The after-sales service for durable consumer goods. Methods for process analysis and empirical application to industrial cases.

Through the consideration of process management as a crucial element in modern competitive environments, the paper addresses the issue of the After Sales Service for durable consumer goods (e.g.: cars, household appliance or consumer electronics goods) adopting a process management approach. After analyzing some relevant definitions of after-sales service in literature, a definition suitable for our research project and the context considered is provided. The typical services offered, the configuration and actors of the after-sales supply chain are singled-out with specific relation to the domestic appliance industry. Then, the role of process management in three research streams (strategy literature, organizational studies and management accounting) is reminded as notable definitions and classifications of business processes in literature are provided. Furthermore, a methodological approach to process analysis and cost measurement in the field is proposed, and results of empirical cases performed in the household appliance industry in Italy are shown. The results reported in this paper are part of the ASAP (After Sales Advanced Planning) national research project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and Education