In each phase of the product lifecycle, the product generates valuable data. Instead of each organizational function creating its own isolated view, the digital thread allows us to visualize a seamless connection—a thread—that ties these phases together. This is particularly compelling for service and asset management, where the continuous flow of data can drive significant improvements in operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and asset performance.

Design for service and asset excellence

One of my favorite activities in my current role is conducting ride-alongs. I ‘staple’ myself to a service request and observe each step in the process. The eye-opening part is always the field piece—where the customer, technician, or depot repair operator is in front of the product, tasked with fixing it.

Too often, it seems we ask customers, technicians, and operators to perform service activities blindfolded:

• The product is engineered for manufacturing efficiency, but not for serviceability.
• Service and operating manuals exist, but they’re not actionable, bite-sized, or contextual to the job at hand.
• There’s a spare parts catalog but finding the right part can feel like a treasure hunt, especially with configure-to-order products.

These obstacles increase the effort, cost, and inefficiency of service, which in turn reduces margins and customer satisfaction. However, by applying the digital thread in a service and asset-centric context, we can envision a future where these challenges are mitigated.

Imagine engineering a product with serviceability in mind from the start. Maintenance engineering could translate product design into a recommended preventive maintenance scheme, complete with a spare parts kit and component MTBF. This knowledge could then flow seamlessly into the after-sales and service delivery functions, all within the same platform. The digital thread enables this integrated approach, ensuring that service and asset data inform every stage of the product lifecycle.

Closing the service and asset loop

But the digital thread isn't just a linear thread from product definition to sustaining the product, it also provides feedback loops enabling service and asset data to flow back to engineering? Why is this important, and who benefits?

Let me share a true story from my time managing a field service organization. Engineering once asked me to collect 25+ data points during the debrief of every service activity. Knowing that my technicians hadn’t signed up for a job heavy on admin, I needed leverage to steer the conversation.

The good news was that engineering recognized the value of field data. The bad news was that the cost of collecting it fell on after-sales/service, making it too expensive. After discussions, engineering trimmed the list to five critical questions that directly impacted value creation. They also funded service to collect this data. With the reasoning explained and extra time and pay offered, technicians were on board.

In closing the loop, we created value, balanced cost/effort, secured lasting funding, and achieved broad adoption. We all won. This story illustrates how a closed digital thread loop, particularly in service and asset-centric contexts, can drive significant improvements across the board.

The bigger picture: PLM-SLM integration

When engineering receives relevant, high-quality feedback from the field, we can establish a ‘plan versus actual’ process. Engineering designed revision 1 with a plan; field data provides the actual. Comparing these two informs revision 2, benefitting both new product sales and enabling the service function to target the existing installed base with engineering and upgrade offerings.

In today’s world, where products are increasingly complex and digitally enhanced, establishing a digital thread that connects product lifecycle management (PLM) and service lifecycle management (SLM) is crucial to sustaining a profitable business model.

A game-changer for service and asset management

Throughout my career, it was fashionable to say, “customer first.” But being in service, I’ve always championed a different approach: “Design your business processes along the axis of the product and service lifecycle.” The digital thread, with its infinity loop, embodies this philosophy and amplifies it in a way that’s both simple and powerful.

No doubt, organizational siloes must work together. When you map each function onto the digital thread and infinity loop, you create a visualization that reinforces the interdependencies and amplifies value. For service and asset-centric organizations, the digital thread is more than just a concept—it’s a game changer.