Digital transformation can help aftermarket sales and service businesses address changing customer expectations and increase competition. Leading companies are embracing new technologies like mobile, analytics and cloud to create better customer experiences, drive operational excellence, and generate new revenue streams. However, many manufacturers have been slow to change. A survey found most aerospace and defense manufacturers' digital services failed to meet customers' expectations. Successfully transforming requires a strategic roadmap and leadership commitment.
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Digital transformation for aftermarket sales & service
Aftermarket sales & service businesses are being disrupted by a rising tide of customer
expectations and increasing competition. Leading companies are addressing the challenge
now.
1. Rapid changes in aftermarket sales &
service. Driven by retail market experiences,
B2B buyers have raised their expectations,
competitive service offerings have expanded
and new entrants are crowding the field. In a
disruptive marketplace, manufacturer
revenues, profitability and customer
satisfaction become increasingly vulnerable.
2. Companies who embraced digital are
more productive and more profitable.
Research shows that by integrating new
technologies, applying new business models
and finding new ways of delivering
aftermarket products and services, digital
leaders not only exceed customer
expectations but also become more profitable
and productive.
Table of Contents
Customers forcing change in the
aftermarket ……………………………...3
New technologies, new opportunities…4
Digital leaders are winning ………….…6
Case: A&D manufacturers ……………. 7
How to start your firm’s digital
transformation …………………………..8
About MM+O ...……………………….. 10
3. Many manufacturers have been slow to
address the changing landscape. For
example, a recent survey of the customers of
A&D manufacturers revealed that most
companies’ customer-facing digital services
failed to meet customer expectations. Other
manufacturing industries show similar trends.
4. Digital transformation is a complex
undertaking that requires a combination
of senior business leadership and
specialist knowledge. Firms successful in
making the digital transformation have CEO
commitment, strategic clarity and shared
vision across the senior leadership team. We
offer a proven structured approach that
enables leadership teams to quickly define
and align around their digital strategy, and
create an actionable transformation roadmap.
Executive Summary
This industry brief outlines the key challenges and opportunities facing the aftermarket businesses of advanced manufacturers. We
discuss the rapid changes to the business landscape affecting manufacturers’ aftermarket operations along with the opportunities for
improvement offered by emerging technologies. We have included a specific example of how some aerospace and defence
manufacturers are failing to meet their customers’ expectations. In conclusion, we outline a proven method to navigate and accelerate
the complex process of defining a digital vision and creating a transformation roadmap.
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The emergence of technologies such as Social,
Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud (SMAC) are
profoundly disrupting long-established business
models in manufacturing aftermarkets and
distribution channels.
Customers expect self-service
Influenced by consumer online shopping,
banking and customer support experiences, B2B
buyers have brought their expectations for
seamless customer experiences to work.
Customers are forcing change in aftermarket sales & service
Customer expectations of aftermarket sales & service have shifted:
retail-like seamless customer experiences are now table-stakes across industries.
66%
of B2B companies say their
customers expect omnichannel
webstore capabilities to research
products and services, and buy
online1
58%
of B2B companies say their
customers want self-service tools
to access customer service on-
line1,2
52%
of B2B companies say their
customers want self-service tools
to access customer service via
smartphone (mobile)1,2
In survey after survey, across industries, B2B
buyers, engineers and technicians say they want
easy, self-service online tools to assist in product
research and configuration, procurement and
customer support.1 Where possible, customers
are prepared to switch suppliers to those who
offer services that are easier to use, open
24/7/365, and available on any device.2
While leading companies are responding to this
shift in customer expectations, those who don’t
will see customer satisfaction decline and risk
customer defections.3
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Manufacturers embracing digital technologies
to transform their aftermarket sales & service
business models have a lot of options to
consider – from customer-facing systems that
enable seamless self-service to embedded
sensors that monitor in-service equipment and
help engineers improve product performance
and reliability.
Few firms can do everything at once, so
embracing digital technology means
strategically selecting where to focus first.
Here are a few areas where leading companies
have made significant improvements.
