Customer Information Driven After Sales Service ... - RePub

Chapter 1
Introduction
What are the benefits of using customer related information to drive after sales service
management? In a very broad sense, this question summarizes the main focus of this
thesis. After sales service is defined as customer support following the purchase of a
product or service. It is usually formalized by a warranty or service agreement between
the service provider and the customer. By providing after sales services, the company facilitates
the customer’s attainment of the initially perceived value of the product (during
purchase).
A rapidly changing business environment, increased use of technology, higher market
competition, and higher potential profits in after sales service has changed the way
companies view after sales services. It is no longer treated as a cost center, but instead,
has become a major profit source with profitability ranging up to 45% of corporate
revenues for many business environments (McCluskey et al., 2002). This transition is
parallel to the growth of service contracts or service level agreements in the after sales
service business, where a company offers an array of service contracts with varying service
guarantees to its geographically dispersed customer base.
In this thesis, we study after sales service management and highlight the benefits of
utilizing customer information to drive the operations management of after sales service.
We argue that utilizing detailed customer information to provide responsive and timely
service to each customer according to their service agreement, is beneficial to the service
provider as well as the customers. The recommended approach results in increased prof-
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