The logic for increasing service revenue in product manufacturing companies

Abstract

To respond to increasing challenges from competitors, manufacturing companies have developed a growing interest in extending their service business. They have started initiatives to generate revenue growth through services. However, creating service revenue is not easy. The majority of manufacturing companies still earn a relatively small share of their total revenue through services. If services were fundamentally ineffective in generating revenue, it would be easy to explain why companies struggle to succeed in deriving a high percentage of overall revenue from services. It would not explain, however, why some companies have, in the past, achieved a high share of service revenue. Based on five focus groups and ten in-depth bi-polar case studies, we attempt to provide a better understanding of how manufacturing companies can increase their service revenue. We illustrate the implicit logic of increasing service revenue, the keys to success and fundamental dimensions for implementing them.