A classification of after-sales services within the capital goods industry

The importance of after-sales services for durable goods has increased over recent years. Nowadays product support is an essential part of the offer within many manufacturing sectors. Objective of this paper is to develop a classification scheme which depicts the state of the art of the service offer in the capital goods sector. It is derived from empirical data collected in a sample of Italian firms and from an analysis of literature on service classification. Using the proposed classification some managerial implications are derived which can provide support for after-sales service organisations and service provision in the capital goods context.