Suppose you owned an airline and ordered an engine from Rolls-Royce or GE. What are you really looking for? A piece of machinery to meet a product need? Or a powerful, safe, and reliable means to deliver air passengers to their destinations?

This question has been top of mind lately among manufacturers aiming to drive profitable growth, triggering a fundamental shift to the way a business operates that increasingly focuses on outcomes. Technology advancements and the Industrial Internet of Things are making this outcome orientation more feasible every day. For example, when Rolls Royce or GE provide a “power by the hour” engine solution, they are delivering an outcome and potentially more value to the customer.

Becoming an outcome-centric organization isn’t as straightforward as it might seem, however. The transformation requires manufacturers to redesign every major function in its organization—especially commercial functions charged with defining, selling and servicing value propositions.

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