Exploring the relationship between after-sales service strategies and design for X methodologies

The transition from a product manufacturer into a service provider constitutes a major managerial challenge for companies. It requires new organisational principles, structures and processes, which encompass the whole product life cycle, from its concept and design to its dismissal. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how design for X (DFX) methodologies and practices can consistently enable the achievement of the objectives of specific after-sales strategic profiles, by encompassing those distinctive features which can at best fulfil the customer’s requirements and expectations throughout the product life cycle usage. A model is proposed in order to relate after-sales strategies with ‘DFX’ methodologies. The description of two industrial case studies provides a pragmatic insight on the opportunities coming out from a consistent relation between after-sales strategies and product development practices.