A structured comparison of the service offer and the service supply chain of manufacturers competing in the capital goods and durable consumer goods industries

Abstract

The increasing importance of the service offer for manufacturing companies has lead to the development of different service chains and service package in different industries. The main aim of this paper is to provide a structured comparison of the service offer and configuration in the capital goods and durable consumer goods industries. Even though the paper is mainly of a conceptual nature, the discussion is based on empirical findings collected. Main trends of the service provision within the corresponding supply chains are also highlighted and some guidelines for the service development are introduced. © 2010 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.