Winning After Sales Forum 2026: Reflections from Munich

Winning After Sales in the Age of AI

On June 11, we had the privilege of welcoming an extraordinary group of leaders to our office in Munich for the first Winning After Sales Forum.

What struck me most throughout the day was not technology. It was the openness.

Leaders from AGCO, Jungheinrich and Terex openly shared their experiences, while our partners Genpact and Celonis brought valuable perspectives on process intelligence and transformation. We were equally honored to welcome Barkawi Group and Hitachi Ventures, who shared their views on the tremendous opportunity ahead for industrial after sales.

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Despite coming from different industries and operating models, everyone seemed to be wrestling with remarkably similar questions:

🔶 How do we improve machine uptime?

🔶 How do we increase parts availability without increasing working capital?

🔶 How do we turn fragmented networks into connected ecosystems?

🔶 And how do we prepare our organizations for an era increasingly powered by AI and data?

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By the end of the day, one thing became clear:

We are entering a new era of after sales. An era powered by connectivity, driven by AI and enabled by data.

But ultimately, one that will be defined by the leaders willing to rethink how service, parts, dealers and data work together.

Here are some of the lessons that stood out to me most.

Key Takeaways and Themes

1. After sales has become a strategic growth engine

The discussions confirmed that after sales is no longer viewed as a support function. Across industries, investors and OEMs increasingly see parts and service as critical levers for:

🔶 Growth
🔶 Profitability
🔶 Customer retention
🔶 Lifetime value realization

The installed base remains one of the largest untapped opportunities for industrial manufacturers.

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2. Technology is not the objective – business outcomes are

One recurring theme throughout the day was that technologies like AI, IoT and connectivity are means to an end. Customers do not buy AI. They buy uptime.

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Winning organizations focus on metrics such as:

🔶 Parts availability

🔶 Customer uptime

🔶 Working capital

🔶 Service profitability

🔶 Customer satisfaction

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The conversation is increasingly shifting from technology hype to measurable business outcomes.

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3. Connectivity and visibility are prerequisites for improvement

A major topic throughout the day was the fragmented reality of dealer networks. OEMs operate highly heterogeneous environments with:

🔶 Numerous dealer management systems

🔶 Different countries and processes

🔶 Independent dealers and business units

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Despite this complexity, AGCO demonstrated that meaningful progress is possible.

The key lesson: Success does not come from waiting for perfect conditions.

It comes from making decisions, moving forward together and continuously improving as partners.

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4. Transformation is measured in years, not months

One of the strongest themes from the panel discussion with AGCO, Terex, Jungheinrich and Genpact was around adoption.

Participants emphasized that connected dealer programs require:

🔶 Executive sponsorship

🔶 Long-term commitment

🔶 Change management

🔶 Partnership with dealers

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5. Process intelligence and planning belong together

The technology sessions highlighted the importance of understanding processes before optimizing them. Celonis demonstrated how process intelligence creates transparency into operational execution and where ClearOps fits into this ecosystem.

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The combination of:

🔶 Process intelligence

🔶 Data connectivity

🔶 Planning optimization

creates a powerful foundation for continuous improvement.

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6. Dealer planning and OEM planning are converging

Historically, OEM planning and dealer planning have been largely disconnected. One of the most exciting developments discussed during the event was the opportunity to bring these worlds together.

ClearOps has spent years solving one of the most demanding planning problems in the industry: Dealer service parts planning.

Dealers face:

🔶 Higher customer expectations

🔶 Limited working capital

🔶 Highly fragmented environments

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The expansion of the ClearOps planning suite into the Celonis Marketplace now opens a new opportunity: Professional service parts planning for OEMs themselves. Long-term, this creates the possibility of true end-to-end service supply chain planning, where dealer demand signals enrich OEM planning and both sides optimize together.

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7. There is no AI without data and context

Another strong message throughout the day was that AI is not a shortcut.

AI requires:

🔶 Connectivity

🔶 Trusted data

🔶 Context

🔶 Process understanding

Without these foundations, AI cannot deliver meaningful outcomes. This is why ClearOps continues to invest heavily into:

🔶 Connectivity

🔶 Data foundations

🔶 Contextual understanding

before moving towards increasingly agentic capabilities.

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8. Agentic planning represents the next frontier

Looking ahead, AI will increasingly support planners by:

🔶 Detecting demand signals

🔶 Forecasting continuously

🔶 Optimizing inventory

🔶 Recommending actions

🔶 Monitoring execution

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Importantly, the role of the planner will evolve rather than disappear. AI will handle complexity.

Humans will handle trade-offs.

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9. Co-innovation with customers is becoming increasingly important

Several discussions highlighted that many of the next opportunities in after sales do not yet have established playbooks.

This is why close collaboration between software providers and OEMs is becoming increasingly important.

Innovation is no longer something delivered to customers. It is something developed together with customers.

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10. The market opportunity remains largely unsolved

Hitachi Ventures closed the day by providing an investor perspective. Their view reinforced what many participants already believe:
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Industrial after sales remains one of the largest and least digitized opportunities in manufacturing. The combination of:

🔶 Large installed bases

🔶 Increasing customer expectations

🔶 AI

🔶 Connectivity

🔶 Process intelligence

creates a unique opportunity to redefine how service supply chains operate.

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Final Reflection

Despite all the excitement around AI and new technology, the strongest impression I took away from the day was that success ultimately comes down to leadership. The future of after sales won't be defined by technology alone — it will be defined by the leaders willing to rethink how service, parts, dealers and data work together.

Fortunately, many of those leaders were in the room with us in Munich. To our customers, partners and investors: thank you for your time, your candor, and your trust in making this forum a success. We're already looking forward to continuing these conversations.

William Barkawi, Founder & CEO at ClearOps

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