Maritime

Ulstein has a strong legacy in the maritime and shipbuilding industry. Like many other traditional industries, they're facing the challenge of shifting their focus from delivering products to offering services through 

. They have entered into a new business field, delivering not only ships to offshore oil & gas but also designing more exclusive cruise ships and exploration cruise ships. The passengers on these vessels have higher expectations on design, service quality, and user experience. This requires Ulstein to understand their customers’ business and decision-making as well as the end-users experience.

Meeting new customer expectations 

The project's initial focus was to investigate Ulstein's pre-sales and concept-development phases. However, we also discovered that the transitions between the different stages, especially in the later ones, could run smoother. We then focused on identifying how emotions play an integral part in this journey and how Ulstein can identify essential touchpoints to make the experience seamless.

To explore the opportunities for Ulstein, we used service and business design methodology, interviewing customers and Ulstein employees. With the insight material, we outlined several suggestions on how Ulstein can develop its 

, create a better customer experience (CX), and 

 in the future. For example, we identified great opportunities for Ulstein to further assist with their expertise in the aftermarket phase, i.e., during maintenance and rebuilds.

Value Chain Conceptualisation

Business Model Concept 

Visualising the customer's journey and identifying opportunities

When it comes to a highly complex and sophisticated product such as a ship that has a very long lifecycle, there are many 

. If Ulstein can be involved throughout the ship's 

 it’s a win-win situation for both them and their customers, as they can contribute with valuable knowledge and data from the design and engineering phase. Offering services here will create a business opportunity for Ulstein as well as improve the experience and the total value of the ship investment for the customer.

Service innovation for ship construction