Success Factors for Remote Service Systems

Abstract

Remote services are services enabled by information and communication components and therefore do not require the physical presence of a service technician at the service object to provide a task. The impact of remote service on the capital goods industry has been increasingly significant over the recent years. Still many companies struggle with developing and implementing successful business models for remote service. This leads to a lot of unaccomplished benefits for the customer as well as for the companies themselves. A survey throughout companies in the industrial machine and plant production sector was conducted in order to determine what successful companies do differently from those that cannot effectively implement remote service business models. The study presented in this chapter identifies key success factors of companies that effectively implemented remote services for their products. In order to identify the successful companies a scale for measuring remote service success was developed. Only by the use of this scale further findings regarding the success factors were possible. Key findings include the fact that successful companies actively market their remote service to their customers. Generally they try to approach their remote service business from the operating company’s perspective.