My exprience tell me that customer-centricity remains an empty slogan when the customer is not given power over the design and timeframes of design of products and services. 

You may say "Sure, the customer pays for the products or services she recieves, she has the power". That is not the case, because she pays for products and services already designed by someone else. The real power comes when she participates with investment capital needed for the development and/ or improvement of a product or service.

Take a look at this discussion: https://getsatisfaction.com/getsatisfaction/topics/getsatisfaction_rant <GetSatisfaction rant>