The after-sales strategy of an industrial equipment manufacturer: evaluation and control

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the after-sales strategy of an industrial equipment manufacturer.Design/methodology/approachThe research study’s object is the Brazilian operation of a company belonging to a multinational group that designs, manufactures and installs technology-based equipment. The research method is qualitative modeling with a quantitative analysis. A literature review and a focus group with managers organized the after-sales strategy of the company in four constructs measured by 24 indicators. The constructs are technical assistance (TA), reliability management (RM), customer relationships (CRs) and spare part logistics (SL). A total of seven managers evaluated the importance and performance of the indicators.FindingsTA, RM and CRs are lagging constructs (the importance is greater than the performance), whereas SL is a leading construct (the opposite). The study proposed four strategic actions that change the type of emphasis that the company poses to service: from in-house to field maintenance service, from correction to prevention reliability improvement, from technical- to customer-focused relationships and from direct to integrated logistics service.Research limitations/implicationsThe study limits to the case of a technology-based manufacturing company.Practical implicationsThe strategic movement reallocates resources from leading indicators to lagging indicators in a sharp, clear movement of forces in the company.Originality/valueThe main contribution is a structured method to evaluate and control the strategic performance of an industrial equipment manufacturer in after-sales activities.