E-Commerce B2B Influences in the Process of After-Sales Service in Capital Assets Segment: A Case Study in a Representative Heavy Equipment Company

Abstract

Competitive strategies are identified as guiding and divergent points between the companies, which in turn ensures the development of the market. More specifically in the capital assets sector, the need to differentiate into support translates into the requirement in machine availability, because only then can provide the return on investment in the acquisition of equipment. The attention in after sales, which aims to support the product in operating condition, is a long-term relationship and that should be performed with excellence in order to provide safety and confidence and, consequently, customer loyalty. The agility of this support and the provisioning of fast solutions is essential for the consumer. Therefore the hypothesis that e-commerce can add value in this process was tested in a representative company of heavy equipment over 70 years market. The study has been driven through exploratory interviews with professionals who work directly in customer relations the heavy equipment segment for construction. Therefore, the aim of this work was to identify how e-commerce can influence the quality of care, response speed and cost savings during the service in after sales in B2B relationships. The results show that the implementation of an information technology tool, such as electronic commerce, can provide a competitive advantage through a more assertive care and optimized in after sales.