Water in Service Wasteland
February 5, 2009
Munich – Companies increasingly discover service as a profitable business area. In the field of durable capital goods, leaders in service already generate almost half of their turnover with services. Double digit margins are no exception, as is shown in the study “Winning with Service Excellence” conducted by Barkawi Management Consultants throughout the high-tech and engineering industries. In this study, Barkawi focuses on the success factors within the service business.
Frank Reichert and Michael Springmann comment in the study: “Proactive measures and an elaborated branding of service are advanced stages of services“. Bang & Olufsen serves the experts from Barkawi as an example: the company has its entertainment systems in exclusive hotels examined by technicians before their warranty expires. If necessary, parts are then replaced proactively. From the customer’s viewpoint, this measure does not only reduce the risk of a failure shortly after the warranty expires – the client also feels well cared-for, a fact which will surely influence future buying decisions in a positive way.
“Unfortunately such an „oasis of service“ is not the standard. In most cases customers have to react themselves after the product has failed”, CEO Karim Barkawi sums up the study conducted by his company.
Even durable capital goods are sometimes still offered without any added value. Services have to be purchased separately – some customer-oriented services are not offered at all. Therefore it is not surprising that the only thing a customer often notices about services, is that they are lacking. According to Mr. Barkawi “the field of services meanwhile contributes a great deal to a company’s turnover, no business can actually afford to let its service portfolio shrivel”.
About Barkawi:
Barkawi is an international consulting company with focus on supply chain management and aftermarket services. Its clients mostly come from technology-oriented branches. These include mechanical engineering, high-tech and telecommunication, rail, aerospace, automotive and medical technology. Globally active large corporations with capital-intensive and logistically complex operations belong to Barkawi’s clients, among them companies such as Daimler, Deutsche Bahn, Deutsche Telekom, Electrolux, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Lufthansa, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Philips, Porsche and Vestas.
Barkawi has offices in Munich (Germany), Shanghai (China) and New Delhi (India)
For more information on Barkawi and pictures visit www.barkawi.com
