The Connected Aftermarket: How Industrial Companies Can Make Services Smarter
In recent years, economic uncertainties have driven industrial companies to seek out new streams of revenue—ones that aren't subject to the vagaries of supply chains, extreme weather, and geopolitical matters. For many, that new stream has been aftermarket services.
Providing services outside of the pressures involved in equipment production and sales is what makes aftermarket sales so attractive—and profitable. The average operating margin from aftermarket services globally is two to three times higher than the operating margin from new equipment sales. And with digital technologies and smart operations driving new opportunities—and demands—for customer service, now is a good time for industrial companies to explore or expand aftermarket services.
Aftermarket sales can satisfy the expectation of customer-centricity. With the proliferation of smart technologies, customer experience and seamless interactions are table stakes for any business-to-consumer (B2C) enterprise—and that approach is increasingly extending itself to the business-to-business (B2B) market.
And with good reason: 88% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as the product itself. Even more compelling, customer-focused organizations report a 49% increase in sales or revenue, a 45% increase in profitability, and a 70% increase in customer loyalty and satisfaction.
One of the ways to build out customer-centricity—and therefore, aftermarket services—is connectivity. That is, assets that are connected through digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and Generative AI (GenAI)—most of which manufacturers have already incorporated into their operations. But these technologies can take aftermarket services to new levels. According to a Deloitte Consulting LLP survey, 70% of companies that have implemented digital solutions improved their customer experience.
Drawing on these technologies can enable industrial companies to develop a connected aftermarket—which can extend the value chain beyond the factory to the full lifecycle of the product. It can connect vast networks of assets, people, and materials to create an integrated system that is in a better position to offer good customer experience.
Working like a B2C in a B2B environment is likely a new world for many industrial companies. They often don't have the data—due to legacy systems and siloed operations—to understand their customers and can lose track of a product once its sold. Industrial companies' linear mindset based on traditional production lines can make it hard to stand up aftermarket services—which don't necessarily fit into a predictable sequence. This also means there can be an overall lack of experience in building out customer-centric solutions.
To deliver aftermarket services that offer the customer-centricity of a B2C and take advantage of today's connected and advanced technologies, industrial companies should consider the following actions:
Digital technologies such as IoT, sensors, machine learning, and GenAI have fueled the proliferation of smart operations in manufacturing and continue to drive gains in productivity and efficiency. These technologies and the aftermarket service they enable can help industrial companies form a buffer — while offering an improved customer experience which could lead to loyalty.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Fed Daly eyes fall for possible policy shift
-- San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly voiced a cautiously optimistic outlook for monetary policy and economic conditions in a wide-ranging interview on CNBC, citing signs of balanced progress on both inflation and employment. While acknowledging the potential inflationary effects from tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty, Daly affirmed that 'the economy remains in a good place, and policies in a good place.' The May inflation report offered encouragement, according to Daly, particularly in the housing and services sectors, where price moderation has continued. 'The May data just confirmed an ongoing pattern… we saw inflation continue to come down,' she said, calling the developments 'great news, both for our inflation mandate, but also for American families.' Daly outlined three scenarios for how inflation might evolve during the summer, ranging from a delayed spike to muted pass-through effects due to corporate mitigation strategies. 'We're just going to have to wait and see and collect more information,' she noted, adding that feedback from national businesses showed 'a little more optimism, cautious optimism.' Asked about the likelihood of a rate cut in July, Daly signaled a preference for a more patient approach, saying, 'For me, I look more to the fall, and by then we'll have quite a bit more information.' She emphasized that unless the labor market saw meaningful and persistent weakening, immediate easing would be unlikely. On labor availability, Daly said wage growth has remained consistent with long-run economic fundamentals, and firms report improving conditions for hiring. 'Right now, we haven't seen a broad impact… firms are telling me that they have an easier time finding workers today than they did just last year.' Artificial intelligence, another emerging economic variable, has yet to disrupt job markets in a material way, according to Daly's discussions with business leaders. 