Products, Services, and Solutions -
Past, Present, and Future
The Spring Servitization Conference 2014
Transformation: Drivers, Processes and Results
Heiko Gebauer
Business Innovation, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Research
(eawag)
Center of Service Research, Karlstad University, Sweden
Aston, May 12-14
If services & solutions become more important, companies
must understand the rules
PAST
Services and solutions are nothing new ...
IBM 601 Multiplying Punch Caterpillar Tractor Company
Ted Levitt
(Harvard Business Review 1960)
“ … People don’t want to buy a
quarter-inch drill. They want a
quarter-inch hole… ”
Hilti„s strategic leap towards the solution business
Products Services Solutions
Fleet management
solutions (e.g. fee for
administering the fleet)
Quality & innovation (e.g.,
drilling, demolition, cutting,
sanding and screw
fastening systems)
Consumables (e.g.,
anchoring & installation)
Repair
Maintenance
Financial services
Theft-insurance
Destroy customer
value!
Add customer value, but
what customers do they
attract? Delivery
Maintenance
Repair
Replace
Purchase
Evolution of the research domain highlights two (three)
different phases
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Phase 1: Minor topic (until 1999)
Phase 2: Rapidly emerging research
domain (2000 to 2013)
Number of contributions1
Years
1 - REF("Managing the transition from products to services") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("Product service systems") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("System supplier") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("Industrial services") OR TITLE-ABS-
KEY("Transition from products to services") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("Service business development") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("Solution provider") OR REF("A framework for analyzing customer service orientations in
manufacturing") OR REF("Restructuring towards a service orientation: the strategic challenges") OR REF("Go downstream: the new imperative in manufacturing") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("Servitization") OR TITLE-
ABS-KEY("The role of soft factors in implementing a service-oriented strategy in industrial marketing companies") OR REF("Service strategies within the manufacturing sector: benefits,costs and partnership") OR
TITLE-ABS-KEY("After sales service") AND DOCTYPE(ar OR re) AND SUBJAREA(mult OR arts OR busi OR deci OR econ OR psyc OR soci) AND PUBYEAR > 1987 AND PUBYEAR < 2014
Phase 3: Maturity and stagnation in the
domain (2011 to 2013)
PRESENT
Product Services Solutions
Value
proposition
Industries
Strategic
focus
“We sell and
ensure high-
quality products“
“We improve
product efficiency
and effectiveness“
“We make the
customer more
successful”
We optimize your
shipping costs
We decrease the
handling costs for C-
parts
We prevent break-
down of ship motors
We improve your
logistic efficiency
Evolution from products to solutions
Evolution from products to solutions
Product Services Solutions
Strategic
focus
Investments
Dominated by
products
Service paradox
Dominated by
services
Value
contribution
Airbus‟ long way from the traditional product to
value-added services and solutions
Revenues in Billion (Euro)
• 7400 airplanes in operation
• Service revenues reach about 1.5
billion Euro (4% of total revenue)
• Deliveries increased from 305 to 612
Supply chain
Leasing
firms
Flight operators
Aircraft manufacturers
Component suppliers
Maintenance
Inte-
grated
• General Electric (50%)
• Lufthansa Technik (+5% p.a., 60%
external)
• Boeing (15%)
0
10
20
30
40
2003 2004 ... 2011 2012
Product revenue Service revenue
10.4% revenue growth p.a.
10.2% more deliveries p.a.
20% more service revenue
Five reasons why you should learn the rule for providing
services and solutions …
Complexity Product Services Solutions
Competitors Few Many Fuzzy
Offerings Homogenous Heterogeneous Individualistic
Geography Similar Localized Customized
Demand Sales forecast (un)predictable Customer forecast
Scope 1 to 3 1 to 15 1 to 15 X 3rd party
Adapted form Cohen et al. (2006)
Forecasting customers as „mutualism“
Adapted from Sawhney, 2004, Fischer, Gebauer, Guanjie, Gregory and Fleisch(2010)
Primary customer
activities
Where do business opportunities occur?
Supplementary
customer activities
SalesPre-Sales After-sales
Reconfiguration
Extension
How do
business
opportunities
occur?)
How to approach business opportunities through
services and solutions?
How to approach business opportunities through
services and solutions?
Adapted from Sawhney, 2004, Fischer, Gebauer, Guanjie, Gregory and Fleisch(2010)
Reconfiguration
Extension
How do
business
opportunities
occur?)
Primary customer
activities
Where do business opportunities occur?