Create better customer experiences
eCommerce and digital customer self-service
offer companies ways to get closer to
customers by offering seamless personalized
customer support and sales, 24/7/365. For
multi-business companies, this can be
challenging; but for companies that have
successfully deployed omnichannel
capabilities, customer satisfaction is up while
the cost of serving customers is down.4
New technologies offer profitable opportunities
Leading manufacturers are finding new ways to improve operational excellence while
increasing productivity.
Drive operational excellence
New technologies offer opportunities to
strengthen a company’s existing continuous
improvement (CI) initiatives. For example, by
integrating and automating customer-facing
processes, leading companies have
dramatically reduced order-entry errors and
consequent costs associated with short- and
over-shipments. Other firms have improved the
quality of service by implementing best
practices, ensuring consistent quality across
the organization.
Improve productivity
Leading companies rarely undertake digital
transformations for productivity gains alone.
They make strategic investments to increase
operational flexibility, offer higher-value,
differentiated services or enhance customer
service-levels. The resulting productivity
improvements are how change programs are
financed.
In most aftermarket organizations, there are
many opportunities to improve productivity :
Externalize work: Take advantage of your
customers’ labour. They are happy to self-
serve. Give them the tools.
Eliminate duplication: Most aftermarket
organizations suffer from poor integration,
requiring workers to enter and re-enter data
into multiple systems. Without accounting
for the cost of errors, the elimination of
duplicated effort often represents significant
savings.
Automate transaction processing
everywhere: From order-entry through
payment to delivery, many back-office
labour costs are consumed with tasks that
could and should be automated.
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Grow revenues
Facing competition from new entrants to
their markets, some manufacturers and
distributors are advancing aggressively to
protect and expand their aftermarket
market-share by launching B2C-like
eCommerce capabilities.
While initially a defensive strategy, firms
that have implemented these capabilities
are realizing that being the preferred
storefront for their customers offers other
opportunities for revenue growth.
Increase market-share by becoming the
preferred source for parts and parts
information
Broaden catalogue to include kits and
third-party components
Repatriate catalogues previously
discarded or sold-off
Use new techniques – such as auctions
or analytics-based promotions – to sell
slow-moving parts
New revenue streams now coming online
Leading manufacturers are exploring new ways of generating revenues, and new
business models.
Offer new high-value services
Manufacturers increasingly depend on
aftermarket value-added services to drive
margin. Now, embedded technologies and
sensors, along with analytics, enable
manufacturers to offer new high-value
services such as health monitoring,
diagnostics, and maintenance management
programs.
Further, access to fleet-wide performance
information has enabled companies to offer
highly profitable pay-per-hour commercial
programs where the customer pays for asset
maintenance based on usage profile.
Other advanced technologies, such as
augmented reality, are finally becoming
more economical to incorporate into service
instructions, dramatically reducing technical
risk, equipment damage, and labour costs
associated with complex maintenance tasks.
And finally, the data generated by always-
connected assets, performance data fed
back into the product design cycle helps
improve product reliability and improve
overall product quality.
Create new business models
New technologies are emerging daily that
offer manufacturers opportunities to make
disruptive changes to industry business
models. Take, for example, 3D printing.
It’s not unreasonable to expect that, within
the decade, some advanced manufacturers
will ‘print-on-demand’ and ‘print-at-point-of-
need’ parts for aftermarket sales, eliminating
manufacturing, warehousing and logistics
processes. Imagine, for instance, a remote
customer accessing a geometry file from the
equipment OEM and printing a replacement
part or component for an urgent field repair.
This scenario has already played out in
tests; it won’t be too long before some firms
make it business-as-usual.
The first 3D-printed turbine engine. See note 5 for further information.
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Return on digital
Research has shown that digital leaders
outperform their peers across a number of
key financial dimensions: 13% greater
revenue productivity, 50% more profitable,
19% higher market valuations, and 50%
greater revenue growth potential.6
In manufacturing industries, most firms have
been slow to react, however. But those who
have are responding to changing customer
expectations by deploying new technologies
and processes that enable step-changes in
productivity, revenue growth and customer
satisfaction.
Some firms are experimenting with
advanced, integrated asset performance
management, trending and analytics
capabilities. Others are figuring out how to
leverage Big Data capabilities to improve
product performance and preventative
maintenance regimes across large in-service
fleets.
