Knowledge for product managers
|Digitalisation in Product Management
Digitalisation and product management in the industrial B2B environment:
What matters now and how you can create real added value as a PM
A contribution by Marcel Nagel | PM1 Network Partner
In this article, you will learn why digitalisation is more than just IT for industrial product management – and how you can use it to make better decisions, drive innovation and increase your market success in the long term.
Digitalisation & product management: classification and relevance
Digitalisation is not an end in itself in product management, but rather a strategic tool. It not only affects a company’s processes or IT systems, but also fundamentally changes how products are developed, delivered and refined. In the industrial B2B environment, digitalisation in product management means the targeted use of digital technologies to collect and link data throughout the entire life cycle and use it to make better decisions.
The PM1 digitalisation map (see fig.) shows that digitalisation can be applied in various areas – in processes, at customer interfaces, in products and services, and through infrastructure and competence building. For product managers, this means that they operate at precisely these interfaces and can tap into new value creation through digitalisation.
The digitalisation map shows the different areas of action in digitalisation.
- Digitalisation efforts are essentially moving in two directions: the digitalisation of processes and the digitalisation of customer interfaces. This results in four areas of action:
- New digital processes: Business processes and procedures, both at the operational and management levels, are being digitalised.
- New customer interfaces: Customer interfaces are being digitalised.
- New products, services and business models: The combination of digital business processes and interfaces enables the creation of new digital products, services and innovative business models.
- Digital infrastructure and competencies: Often, the foundations must first be laid in the form of a digital infrastructure and the development of competencies.
According to: B. Ricken et al., Business Informatics & Management 2021, 13, pp. 324–335
How to shape digitalisation in product management
Product managers in B2B often face the question: What exactly does digitalisation mean for my role? The answer: It enables more strategic, data-driven and customer-centric decisions. Some typical areas of application:
- Collect digital usage data: Data from operation, maintenance or service provides insights into how products are actually used. It forms the basis for performance analyses, service offerings or new pricing models.
- Design product roadmaps based on data: Instead of relying purely on feedback from sales or gut feeling, decisions can be objectified and prioritised.
- Digital interfaces with customers: Portals, dashboards, or IoT connections enable a new form of interaction and customer loyalty.
- Increasing process efficiency: Transparent processes, automated data flows, and digital tools make product management more agile and faster.
- Developing digital services: Accompanying services such as remote monitoring or pay-per-use models offer additional value and differentiate you from the competition.
The “So What” Effect: Why Digitalisation is Crucial for Product Managers
Studies show that digitalisation in companies continues to focus heavily on process efficiency, with products, services and customer-oriented innovations often being neglected. According to a recent study by Johannes Kepler University Linz (2024), the focus of digitalisation in German-speaking countries remains on efficiency and process optimisation. Products, services and business models, on the other hand, often remain untouched or are only slowly being digitalised (see ‘Digitale Neuordnung’ 2024).1
A Staufen study from 2024 also shows that many companies are not exploiting the potential of digital technologies because technical hurdles or cultural barriers are perceived as too high.2
This is precisely where modern product management comes in. Those who use digitalisation strategically – beyond IT projects – can design new customer interfaces, data-based services and intelligent product development. This is not only technically relevant, but also crucial for market success, customer loyalty and the pace of innovation. Many companies primarily digitalise processes, but not products or services, where the degree of digitalisation is often low.
Digitalisation delivers this promise of success in product management
Digitalisation is often thought of in technical terms, but in product management, it is a strategic promise. Those who use it in a targeted manner not only gain efficiency, but also real competitive advantages. This is because data-driven product management not only increases response speed but also strategic effectiveness throughout the entire life cycle.
- Higher quality decisions through fact-based planning
- Faster innovation cycles through continuous feedback
- Better market and customer engagement through data-based services
- Greater resilience through transparency and adaptability
Conclusion: Digitalisation is a top priority for product management
Those who correctly position digitalisation in product management turn it into a strategic lever: for better products, more satisfied customers and more stable economic success. It is not about more tools – but about better control, greater market proximity and targeted value creation throughout the life cycle.
Product managers who correctly position digitalisation in product management turn it into a strategic lever: for better products, more satisfied customers and more stable economic success. It’s not about more tools – it’s about better control, greater market proximity and targeted value creation throughout the life cycle.
Product managers are not just implementers here, but drivers: they recognise potential, bring areas together and make visible what works. Digitalisation provides the operating system for this.
The good news is that getting started does not require a large investment; rather, it involves the decision to systematically create transparency and ask the right questions.
are not just implementers, but drivers: they recognise potential, bring areas together and make visible what works. Digitalisation provides the operating system for this.
The good news is that getting started does not require a large investment; rather, it involves the decision to systematically create transparency and ask the right questions.
Smart managers shape the market – not just the product.
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- Source: Digital Office Index 2024 ↩︎
- Source: Staufen AG – Study on Digitalisation ↩︎
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