For a premium global automobile manufacturer, over 70 per cent of the revenue comes from servicing.
Aspiration
“It is an aspiration for many manufacturing companies to understand the customers and that has become a necessity now,” says Mairi Macintyre, principal teaching fellow at the University of Warwick.
Traditional manufacturing companies need to focus on building long-term relationship with customers, understanding their needs and delivering it, she says.
Ms. Macintyre, who was in the city to launch the services division of Ekki Pumps, told The Hindu that companies need to make what the customers want rather than selling what they make. There are several ways, such as analysing big data or digitalisation, by which the manufacturers can study the functioning of the product and making it better, meeting the expectations of the customers.
The manufacturers should give the expertise, the entire solution to the buyers of their product. Offering products online is only an avenue for sales. The digital platform is another option that can be used to service the customers better.
Opportunities
Be it pump manufacturers, automobile component makers or tier-two, tier-three suppliers to larger companies, they need to recognise the opportunities in understanding the customers better. Any component needs to be serviced and maintained. If they do not address these requirements, some other venture would make tap the opportunity, she says.
