Identification of service business opportunities in a product centric business.

Value creation in product centric businesses is primarily dependent on having a best in class product catalogue and technology innovations. However, to attain a competitive advantage, market differentiation merely via products is insufficient. Hence, product related services have gained a significant interest among companies lately. Services can create a substantial value in terms of revenue and stronger relationships in the value chain and be beneficial to both the companies and their customers. The objective of this study was to establish methods for a product based company to identify and utilize potential service business opportunities from a resource based view. A framework was developed to help manufacturing firms understand the kind of service offerings they can potentially develop. This study discussed various potential value creating service offerings. For the empirical analysis, three product based companies were chosen for case study. Interviews with product management personnel were conducted. The findings of the study include the key resources and capabilities a product-based company must possess and leverage to acquire in order to venture into service innovation. The study concludes on a note that the sales and project management team must work together as an innovations and transformation group for a company to undergo servitization