Open Access

Aline Schnurr, Pamela Renz, Andrea Müller

• As one result of the digital transformation in the automotive industry, new digital business models comprising software-based solutions are demanded by OEMs. To adequately meet these new requirements, automotive suppliers implement interdisciplinary roles – called Customer Solution Designers. However, due to the novelty, the Customer Solution Design research field is not yet well developed,As one result of the digital transformation in the automotive industry, new digital business models comprising software-based solutions are demanded by OEMs. To adequately meet these new requirements, automotive suppliers implement interdisciplinary roles – called Customer Solution Designers. However, due to the novelty, the Customer Solution Design research field is not yet well developed, neither in theory nor in practice. Besides giving an overview of the current state of the Customer Solution Design research field, the core of this paper is two-fold: Based on the conduction of 14 guided expert interviews with selected experts of a large German automotive supplier, we establish a uniform understanding of the Customer Solution Design role by using the Role Model Canvas (I). In addition, a case study strategy comprising two software-based projects, which are executed by a large German automotive supplier, is used to derive a common approach for Customer Solution Design in the context of an agile business framework (II).…