Boeing Co., taking a leaf from the automobile industry’s book, is now offering customers of its new 787 “Dreamliner” something that most car buyers take for granted: a showroom. Airline representatives can visit a series of themed showrooms at the “Dreamliner Gallery” that let them see, touch, and experiment with various interior design catalog items.

Until recently, the highly customized interior configuration “was very costly and could take up to a year”, says Mark Larson, a 787 Dreamliner technical manager. It required airline officials to visit dozens of individual suppliers to pick out everything from seats and carpeting to crash axes and emergency lighting. Now, Boeing asks its customers to visit the 54,000 square-foot showroom and choose the interior elements, from economy cabin seats to flooring, lavatories and first-aid kits, out of a standard catalog of items that Boeing has put together. “Now”, says Larson, “the process usually takes a total of about 15 hours”.

In recent years, both Boeing and Airbus have put considerable effort into making their customers’ plane-buying experiences easier. Airbus, a unit of the European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. began in the late 1970s by building a mock-up centre at its headquarters in Toulouse, France. Airbus now has mock-ups of each of its major new planes, including the giant double-decker A380. But over-customization frequently adds costs to production and has led to problems, most recently for Airbus. Deliveries of the first A380s have been delayed for two years, in large part because of wiring problems associated with special interiors. As such, Boeing is now promoting its showroom as the next step in designing and building airplanes, because it is a tool to discourage airlines from going crazy with options. Although airlines might be worried about losing control because of too much standardization, the Dreamliner designers have managed to vary the many options enough so that interiors don’t end up looking all the same. But still, the process of interior configuration is by no means stress free. “Airlines have to live with the decisions they make here for a long time”, says Larson. Because of that, the 1 company has put special effort in designing attractions, restaurants and museum exhibits; to create the Dreamliner Gallery as a memorable “experience” for airline teams. It starts with a huge lobby area that is lit with the Dreamliner’s special LED lighting and ends with two large private office areas, one Eastern and one Western-style “home base”, depending on the origin of the corresponding airline team.

Discussion Questions:

1. How does the Dreamliner Gallery help Boeing to connect with its customers? 

2. Which specific challenges that arise in Boeing’s organizational buying are addressed with this showroom? 

3. The Dreamliner Gallery offers Boeing the opportunity to integrate customers in the innovation process. Why can this be important? 

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

In 2004 plane producer Boeing dispatched its Dreamliner project with the target of constructing an inspired calmer and more ecofriendly plane Venture pioneers settled on the selection to reevaluate mo... View the full answer