Controlling and improving the provision of after-sales services

Concerning this purpose, this PhD thesis aims at dealing with the definition of a product-process matrix which indentifies a correspondence between product characteristics and suitable service processes (namely technical support processes), at developing an appropriate Performance Measurement System and at suggesting two tools which can support companies to control and improve the provision of their product-services: i) a dashboard which monitors the current companies’ results through proper and rigorous indicators specifically defined to measure the service performance and to identify the beneath critical processes which need to be (re-)designed; ii) a management cockpit which assesses the impact of future operational decisions on the performance results of a company and identifies the main levers to manoeuvre and adjust like the knobs on a control panel. To achieve the main outcomes of this research, a procedure with logical and specific steps to accomplish has been defined. This procedure is made up of six repeatable steps that can be followed anytime it is required to support a company in designing (or reviewing), controlling and improving the provision of its product-services. The validity and applicability of the whole procedure has been tested with one case study. Companies have progressively realised that complementing industrial goods with the provision of value added services can be an important lever to prosper on those markets affected by weak demand, hard competition and decreasing margins. Among the different forms of service provisions, After-Sales services have acquired a strategic role as a source of revenues and competitive advantage. This transition from product to services calls for the creation of expertise, structures and processes new to the product manufacturer. Companies need to mature the capability to design and deliver services rather than products and develop new knowledge, organizational principles, metrics and incentives which firms do not currently possess. In particular, a fundamental requirement lies in designing specific and appropriate tools to help companies in monitoring their current and future results and the critical trends of the beneath processes.