Introducción: La otra educación que era posible ahora es necesaria

Servicing products is an increasingly important part of the business. Manufacturers of everything from elevators and freezers to security systems and transportation equipment—

products built to last—find that revenues from after-sales product installation, configuration, maintenance, and repairs are 30 percent or more of their total revenues, and the proportion is increasing. Some raise prices to achieve a quick boost in earnings without understanding the competitive implications and then watch as profits fall. Others introduce new offerings but fail to tailor the service-delivery model, only to see costs escalate and margins shrink. Part of the problem is that a services business is too often regarded as the poor stepchild of the core product group, so service managers aren’t given the resources to develop the right systems, tools, and incentives to maximize returns. However, a handful of companies are now capturing tremendous value from their services businesses by taking a more careful, fact-based approach to designing and pricing services and by making the task a priority of senior management. The BMW is one among them in the automobile sector. Customers are segmented according to their service needs rather than their size, industry, or type of equipment. These companies then develop the pricing, contracting, and monitoring capabilities to support the cost-effective delivery of the services. When customers are segmented according to what they need—and not just industry or size—they tend to fall into one of at least three common categories. The "risk avoiders" are looking for coverage to avoid big bills but care less about other elements, such as response times. The "basic-needs customers" want a standard level of service with basic inspections and periodic maintenance.

And the "hand-holders" need high levels of service, often with quick and reliable response times, and are willing to pay for the privilege. Customers that want maximum flexibility and a low financial commitment usually prefer time-and-materials billing: the company typically performs work as needed and charges an hourly rate for labor and a mark-up on parts and materials. While charges for time and-materials service are usually higher because service providers have no guarantee of consistent repeat business, local service competitors with lower overhead and labor costs usually exert some downward price pressure. With this type of package, service providers have little incentive to pursue productivity improvements that could lead to cost savings in the long run.

Customers that need greater predictability tend to demand full-coverage service contracts that work like extended warranties: they provide specific maintenance and repair services over a specified period, typically ranging from one to five years, for a specified price. For the service provider, this can be the most profitable pricing model, but it can also be the riskiest, especially if it involves servicing a competitor’s products. Not knowing the repair history and unique service requirements of equipment can cause costs to spiral upward. The age and condition of equipment matter a lot. In one case, the cost of servicing a seven-year-old supermarket refrigeration system was 30 percent more than the cost of servicing a three-year-old system. Several of the company’s sales reps didn’t consider the importance of the equipment’s age and priced both service contracts at the same level. The companies that handle services most successfully have developed terms-and-conditions packages that share risk with the customer: clauses cover co-payments to reduce nuisance calls, deductibles on major repairs, and limits on covered consumables, such as fluids and batteries. Finally, every

contract, wherever possible should include terms for automatic renewals, automatic annual price increases, and higher labor rates for overtime repairs.

BMW, Honda, and Toyota, among other companies, begin with a strong brand that imparts sales momentum to each model. Brands that are weak—because their products have acquired a reputation for shoddy workmanship, their designs are not evocative, or their models bear little relationship to one another—cannot pursue this top-down approach. But a company stands a good chance of selling more cars and, step by step, of rehabilitating the brand if managers take pains to match each model to the consumer segments most likely to be interested in it, identify and overcome the obstacles that keep browsers from becoming purchasers, and emphasize both the functional and the process and relationship benefits of the model in question. BMW Direct is an initiative of BMW (GB) to help selected company car fleet buyers streamline their service for employees. BMW Direct is a web based, fully personalized, car configuration and ordering system for the purchase of new BMWs. This highly efficient rules based web application delivers a level of information previously unavailable outside of a showroom. The BMW Direct solution provides users with the ability to view details on all eligible cars online and then go on to configure them against a full menu of accessories. BMW Direct is truly 'CRM' compliant, providing two-way communication via automated alerts and e-mails and incorporating a Contact Centre to ensure immediate access to trained product advisors. Users can track online the status of their individual orders whether by web, phone, fax or email. The call centre functionality includes phone and e-campaign generation, customer enquiry handling and profiling to customised promotions.

Post-sales support is delivered using a thin client solution, (using Citrix) to BMWs contact centre in Croydon and order management centre in Bracknell in UK.

B

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(1916-2001)

Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) is founded on 7th March 1916 and incorporates Otto-Werke. BMW acquires the BFW plant in 1922, but Bayerische Motoren Werke continues to date its foundation from the founding of BFW. Even its very first product, the aircraft engine IIIa, bore the stamp of innovation in 1917. Head engineer Max Friz constructed a high-altitude carburettor which allowed the air fuel mixture to adapt itself to its external surroundings. This counteracts the engine's impaired performance in thin air at high altitudes and gives it an edge over its competition. On 21st July 1917, Rapp-Motorenwerke is renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH. The ongoing war means that the small company grows quickly. With expansion in mind, the firm builds a spacious plant right next to the Oberwiesenfeld airfield in Munich and continues to build engines for army planes until 1918.