Supplementary
customer activities
SalesPre-Sales After-sales
Exploration
Exploitation
Exploitation
Example – Bosch Packaging
Fischer, Gebauer, Ren, Gregory & Fleisch, (2010)
Exploitation
Parameter Exploitation
Example
Organizational
change
Incremental
Capabilities Operational capabilities
Value constellation
Improving existing value
constellation
Value contribution
Long-term, continuous
increase in service revenue
(15 to 30% in 10 years)
FUTURE
Parameter Exploration
Example
Organizational
adaptation
Radical
Capabilities Dynamic capabilities
Value constellation
Creation of a new value
constellation
Value contribution
Short-term, significant
increase in service revenue
Exploration of uncontested markets
Example - Hilti
Exploration
Fischer, Gebauer, Ren, Gregory & Fleisch, 2010
Service differentiation moderates the
customer centricity and innovativeness
Complexity of
customer
needs
Customer
centricity
Innovativeness
Business
performance
H3 (+) 
Service
differentiation
H4 (+) 
H2 (+) H1 (+) 
H5 (-)  H6 (+) H7 (-)  H8 (+) 
Based on Gebauer, Gustafsson, and Witell (2011)
Complexity of
customer needs
Customer
centricity
H3 (+)
H2 (+)H1 (+)
H5 (-) H6 (+)H7 (-)
H4 (+)
Innovativeness
Service
differentiation
H8 (+)
Business
performance
Service differentiation
Impact of
innovativeness on
business performance
Based on Gebauer, Gustafsson, and Witell (2011)
Service differentiation shows „a getting
stuck in the middle“ phenomenon
“Internet of everything” accelerates the evolution
from products to solutions
Product Services Solutions
Strategic
focus
Investments
Service paradox
Dominated by
products
Dominated by
services
Value
contribution
“Problematization” of present research leads to four future
research opportunities
Assumptions Observations Research opportunities
Service growth as an
“organic growth”
strategy
Internal service revenue
growth is only 50%
Merger  Acquisitions
Focus on traditional
manufacturing
companies in mature
markets
Services and Solutions
relevant for many
industries
New empirical fields:
Industries  Geography
Toward value-added
services and solutions
as a one way street
Multiple positions along
the product, service, and
solutions continuum
Combining different
business models or
reverse servitization
Organizational change
process
Lack of management
theories
Theory-building: Dynamic
capabilities, resource-based
view, knowledge-based
theory of the firm and so on
Thank you very much

Past present-future-product-services-solutions

  • 1.
    Products, Services, andSolutions - Past, Present, and Future The Spring Servitization Conference 2014 Transformation: Drivers, Processes and Results Heiko Gebauer Business Innovation, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Research (eawag) Center of Service Research, Karlstad University, Sweden Aston, May 12-14
  • 2.
    If services &solutions become more important, companies must understand the rules
  • 3.
  • 4.
    Services and solutionsare nothing new ... IBM 601 Multiplying Punch Caterpillar Tractor Company
  • 5.
    Ted Levitt (Harvard BusinessReview 1960) “ … People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole… ”
  • 6.
    Hilti„s strategic leaptowards the solution business Products Services Solutions Fleet management solutions (e.g. fee for administering the fleet) Quality & innovation (e.g., drilling, demolition, cutting, sanding and screw fastening systems) Consumables (e.g., anchoring & installation) Repair Maintenance Financial services Theft-insurance Destroy customer value! Add customer value, but what customers do they attract? Delivery Maintenance Repair Replace Purchase
  • 7.
    Evolution of theresearch domain highlights two (three) different phases 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Phase 1: Minor topic (until 1999) Phase 2: Rapidly emerging research domain (2000 to 2013) Number of contributions1 Years 1 - REF("Managing the transition from products to services") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("Product service systems") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("System supplier") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("Industrial services") OR TITLE-ABS- KEY("Transition from products to services") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("Service business development") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("Solution provider") OR REF("A framework for analyzing customer service orientations in manufacturing") OR REF("Restructuring towards a service orientation: the strategic challenges") OR REF("Go downstream: the new imperative in manufacturing") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("Servitization") OR TITLE- ABS-KEY("The role of soft factors in implementing a service-oriented strategy in industrial marketing companies") OR REF("Service strategies within the manufacturing sector: benefits,costs and partnership") OR TITLE-ABS-KEY("After sales service") AND DOCTYPE(ar OR re) AND SUBJAREA(mult OR arts OR busi OR deci OR econ OR psyc OR soci) AND PUBYEAR > 1987 AND PUBYEAR < 2014 Phase 3: Maturity and stagnation in the domain (2011 to 2013)
  • 8.
