Smart Services - Transformation of the Service Organization: Benchmarking Report

Nowadays, many manufacturing companies consider the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) as a cornerstone for developing new service business models. Their attempts to secure profitable margins in increasingly commoditizing markets by offering new services have been around for some years. However, what has changed fundamentally in the last years is the pace in which the technology for collecting, transmitting and analyzing data from industrial assets has evolved. This has led to the rise of smart, data-based services, which promise more efficient service delivery, or entirely new value propositions.

These innovative offerings put new requirements on the service organization. Our insights from industry and research reveal that manufacturing companies on the digital transformation path require a new set of capabilities and competencies to deliver data-based services. But what are these capabilities? Where should they be anchored in the organization? And how are processes designed that integrate actors from both the traditional service world and the new digital world?

Our research team from the Institute of Technology Management at the University of St. Gallen ventured into answering these and many more questions that currently preoccupy manufacturing companies starting to offer data-based services. Thus, we launched the benchmarking “Smart Services – Transformation of the Service Organization” that sheds light into key people and processes in service development, sales and delivery. The benchmarking results are explained in detail in this study.

With this study, we hope to develop a better understanding for manufacturing companies how they can leverage data-based services for increasing customer satisfaction, enhancing product functionality or earning additional revenue.