Product details

By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies as described in our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.
You can change your cookie settings at any time but parts of our site will not function correctly without them.

Abstract

This chapter is excerpted from ‘Profiting from Services and Solutions: What Product-Centric Firms Need to know'. Designed for executives in companies that manufacture or sell products, this book outlines the challenges of launching a service and solutions business within a product-oriented organization. The target audience-manufacturers, industrial suppliers, technology firms, and other vendors of business goods-views services and solutions as a means to financial growth, reduced revenue volatility, greater differentiation from the competition, increased share of customer budget, and improved customer satisfaction, loyalty, and lock-in. The authors visualize the transition from products sold to services rendered and identify the challenges that leaders will face during the transformation. To overcome those challenges, the book shows leaders how to manage change in five areas: corporate structure; corporate culture; organizational metrics of performance, growth and investment; individual skills and talent development; and core competencies of collaboration and customization. The authors provide a framework-the service infusion continuum-to describe the different types of services and solutions that a product-rich company can offer beyond warranties, call centers, and websites that support customers in their use of products. The further to the right on the continuum, the more complex-that is, customized and integrated-the services and solutions become to support customers in their strategy, operations, and management. While a company's products can anchor some offerings at the right of the continuum, the service contract supports the customer's decision making rather than product functioning. At the far right are integrated product-service solutions, complex and varied bundles of products and services from their own or partner companies' portfolios to solve a client's business problems. The book synthesizes the findings of academic research and business publications, draws upon the authors' consulting work, and includes the practical experience of managers amid transforming five Fortune 100 product-centric companies into service businesses. The authors incorporate vivid examples from AT&T, Caterpillar, Cisco, DuPont, GE, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Ingersoll-Rand, Pearson Education, Rolls Royce, Salesforce.com, Siemens, Sylvania, VWR International, and Xerox.

About

Abstract

This chapter is excerpted from ‘Profiting from Services and Solutions: What Product-Centric Firms Need to know'. Designed for executives in companies that manufacture or sell products, this book outlines the challenges of launching a service and solutions business within a product-oriented organization. The target audience-manufacturers, industrial suppliers, technology firms, and other vendors of business goods-views services and solutions as a means to financial growth, reduced revenue volatility, greater differentiation from the competition, increased share of customer budget, and improved customer satisfaction, loyalty, and lock-in. The authors visualize the transition from products sold to services rendered and identify the challenges that leaders will face during the transformation. To overcome those challenges, the book shows leaders how to manage change in five areas: corporate structure; corporate culture; organizational metrics of performance, growth and investment; individual skills and talent development; and core competencies of collaboration and customization. The authors provide a framework-the service infusion continuum-to describe the different types of services and solutions that a product-rich company can offer beyond warranties, call centers, and websites that support customers in their use of products. The further to the right on the continuum, the more complex-that is, customized and integrated-the services and solutions become to support customers in their strategy, operations, and management. While a company's products can anchor some offerings at the right of the continuum, the service contract supports the customer's decision making rather than product functioning. At the far right are integrated product-service solutions, complex and varied bundles of products and services from their own or partner companies' portfolios to solve a client's business problems. The book synthesizes the findings of academic research and business publications, draws upon the authors' consulting work, and includes the practical experience of managers amid transforming five Fortune 100 product-centric companies into service businesses. The authors incorporate vivid examples from AT&T, Caterpillar, Cisco, DuPont, GE, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Ingersoll-Rand, Pearson Education, Rolls Royce, Salesforce.com, Siemens, Sylvania, VWR International, and Xerox.

Related