  • 9.
    Product Services Solutions Value proposition Industries Strategic focus “Wesell and ensure high- quality products“ “We improve product efficiency and effectiveness“ “We make the customer more successful” We optimize your shipping costs We decrease the handling costs for C- parts We prevent break- down of ship motors We improve your logistic efficiency Evolution from products to solutions
  • 10.
    Evolution from productsto solutions Product Services Solutions Strategic focus Investments Dominated by products Service paradox Dominated by services Value contribution
  • 11.
    Airbus‟ long wayfrom the traditional product to value-added services and solutions Revenues in Billion (Euro) • 7400 airplanes in operation • Service revenues reach about 1.5 billion Euro (4% of total revenue) • Deliveries increased from 305 to 612 Supply chain Leasing firms Flight operators Aircraft manufacturers Component suppliers Maintenance Inte- grated • General Electric (50%) • Lufthansa Technik (+5% p.a., 60% external) • Boeing (15%) 0 10 20 30 40 2003 2004 ... 2011 2012 Product revenue Service revenue 10.4% revenue growth p.a. 10.2% more deliveries p.a. 20% more service revenue
  • 12.
    Five reasons whyyou should learn the rule for providing services and solutions … Complexity Product Services Solutions Competitors Few Many Fuzzy Offerings Homogenous Heterogeneous Individualistic Geography Similar Localized Customized Demand Sales forecast (un)predictable Customer forecast Scope 1 to 3 1 to 15 1 to 15 X 3rd party Adapted form Cohen et al. (2006)
  • 13.
    Forecasting customers as„mutualism“
  • 14.
    Adapted from Sawhney,2004, Fischer, Gebauer, Guanjie, Gregory and Fleisch(2010) Primary customer activities Where do business opportunities occur? Supplementary customer activities SalesPre-Sales After-sales Reconfiguration Extension How do business opportunities occur?) How to approach business opportunities through services and solutions?
  • 15.
    How to approachbusiness opportunities through services and solutions? Adapted from Sawhney, 2004, Fischer, Gebauer, Guanjie, Gregory and Fleisch(2010) Reconfiguration Extension How do business opportunities occur?) Primary customer activities Where do business opportunities occur? Supplementary customer activities SalesPre-Sales After-sales Exploration Exploitation
  • 16.
    Exploitation Example – BoschPackaging Fischer, Gebauer, Ren, Gregory & Fleisch, (2010) Exploitation Parameter Exploitation Example Organizational change Incremental Capabilities Operational capabilities Value constellation Improving existing value constellation Value contribution Long-term, continuous increase in service revenue (15 to 30% in 10 years)
  • 17.
  • 18.
    Parameter Exploration Example Organizational adaptation Radical Capabilities Dynamiccapabilities Value constellation Creation of a new value constellation Value contribution Short-term, significant increase in service revenue Exploration of uncontested markets Example - Hilti Exploration Fischer, Gebauer, Ren, Gregory & Fleisch, 2010
  • 19.
    Service differentiation moderatesthe customer centricity and innovativeness Complexity of customer needs Customer centricity Innovativeness Business performance H3 (+) Service differentiation H4 (+) H2 (+) H1 (+) H5 (-) H6 (+) H7 (-) H8 (+) Based on Gebauer, Gustafsson, and Witell (2011)
  • 20.
    Complexity of customer needs Customer centricity H3(+) H2 (+)H1 (+) H5 (-) H6 (+)H7 (-) H4 (+) Innovativeness Service differentiation H8 (+) Business performance Service differentiation Impact of innovativeness on business performance Based on Gebauer, Gustafsson, and Witell (2011) Service differentiation shows „a getting stuck in the middle“ phenomenon
  • 21.
    “Internet of everything”accelerates the evolution from products to solutions Product Services Solutions Strategic focus Investments Service paradox Dominated by products Dominated by services Value contribution
  • 22.
    “Problematization” of presentresearch leads to four future research opportunities Assumptions Observations Research opportunities Service growth as an “organic growth” strategy Internal service revenue growth is only 50% Merger Acquisitions Focus on traditional manufacturing companies in mature markets Services and Solutions relevant for many industries New empirical fields: Industries Geography Toward value-added services and solutions as a one way street Multiple positions along the product, service, and solutions continuum Combining different business models or reverse servitization Organizational change process Lack of management theories Theory-building: Dynamic capabilities, resource-based view, knowledge-based theory of the firm and so on
  • 23.