Digital leaders are winning
Manufacturers who have incorporated Digital into their aftermarket sales & service are
more likely to grow revenues and increase profitability.
* Note: Average performance difference from firms in each quadrant versus the average
of all firms in the same industry sector for the 184 publicly-traded firms in the sample.
ARP = Average Revenue per Asset unit, or total revenue divided by number of units of
resource. EBIT = Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.
Adapted from WESTERMAN, George, et alia: “The Digital Advantage: How Digital
Leaders Outperform Their Peers in Every Industry”; MIT Center for Digital Business and
Capgemini Consulting; and from Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business
Transformation; Harvard Business Review Press, 2014.
Digital leaders outperform
their peers across a number
of key financial dimensions6
13%
greater revenue productivity
(revenue-to-asset ratio or ARP
(Average Revenue Product))
50%
more profitable
19%
higher market valuation
2X
more likely to achieve increased
rage of revenue and profit
growth7
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The slow arrival of customer self-service
With few exceptions, most manufacturers and
distributors have been slow to adopt new
customer-facing technologies to drive business
performance.
For example, a recent survey of airlines and FBOs
shows 13 of 17 aircraft and engine manufacturers
failing to deliver basic online experiences
customers now expect.4
Aftermarket sales & service represents a large and
growing share of these companies’ revenues and
profits. Leading companies are investing
aggressively, not only to address customer
demands, but also to take advantage of new
technologies that will enable new services, help
improve product performance and generate higher
levels of value.
Aerospace & Defence companies fail to make the grade
A&D manufacturers fail to meet customer expectations for self-service eCommerce and
support tools. Digital leaders are making investments to change the game.
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How to start your digital transformation
Proven, structured methods accelerate executive alignment, ensure strategic completeness
and coherence.
Step 1
Assessment
Step 2
Identify opportunities
Step 3
Vision &
Roadmap
Any transformation can be a daunting undertaking,
especially in environments where sustained management
attention is difficult to secure.
Few executives would admit they are able to define a
compelling vision and roadmap in an afternoon or over a
weekend retreat. Data-driven decision making requires
research and analysis, framed by questions relevant to the
business and meaningful to the executives. Using proven,
data-driven methods helps facilitate senior management
alignment:
■ Step 1: Assessment: Setting well defined scope and
context for any transformation is key. Then, rigorous
capabilities assessment, benchmarking and customer
input is critical to defining the value levers on which the
executive will focus.
■ Step 2: Identify opportunities: Quantifying and
prioritizing improvement opportunities is the next critical
step. Top-down/bottom-up analysis and risk weighting
helps increase confidence to ensure opportunities are not
oversold.
■ Step 3: Vision & roadmap: Improvement opportunities
are sequenced with other enterprise initiatives,
prerequisites or constraints, fully integrating the proposed
change program into the corporate roadmap.
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Phase 1 – Assessment, Vision & Roadmap
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Digital opportunities for the aftermarket
What does digital mean for your aftermarket sales & service?
Digital value levers
New SMAC technologies (Social, Mobile,
Analytics, Cloud) offer a broad spectrum of
opportunities for aftermarket sales &
service operations to improve business
performance.
Reduce cost of service delivery while
increasing customer satisfaction
Leading companies are figuring out how
to improve customer service levels while
reducing operating costs. For example,
enabling customer self-service across its
aftermarket operations, a large
aerospace firm achieved 24/7/365
customer service across all business
and customer support lines, while
reducing internal labour costs associated
with handling customer requests.
Customers welcome service level
improvements because they are now
able to find answers quickly and easily,
or perform transactions that would
otherwise require an email or phone call.
Reduce transaction processing costs
by automating core processes
Many companies have failed to complete
the automation of back-office value
streams such as order-to-cash, often
because they support multiple business
units with multiple interfaces to the
customer. Deciding on a primary
customer interface for order placement
and payments, for example, allows firms
to streamline and automate core
processes.
Increase aftermarket revenues
Grow market share of aftermarket parts
sales, repair and overhaul business and
increase the value of technical support
services.
Over 60% of business buyers now start
their spare parts research online. Over
70% of buyers will purchase from an
online catalogue rather than through
another channel, if they have the option.
