Skills gaps are the biggest barrier to business transformation around the world, and most of the global workforce will need re-skilling within the next 5 years”. This is the conclusion from the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs Report for 2025. Employers are faced with a dilemma of re-skilling existing employees to take on these new roles without causing skills gaps in their existing workforce, which are still essential for delivering customer service. Our research provides a comprehensive understanding of the topic, combining rich qualitative detail with quantitative validation.

Digital service transformation is high on the agenda across many industries—but why do so many initiatives stall, and what sets the successful ones apart? This report offers a grounded, cross-sector view into the real-world dynamics of digital service transformation, combining findings from three in-depth interviews and validation through the Service Business Forum.

Service business plays a crucial role in overall business success, driving both revenue and profitability growth. The benchmarked top 25 service organisations show over proportional revenue growth (+1-3% points to business growth) and higher margins (+5-11% points to business margin) in comparison to the overall business. The result is similar for our 3 different peer groups along the maturity model:

• Reactive (classic service portfolio, i.e., spare parts, repairs and field service)
• Predictive (digital, predictive services)
• Proactive (Business related services) with higher maturity levels showing better results

In this forum, we explored strategies for successfully selling digital services, demonstrated their often intangible value, and built enduring customer relationships. We also examined how leveraging data and digital capabilities boosted the impact of service development, marketing, and sales efforts. Key discussion topics included:

• Key success factors in thriving with Digital Services
• Harnessing data and digital capabilities to strengthen service marketing & sales strategies
• Identifying high-potential digital services – Prioritizing opportunities based on market demand, brand alignment, and internal strengths
• Crafting compelling service value propositions

Rethinking the customer service means to rethink the customer journey, to manage the customer touch points but ensuring that the customer experience will be positive and stay positive after digitalization of your Service Business. The following topics have been discussed during the event:

• How to use technology to optimize customer service experience?
• What are the challenges to manage and optimize customer touch points?
• What are the benefits of adopting a Digital model that enhances Customer Service?

To grasp the full potential that AI can bring to a manufacturing business, it requires more than merely considering the theoretical consideration of AI capabilities available in the market. Instead, it necessitates real implementation and usage of AI. During the event we had discussed the possibilities and applications of AI, focusing on key themes like:

• What AI functionalities are already included in leading field service management applications?
• How can we optimally implement them to accomplish measurable service business results?

The challenge of maintaining a skilled and engaged workforce to be able to meet service delivery requirements, and more importantly, the customer needs, has been a top 5 issue since technology service began, however it seems that the issue is much more acute right now! More recently many service companies have moved to a "remote by default" business model meaning that new skills, and indeed changed working practices, are needed. So how have service companies dealt with this challenge?

Our research showed that while most companies were satisfied that they had the right skill mix today to meet their customer contracts, there were still 22% who felt that service commitments were threatened by a lack of key skills.

Every manufacturer that offers service adopts typical service business models to deliver their services by building new service capabilities. The adoption of service business models is an evolution in which new capabilities open up new service business opportunities to generate profitable and sustainable growth.

Companies are required to build up new capabilities to deliver digital services. However, not all digital capabilities are relevant for these new service business models, so we asked the participants what digital capabilities they want to invest in. The digital capabilities that more than 80% of service leaders consider essential are predictive maintenance and remote monitoring and control, and real-time data analysis.