63% call the installed base a revenue asset. The budgets tell a different story.
If beliefs were budgets, the installed base would be the best-funded operation in equipment manufacturing. It is not, and the distance between those two facts is the clearest growth opportunity in the 2026 benchmark.
Why do manufacturers underinvest in installed base revenue?
In the survey of 300 revenue and service leaders at U.S. equipment manufacturers (TrendCandy, 2026), 63 percent call the installed base a revenue asset, and 91 percent call aftermarket revenue important - very or extremely. Yet when the same leaders describe where growth effort actually goes, new equipment sales receive 48 percent of it against 20 percent for the installed base, customer acquisition tops the investment list at 55 percent - and installed base data ranks 7th of 9 priorities, named by just 25 percent.
The belief is nearly unanimous. The effort goes elsewhere. That is the say-do gap.
Where does the effort actually go, and why?
The gap is structural, not foolish. New equipment revenue is measured, forecast, and owned - one team, one number, one commission plan. Aftermarket revenue is fragmented: contracts sit with one team, parts with another, service with a third, and the data about the installed units sits in whichever system touched them last. A leader can fund "new sales" with one decision. Funding "the installed base" means coordinating four owners. Organizations fund what is easy to fund.
What is servitization, and why does it stall?
Servitization is the shift from selling equipment as a one-time transaction to selling the outcomes around it - maintenance, parts, uptime, service contracts - as an ongoing revenue relationship. Most equipment manufacturers are somewhere on this road. Most stall in the same place: the ambition is a business model, but the daily reality is department-by-department execution, and the connective tissue - one record of each unit, its coverage, and its history - was never built. The survey's effort ranking shows exactly that: the data layer that servitization depends on sits near the bottom of the priority list.
What would closing the gap be worth?
The same study puts a number next to the neglect: leaders estimate 14.5 percent of aftermarket revenue is lost at handoffs, and 86 percent say the leak lives between departments. The installed base is not a distant growth bet. It is revenue already earned, leaking through gaps that effort - pointed at the right place - would close. The first companies to close their say-do gap are buying growth their competitors already own but cannot reach.
| What leaders say | What the effort shows |
|---|---|
| 63% call the installed base a revenue asset | 20% of growth effort goes to it (vs 48% to new equipment) |
| 91% call aftermarket important - very or extremely | Customer acquisition tops investment at 55% |
| 79% call contracts the foundation of predictable revenue | Installed base data ranks 7th of 9 priorities (25%) |
The full 2026 benchmark - the survey of 300 revenue and service leaders at U.S. equipment manufacturers.
Get the reportFAQ
What is installed base management?
Installed base management is the practice of tracking and monetizing the equipment a manufacturer already has in the field - each unit's configuration, coverage, service history, and revenue potential - so that contracts, parts, and service around those units are actively managed rather than left to inbound requests.
Why is the installed base a revenue asset?
Every unit in the field generates recurring demand: maintenance contracts, parts, service visits, upgrades, and renewals. In the 2026 survey, 63 percent of equipment manufacturing leaders call the installed base a revenue asset and 91 percent call aftermarket revenue important - very or extremely.
How much more effort goes to new equipment sales than to the installed base?
In the same survey, leaders report 48 percent of growth effort going to new equipment sales against 20 percent for the installed base - while installed base data ranks 7th of 9 investment priorities, named by 25 percent.
What is servitization in manufacturing?
Servitization is the shift from selling equipment as a one-time transaction to selling ongoing outcomes around it - maintenance, parts availability, uptime, and service contracts - turning the installed base into a recurring revenue relationship rather than a warranty obligation.