A Methodology of Strategic Analysis for Servitization of the Manufacturing Company

Abstract

Servitization in manufacturing companies often involves reformulating or building new strategies. Itis a complex and challenging process that is very prone to failure if carried out without careful strategic planning.The scientific literature strictly regarding strategic analysis methodology in the context of servitization is ratherlimited. Only a few studies were identified which indicate strategic analysis methods that are useful for buildingservitization strategies. Whereas the catalog of methods for strategic analysis is wide and varied. Therefore, thisstudy aims to fill this gap and give an answer to the following research question: How to conduct a strategicanalysis (with which methods and tools) so that the obtained information would improve the decision-makingprocess in the context of servitization in manufacturing? A survey conducted in the Polish machinerymanufacturing sector shows that there is a relationship between conducting strategy analysis in the context ofproduct-service activity and the level of service income in manufacturing companies. Likewise, if the companyanalyzed service-related business areas along with the product-related, it has reported an increase in serviceincome in recent years. Based on these findings and the outcomes of the review of servitization strategies and theconditions of successful implementation of these strategies, the author developed an 8-stage methodology ofstrategic analysis. It enables to gather the most relevant and needed information about the company resourcesand its environment to facilitate making decisions in the context of product and service integration. An originaltool for assessing the orientation of organizational culture is proposed. The developed methodology was verifiedby application in two manufacturing companies, and that allowed to formulate a list of recommendations forfuture application of the methodology