For OEM/OPMs, this trend means that
distributors and new pure-play
eCommerce entrants are gaining
advantage. Even in the dealer- and
distributor-rich automotive industry, 50-
60% of online orders go to pure-play
eCommerce parts distributors.
Enable new sources of revenue
New technologies are enabling
manufacturers to enhance the value of
their offerings by integrating digital
services tightly with their products.
Leading companies are already offering
performance monitoring, trending and
alert services. Others offer integrated
fleet and maintenance management
services.
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What we do
MM+O is a management consulting firm
specializing in strategy and business
transformation of customer-facing operations
for manufacturers and distributors.
We work with the leadership teams of
advanced manufacturers to measurably
improve the performance of their aftermarket
businesses.
We have a singular focus: enabling our clients
to deliver superior performance in their
aftermarket businesses.
Operational efficiency
IT strategy for aftermarket businesses
A/M supply chain optimization
Customer experience design
Mobile-enabled field operations
Contact/Command center design
Business transformation
Technical instruction
About Us
MM+O works with senior leadership teams to imagine and implement better ways to
deliver aftermarket services that both delight their customers and increase profitability.
To discover how our
industry expertise can
help increase your
customer satisfaction,
productivity and
profitability, contact:
John Mertl
john.mertl@mmando.com
+1 416 550-9872
Why MM+O
The consultants at MM+O have dedicated their
careers to improving the customer experiences
and the performance of manufacturing and
distribution businesses.
Using proven, structured methods, we work
with senior leadership teams to identify and
implement business improvement
opportunities that deliver quantifiable results.
We are experts in aftermarket, service
strategy, digital business transformation,
industrial design, leading practices in product
support, aftermarket business systems, and
aftermarket IT systems.
We work our clients’ senior leadership teams
to imagine and implement new and better
ways to deliver aftermarket services that both
delight their customers and increase
profitability.
Our clients include Fortune 500 firms across a
number of industries, including aerospace &
defence, heavy equipment, discrete
manufacturing, electronics and
semiconductors.
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Partner Profile John Mertl
Specialties
Strategy & business transformation, enterprise
architecture, supply chain, CRM, ERP, B2B e-commerce,
mobile, digital services, sales and customer service
operations, omnichannel, customer service, supply chain,
product support operations, outsourcing, TOGAF
practitioner
Industry expertise
Aerospace & defene, advanced manufacturing,
telecommunications, mining & exploration, and federal
public sectors
Select clients
Accenture, AT&T, Bell, Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton,
CSC, Department of Defense, Department of National
Defence, FTQ, Government of Canada, Government of
Ontario, General Dynamics, Hitachi Semiconductor,
Internal Revenue Service, John Deere, Lockheed Martin,
McDonnell-Douglas, Pratt & Whitney Canada, RBC Royal
Bank Group, Texas Instruments, TMX Group, UNESCO,
UNICEF, United Nations, Verizon, Vodafone
Contact
City: Toronto
Country: Canada
Mobile: +1 416 550 9872
Email: john.mertl@mmando.com
John Mertl is a senior strategy and technology
consultant who brings over 20 years of consulting and
operating experience in helping the leadership teams
of Fortune 500 firms, public sector organizations,
start-ups and NGOs develop and implement
strategies that improve competitiveness, increase
customer satisfaction, grow revenues, and optimize
operations.
He is expert in framing and launching complex, large-
scale, technology-intensive business transformations
for engineering-intensive companies. He specializes
in customer-facing operations, value-streams,
technologies and platforms, including: ERP, CRM,
eCommerce, enterprise content management,
technical instruction production & delivery, customer
support, product configurators, marketing automation,
payment systems, mobile, omnichannel platforms and
organizations, and collaboration platforms.
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Company Stats
Company: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
Industry: Aerospace
Products: Aircraft engines
A/M Catalogue: Millions of parts
Footprint: 30 service facilities
Geography: 200+ countries
Customer/Operators: 12,000 (approx.)
Customer/Contacts: 40,000 (approx.)
Engines In-Service: 52,000 (approx.)
Employees: 8,800 (approx.)
