The concept of performance-based contracting (PBC) has received an increasing attention in both academic research and business practice over the last decade. Typically, in a PBC an industrial supplier is paid based on the outcome created with an investment good. This payment covers the actual usage as well as all related maintenance and repair efforts for the resource (Böhm, Backhaus, Eggert, & Cummins, 2016). Although the concept of PBC is not new, research on this topic is still on a preliminary level (Essig, Glas, Selviaridis & Roehrich 2016). As the customer orientation in service-oriented sales processes is crucial (Haas, Snehota, & Corsaro 2012; Terho, Haas, Eggert, & Ulaga 2012), our study explores customers’ requirements and motivational patterns within a PBC sales process. We report on data obtained in laddering interviews with 31 PBC-experienced customers in Europe from three industries (industrial air supply industry, gas supply industry, filling and packaging industry). Results from a means-end-chain analysis indicate that PBC customers have a higher sense of duty (e.g., by analyzing suppliers’ competence for operating a PBC), a distinct need for security (e.g., by requiring positive emotions for purchase decision), a comprehensive sense of responsibility (e.g., in terms of the long-term contractual obligation) and perfectionist values for purchase decisions (e.g., by striving for an optimal technical and contractual PBC design). Since these aspects address the PBC sales process, our study contributes by generating empirical evidences for value-based selling techniques and by generating management implications for a customer-oriented selling of PBC.

The well-established Universal Powder Press UPP, designed by the Swiss press manufacturer Osterwalder AG in Lyss, went through a major improvement process. The result is a high efficient production machine with state-of-the-art technology. It will be shown the technical design, some process engineering as well as the influence of PRP - =Part-Related-Programming, first published in 1994 - on the set-up time. This development has enabled Osterwalder to round off their range of presses, the mechanical-hydraulic KPP as well as the hydraulic CA-NC II and UPP, to an attractive offer ranging from 120 kN up to 10'000 kN.

In high-performance cold work applications, tool failure depends on the predominating loading conditions. Typical failure mechanisms are a combination of abrasive wear, adhesive wear, plastic deformation, cracking and edge crumbling. In this paper we demonstrate how the microstructure of tool steels can be positively influenced by modifying the alloying system and the production route to meet the demands of the different loading situations which occur during operation. The investigation was focused on ductility, fatigue strength and wear resistance. Theoretical considerations were confirmed by practical tests.