In 1918, BMW starts producing engines for use on and off road, including the first M 2 B 15 flat boxer engine. The neighbouring aircraft manufacturer, Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke, develops the "Flink", a light single-cylinder motorcycle, and the more powerful Helios with a longitudinal BMW engine. After relocating to the premises of Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke in 1922, BMW starts to redesign the motor bicycles. Its long experience with aircraft engines means the BMW AG foundry has an exceptional reputation at the start of the Twenties.

Unsurpassed expertise in the field of light alloys is the key to the success of the R 37 and R 39 engines, the first standard-production engines with aluminum cylinder heads. Following

on from the BMW 132 and the Bramo engines, series production of the BMW 801 aircraft engine starts in 1940. By the end of the war, over 20,000 of these 14-cylinder double radial engines will have been built in Munich, Allach, Berlin and Dürrerhof, all of which are fitted with a type of mechanical computer for automatic tuning.

BMW enters in the automobile manufacturing in 1951. A spacious sedan to match the highest expectations, the curvy, full-bodied design of the BMW 501 earns it the nickname of

"Baroque angel". With the Eisenach plant now under Soviet control, it is also the first BMW automobile to be built completely in Munich. From 1954 onwards, it is joined by the 502, which possesses the world's first V8 light-alloy engine. The company designed in less than a year during 1956 the BMW 507, a very exclusive sports car: only a total of 252 are built.

Most of the work is carried out by hand, customized to meet each buyer's wishes. Its timeless good looks, with a sleek silhouette, supple curves and expansive bonnet, guarantee that it remains the embodiment of the dream car to this day. In 1965, the preliminary contract of purchase for the Allach plant, concluded five years earlier by MAN, comes into effect and BMW Triebwerkbau GmbH is passed over to its new owner. BMW withdraws from jet engine construction for 25 years, focusing instead on car and motorcycle production. 1975 was the year of start for the manufacture of new series of luxury cars. Only a few 3 series models are initially launched, but over time the number grows to around thirty - from the 316g to the M3. The 3 Series is a global success - about seven million cars are sold worldwide over the coming twenty-five years. Each one combines compactness with exceptional handling and can, if desired, deliver power that is second to none.

1978 sees the launch of the R 45 and R 65 for first-time riders, with the R 100 RT topping off the BMW program. In 1980, the launch of the R 80 G/S is a global premiere for heavy touring endures. The BMW Monolever, a single swing-arm rear fork, causes a sensation. In 1981, a heavy-duty R 80 G/S wins the Paris - Dakar Rally, the most demanding race in the world. In 1985, the BMW K 75 is launched: a three-cylinder motorcycle with a horizontal 750 cc water-cooled engine. It bridges the gap between traditional two-cylinder boxers and the new four-cylinder engines. Around the world, these reliable three-cylinder models are the vehicle of choice for police authorities. A BMW off-road vehicle with four wheel drive existed as early as 1939, but the 325iX goes into production in 1985 as BMW's first four wheel drive automobile. The 5 Series follows this example soon after with the 525iX sedan and touring, establishing BMW in yet another market niche. The BMW X5 marks the initial high point of BMW's impressive four wheel drive creations. In the same year BMW Technik GmbH is founded as a think tank, free from the strictures of standard production. Independent of the company's day-to-day business, top BMW designers, engineers and technicians work here on new plans and ideas for the BMW vehicles of tomorrow. One of the first important projects BMW Technik GmbH embarks on is the Z1 roadster: small-scale production starts in 1988.

In the mid-1990s, BMW and Royce plc set up the joint company BMW Rolls-Royce GmbH (BRR). Headquartered in Oberursel, this company soon employs a staff of 1,000 to work on gas turbines and aircraft engine components. BRR starts development work on a new generation of engines for short-haul aircraft. A car as suave as literature's smoothest spy - this is how cinema-goers are first introduced to the BMW Z3 in 1995. The classic principles of the two-seater roadster fuse with avant-garde sports car design, the ultimate in driving pleasure and a complete range of safety features. It is an irresistible combination: the Z3 becomes an international by-word for BMW's commitment to the art of car making. The

BMW 5 Series is the first mass-produced car in the world to have a light alloy chassis. Front axle, multi-link integral rear suspension and brake calipers are all made of aluminum. Not only does it reduce weight, this material also offers the advantage of reduced unsuspended mass, another thing that leads to greater safety and improved driving comfort.

Keeping up with the new millennium, BMW is the first manufacturer to develop a navigation system exclusively for motorcycles, fitting it into the K 1200 LT. Twelve years after the first motorcycle ABS, BMW retains its lead in motorcycle safety standards with its latest innovation, the new integral braking system. The Z8 is a roadster for connoisseurs: its unitary aluminium spaceframe, high-performance V8 engine and brilliant design serve to make this homage to the BMW 507 a firm favourite without further ado. Capable of going from 0 to 100 km/h in less than just five seconds, the Z8 quickly assumes pole position in the top-of-the-range sports car market in the year 2000. In following year 2001 BMW chairman of the board, Prof. Joachim Milberg, officially opens the new Hams Hall engine plant near Birmingham. Considered to be one of the most modern in the world, the production unit is capable of building up to 400,000 four-cylinder engines a year.