The secret life of factory service centers
For a lucrative new source of revenues, profits, and market information, manufacturers need look no further than their own repair shops.
A few miles off Interstate 696, outside Detroit, the factory service center of a consumer goods company blends easily into the commercial landscape. The seven people who work at the customer support site sell parts, refurbished products, and accessories; repair products; and answer service and maintenance inquiries. Until recently, the manufacturer paid scant attention to this place or to its whole network of factory service centers, which were seen merely as a cost of doing business—the price a company pays to support products that eventually wear out or break. Then a new division manager discovered that despite years of neglect, the centers were earning margins upward of 20 percent, more than twice those of the core business. Now the company is planning to open centers in ten new locations across......
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Approximate Word Count: 2755
Approximate Pages: 11 (260 words per double-spaced page) |