Expansion From Products Into Services: A Necessary but Far From Easy Strategic Move (Chinese version)

Expanding from products into services has been a leading trend among manufacturing companies over the last ten years. For industrial or consumer product companies, the idea of selling services in addition to products offer the prospect of higher sales, better margins, more customized solutions and chance to stand out from low-cost competitors. Experience shows, however, that there is also a high risk of failure. Product companies that are thinking of adding services to their offer need to prepare a proper strategic plan that clearly defines the goals, the value proposition, the target market segments and the sources of competitive advantage. This plan will provide a basis for designing the organizational structure and operational means of providing these new services, which is the second potential stumbling block in this strategy.