Product Services repair, maintenance

1
Implications for Companies Designers

• Product Services (repair, maintenance take
  back)
• Post-sale services
• Four ways to offer these
• Through a customer service department
• Through arrangements with distributors dealers
• Leave it to independent service specialist firms
• Leave it customers
• Products are direct recipients of these services
  so need to know where they are, companies need
  to contact end-users
• Infrastructure needed to enable communication
  between end-user and company and also to enable
  service to be carried out

2
Implications for Companies Designers

• Use Services
• Operate in a business to business market ad well
  as a business to consumer market
• Service provider makes products available for use
• Leasing conserves capital, gaining sellers
  latest products, better service, customer has no
  responsibility for product so less inconvenience
• Sharing provider may be competing with customer
  buying owning products. Must be able to
  customise to make use service attractive and also
  have flexible pricing to tailor to needs of
  customer so must understand customers needs
  expectations

3
Implications for Companies Designers

• Results services
• New way of satisfying needs must be established
• Development process needs to change
• Company must discover the needs that their
  products fulfil and way products create value
  may need new skills
• Institutional arrangements will need to change
  (eg basis on which company generates profit)
• Usually linked to number of products sold
• Likely to move to number of units of service
  provided (no of products involved are not
  important)

4
Implications for Companies Designers

• Results Service (cont)
• Incentive to optimise service delivery process
  use of product to maximise profit
• Single products do not fulfil needs unaided
• Product only part of delivery system consists
  of a number of products and services
• Unique value can be created via cross-industry
  networks often borrow each other resources

5
Implications for Companies Designers

• General
• Needs a more holistic approach to design,
  management business processes