BestServ - Industrial Service Business Strategy: generic framework and case examples

This report was prepared for the BestServ Forum, a continuation of the BestServ feasibility study conducted in 2003 that was funded by TEKES (The National Technology Agency of Finland) and eight companies. This study introduces the concept of industrial services, identifies the main problem areas associated with industrial service business strategies and presents a generic framework to help in the transition from a pure manufacturer to an industrial service provider. In the first part of this study a theoretical framework based on a literature study is presented in which the key issues related to the transition from a traditional manufacturing strategy to an industrial service business strategy are illustrated. The framework is tested with a case study involving two Finnish and two American companies: Metso Oyj, Vaisala Oyj, Sun Microsystems Inc. and InVision Technologies Inc respectively. Based on the results of the case study, a modified framework is presented.