Publications
Publications
- July 2018 (Revised March 2019)
- HBS Case Collection
Hilti (A): Fleet Management?
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jan Rivkin
Abstract
This Teaching Note accompanies the case HBS No. 718-419, “Hilti (A): Fleet Management.” It provides guidelines for class discussion, as well as a board plan and transcripts of the associated videos, Hilti Fleet Management Video Supplements.
The associated case explores the strategic decision-making process of premium power tools manufacturer Hilti in 1999, when the company was considering implementing a fleet management system in the construction industry. Fleet management would involve a shift from selling power tools to leasing them as a service. For Hilti, it represented an entirely new business model, which would substantially differentiate the company from its competitors. While fleet management had the potential to significantly improve the customer experience, Hilti was already a successful firm under its extant model and had to decide whether the restructuring of its business model was worth the risk.
The associated case explores the strategic decision-making process of premium power tools manufacturer Hilti in 1999, when the company was considering implementing a fleet management system in the construction industry. Fleet management would involve a shift from selling power tools to leasing them as a service. For Hilti, it represented an entirely new business model, which would substantially differentiate the company from its competitors. While fleet management had the potential to significantly improve the customer experience, Hilti was already a successful firm under its extant model and had to decide whether the restructuring of its business model was worth the risk.
Keywords
Business Model Innovation; Total Customer Value; Innovation; Inventions; Business Models; Value Chains; Transformations; Focusing On Customers; Business Model; Restructuring; Transformation; Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Making; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Construction; Innovation and Invention; Leasing; Strategy; Liechtenstein; Switzerland; Europe
Citation
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Jan Rivkin. "Hilti (A): Fleet Management?" Harvard Business School Teaching Note 719-404, July 2018. (Revised March 2019.)