Rolls-Royce: A Manufacturer at Your Service

By 1987, the company had become financially stable, and it was privatized by the British government. In 1996, John Rose (Rose), a member of the company's Board of Directors who became the CEO, provided a new direction to the company. Rolls-Royce made major inroads into business segments like defense aviation, marine propulsion, and energy, in addition to continuously bringing in innovations to its aero engines. Under Rose's leadership, after-sales service also became a significant source of revenue for the company. Rolls-Royce sold maintenance contracts for its aero engines under the concept of 'Power by the hour'. Under this concept, the customers paid a fixed maintenance fee for each aircraft flight hour (only for the time during which the aero engine was running).

Through a joint venture with an IT company, Rolls-Royce provided its customers with several tools for engine health management (EHM). It also developed a new system to remotely monitor the working of the engines onboard its customers' aircraft, to detect and rectify engine anomalies In addition, it created a global repair and overhaul network.

The after-sales services provided by Roll-Royce helped its customers reduce maintenance costs and downtime. The service also enabled the company to improve its aero engine designs and build good relationships with customers. Moreover, the company gained a steady long-term revenue stream from the maintenance contracts.