Program + Program Stats
Business Processes: 50+
Function Points: 3,000+
Interfaces: 50+
Use Cases: 100+
User-types (personas): 12
Localization: English (US)
External Users: 70,000
Internal Users: 500
Concurrent Sessions: 3,000+
Platforms: SAP, MS-Dynamics, Oracle,
MS-SharePoint
eCommerce: Custom
Frameworks/Languages: .NET, ABAP; Angular
Reliability: High-Avail. (5-9s)
Vendors: Deloitte, Accenture, CSC,
Thoughtworks, Avanade, and
others.
Implementation Team: 120+ (at peak)
PMO: 4
Governance: PMT, C-Level
Opportunity
Baseline aftermarket operating model could not
scale to meet increasing customer demand while
achieving customer satisfaction, market and
financial goals.
Executive aligned on vision and strategy to
transform businesses to omnichannel, customer-
self-service enabled service operation, and to
lead market in digital service delivery by 2017.
Challenges
Large number of executives and line
management to be aligned on vision for future-
state operating model
Highly-complex global business, encompassing
seven unique business lines, IT, Finance, and
Compliance
Large, heterogeneous customer base
50+ core business processes
Large product portfolio, with large installed base
Internal IT capabilities fully consumed supporting
baseline operations
Large aftermarket product catalogue (millions of
parts); new and reconditioned
Regulated environment (TC/FAA, ITAR & EAR)
Mission-critical, high-availability systems
Timeline
2011 Capabilities Assessment & Vision
2012 Blueprint & Roadmap
2013 Requirements & Pre-implementation
Planning; RFP & Implementation
vendors selected
2014 Implementation, Organizational Change
Program
2015 Implementation, Organizational Change
Program, and Cutover
Results
System and business organization opened
Beta in fall 2015. Successive end-user
customer onboarding is ongoing
100%+ of baseline scope delivered
Forecast program ROI on track
Positive initial end-user response &
acceptance
Our Roles
Strategy, Blueprint & Roadmap development
Program chief architect
Co-led program w/ P&WC from concept
through completion
Aftermarket business transformation: sales and
aftermarket services
Case Study
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F-117, U2, F-22 ILS
Technical Support
System: IETM
Design/Build
Solution Architecture, Implementation
eChannel Program:
Aftermarket Service
Digital Transformation
Chief Architect, Program Co-Lead
Commercial Aircraft
Technical Support
System (Components)
Solution Architecture, Implementation
Commercial Aircraft
Technical Support
System (Components)
Solution Architecture, Implementation
Semiconductor
Technical Data
Publishing System
(Components)
Solution Architecture
Semiconductor
Technical Data
Publishing System
(Components)
Solution Architecture
R&D Knowledge
Management System
Solution Architecture, Implementation
Technical Publishing &
Knowledge
Management System
Solution Architecture
Selected Projects
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SaaS Consumer-
Deployed VAS
Applications
Vendor Project Executive
SaaS Consumer-
Deployed VAS
Applications
Vendor Project Executive
SaaS Consumer-
Deployed VAS
Applications
Vendor Project Executive
SaaS Consumer-
Deployed VAS
Applications
Vendor Project Executive
SaaS Consumer-
Deployed VAS
Applications
Vendor Project Executive
SaaS Consumer-
Deployed VAS
Applications
Vendor Project Executive
SaaS Consumer-
Deployed VAS
Applications
Vendor Project Executive
SaaS Consumer-
Deployed VAS
Applications
Vendor Project Executive
Selected Projects
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Collaboration & ECM
System to Support
Secure Multi-party
Negotiations
Platform Vendor & Implementation
Selected Projects
Maine State Legislature
Legislation drafting,
engrossing,
management &
distribution system
Architecture, Project Executive
DoD DoA
Collaboration & ECM
System for 300K
Service-Members
Enterprise
Collaboration & ECM
System
Collaboration & ECM
System to Support
Secure Multi-party
Negotiations
Platform Vendor & Implementation
Collaboration & ECM
System to Support
Secure Multi-party
Negotiations
Platform Vendor & Implementation
Multiple collaboration &
ECM system to support
Secure Multi-Party
Negotiations
Platform Vendor & Implementation Platform Vendor & ImplementationPlatform Vendor & Implementation
Enterprise
Collaboration &
Knowledge
Management System
Architecture, Project Executive
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