'They repeat to us that this is not a way to reduce their payrolls as much as… to augment their payrolls,' she said, noting that employers are using AI to increase productivity rather than cut staff. Daly was measured in her assessment of using tariffs as a rationale for policy shifts, saying, 'I never trust just the theory. There's really three things you have to look at: the theory helps us, history also helps us, and then you have to talk to people.' While confident in current policy settings, Daly warned against complacency amid labor market softening, saying, 'If you ask me where we are in the labor market, I would say we're at a point where additional softening could easily turn into weakening, which I don't want to see.' She cautioned against policy inaction based on inflation fears that may never materialize. Related articles Fed Daly eyes fall for possible policy shift Fed keeps rates steady, but sees fewer cuts next year on stagflation concerns WATCH LIVE: Fed Chair Jerome Powell Holds Press Conference Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Analog Devices Poised for Breakout as Cantor Sees $270 Upside on Industrial Surge
Analog Devices (ADI, Financials) received a bullish upgrade from Cantor Fitzgerald, which raised its rating to Overweight and hiked the price target to $270 from $250, citing the company's strong positioning in the industrial sector. Shares last traded at $227.44, giving the stock a potential upside of nearly 19%. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 10 Warning Signs with ADI. Cantor called Analog Devices best-in-class within the analog semiconductor group and its top long-term pick in the space. The firm emphasized ADI's outsized industrial exposure as a strategic advantage as the sector enters a cyclical recovery. The new price target reflects 30x projected 2026 earnings per share. The semiconductor giant, valued at $112.87 billion, also recently earned strong credit ratingsMoody's (A2), Fitch (A), and S&P (A-)on its latest senior notes, reflecting solid financials and robust liquidity, with over $2 billion in cash and a $3 billion undrawn credit facility. In addition, ADI launched the OpenGMSL Association to standardize in-vehicle connectivity and reported 15% year-over-year growth in its automotive segment. Stifel analysts reiterated a Buy rating, highlighting momentum in auto demand, while Truist maintained a Hold rating and trimmed its target to $219 due to macro concerns, including tariffs and earnings call ambiguities. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Filecoin is building the 'Airbnb for file storage', says exec
Filecoin is building the 'Airbnb for file storage', says exec originally appeared on TheStreet. In a digital world where nearly all web data flows through Amazon, Google, or Microsoft, Marta Belcher and Filecoin are flipping the script. 'Think of it like Airbnb for file storage,' said Belcher, President and Chair of the Filecoin Foundation, in a recent conversation with TheStreet Roundtable. 'People all over the world can rent out unused storage space on their hardware to store encrypted shards of data—securely, privately, and without relying on centralized entities.' At its core, Filecoin is building what Belcher calls 'foundational technology for the next generation of the web,' offering a decentralized alternative to cloud giants like AWS. The goal? Resilience, security, and control—values often missing from the current data ecosystem. When most investors hear the word 'crypto,' they think price charts, digital assets, and decentralized finance. But according to Marta Belcher, President and Chair of the Filecoin Foundation, that's only scratching the surface. 'Crypto isn't just about finance,' Belcher said. 'The real innovation is in programmable money.' Filecoin is showing what that means—starting with decentralized file storage. At first glance, the network looks like a Web3 challenger to Amazon Web Services, allowing anyone in the world to rent out unused storage space and get paid in FIL tokens. But it's the how that's revolutionary: payments on Filecoin are automated, granular, and permissionless. 'You can write a smart contract to pay a storage provider in real time, based on their uptime and performance,' said Belcher. 'Or pay a songwriter a fraction of a cent for every second a song is streamed. These kinds of micro-transactions were never possible before crypto.' It's a bold reframe of what blockchain technology can do. Instead of speculative hype or abstract decentralization, Filecoin is highlighting a tangible use case: letting people earn, store, and interact with data and payments in programmable ways—no middlemen required. 'Web3 lets us build systems where rules are baked into code,' Belcher added. 'That opens up entirely new business models—ones where creators, consumers, and infrastructure providers are all directly connected.' As regulators and investors continue to debate the future of digital assets, Filecoin is already shipping it. For Belcher and her team, the message is simple: crypto isn't a bet on finance. It's a bet on the programmable economy. Filecoin is building the 'Airbnb for file storage', says exec first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 20, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
