Combining Local and Global Expertise in Technical Services: Case Fujitsu Invia

Abstract

Information and communication technologies enable new means to provide services for customers. The establishment of eServices, call centers and service centers challenges the role of traditional regional offices. This chapter investigates factors that need to be considered when moving service production from regional offices to service centers. The empirical part of the study comprises a longitudinal analysis of the ways Fujitsu Invia, a European IS company within Fujitsu Group, has transformed its service organization. The company has moved a long way from local, site-specific service units to national service centers and ultimately to few global service centers that provide services to thousands of computer users worldwide. In retrospect it can be said that the decision to centralize service production turned out to be very successful. However, the reasons why Fujitsu Invia decided to return part of the end user support closer to customer sites illustrates the complexities associated with centralizing services that were previously produced locally. The chapter provides a simple framework for analyzing a company’s service mix, in order to define the type of service organization needed. Such a framework assists managers in identifying services where production can be centralized and those that need to be produced locally. Perhaps most importantly, the framework and the experiences in the Fujitsu Invia case emphasize that some services require both local presence and global expertise.