Digital Industrial B2B Platform Patterns From A Business Perspective

Abstract

Platform companies such as Amazon and Google have changed the business-to-consumer (B2C) sector at a rapid pace. In the context of the digitization of products, production systems, and processes, the importance of digital business-to-business (B2B) platforms is also increasing. In the manufacturing industry, value chains change to complex platform-based value networks between business entities. This publication presents the results from the analysis of more than 160 platforms in the manufacturing industry from a business perspective. Using a value network-oriented methodology, defining business roles as well as revenue streams and business relationships, recurring value-creating interactions were observed. In total, eight clearly distinguishable platform patterns have been identified. In this article, these patterns are described in detail with their value and revenue streams as well as their benefits for the individual roles. These patterns aim to achieve a well-founded understanding of platforms in the manufacturing industry and form the fundamentals for further analysis for successful digital industrial B2B platforms.