Service operations
Introduction to service operations
The market > 1 > service concept > 2 > service design > 3 > service delivery > 4 > the market
1: Forces that drive increasing demand for services:
- Service economy
- Personalization and customization
- Customer experience
- Servitization
Service characteristics:
- A service is information solution, emotion, knowledge, transport, activity, process
- Certain level/degree of intangibility
- Customers (1) participate and/or (2) are present in process
- Simultaneity, perishability, heterogeneity
- Labour intensity: different degrees
- Degree of customization
Influence the design of any service delivery system
Service performance measurement:
Expectations and experiences. Different ways of perceiving intangible inputs.
Servitization:
2:
- From idea to the operational task
- Corporate strategy and objectives
- Create value for the customer
- Multi-channel options
,3: Make or buy decisions:
- If buy: outsourcing
o Number of suppliers
o Service triads
- If make: design the operations
o Lead time and queues
o Capacity management
Understanding demand:
4: Service performance
Multi-channel and omni-channel design: Introduction
Multi-channel options:
Customer often use different channels to purchase their service or product. Customer journey.
Channels: offline channels (stores/offices) and online channels (internet, telephone, chat)
Customer perspective: customers often appreciate choice between different channels, like to switch
between channels. like choose their own mix of channels.
Managerial issue:
- Customers participate in service processes
- Service providers have to decide what kind of channels they offer to customer in each stage
of the service process/customer journey.
, How to design an omni-channel design to interact with customers and to deliver
services/provide an experience.
Multi-channel management:
- Channel management per channel
- Objectives per channel (experiences/sales per channel)
- Focus on interactive channels (store/online website/chat) and direct marketing like catalogue
Omni-channel management:
- Multiple, integrated channels, providing seamless experience.
- Cross-channel objectives (overall customer experience/sales)
- Interactive channels, mobile channels (smart phones, tablets, apps), social media customer
touchpoints (incl. mass communication channels: TV, radio, print c2c)
Performance of omni-channel design:
- From customer perspective:
o Seamless, consistent, reliable
o Customers include in their evaluation the full service concept: What + how it is
delivered.
- From service provider perspective:
o Provide a fully integrated delivery and experience
o Multiple channels raise coordination (costs) across: variety of customer journeys.
o Maintenance costs: multiple channels.
Omni-channel design: link between customer journey and product flow:
- Co-ordination across:
o Channels
o Different customer journey stages
o Product flow stages is essential
-
Managerial issue: how to design an omni-channel design to interact with customers and to deliver
services/provide an experience?
Two key topics:
- Omni-channel design: balance marketing and operation goals: see key decisions.
, - How to design in practice and omni-channels design that meets both customer preferences
and/or needs and service provider preferences: different types of omni-channel design +
step-by-step design process.
Four typologies of customer journeys applying omni-channel designs: Dimensions:
- Channel redundancy: degree of using different channels in the different process steps
- Channel combination: degree that a combination of channels can be used, switching
between channels is allowed.
-
-
- Assumption: all channels are from the same company although in practice customers might
switch between companies.
Choice of multi-channel and omni-channel design depends on:
- Strategy
- Type of product
- Customer preferences
The design process
Considerations from customer perspective:
- Customers have different requirements during different service stages
- Customers have channel preferences dependent on the service stage
- Customers have intrinsic channel preferences associated with personal traits
Considerations from provider perspective:
- Channels differ in their ability to meet customer requirements as well as operational
(provider) requirements
- Channels can support or canabilise each other
- Design of channel mix has an impact on different performance aspects, such as maintenance
cost, coordination costs, sustainability
Introduction to service operations
The market > 1 > service concept > 2 > service design > 3 > service delivery > 4 > the market
1: Forces that drive increasing demand for services:
- Service economy
- Personalization and customization
- Customer experience
- Servitization
Service characteristics:
- A service is information solution, emotion, knowledge, transport, activity, process
- Certain level/degree of intangibility
- Customers (1) participate and/or (2) are present in process
- Simultaneity, perishability, heterogeneity
- Labour intensity: different degrees
- Degree of customization
Influence the design of any service delivery system
Service performance measurement:
Expectations and experiences. Different ways of perceiving intangible inputs.
Servitization:
2:
- From idea to the operational task
- Corporate strategy and objectives
- Create value for the customer
- Multi-channel options
,3: Make or buy decisions:
- If buy: outsourcing
o Number of suppliers
o Service triads
- If make: design the operations
o Lead time and queues
o Capacity management
Understanding demand:
4: Service performance
Multi-channel and omni-channel design: Introduction
Multi-channel options:
Customer often use different channels to purchase their service or product. Customer journey.
Channels: offline channels (stores/offices) and online channels (internet, telephone, chat)
Customer perspective: customers often appreciate choice between different channels, like to switch
between channels. like choose their own mix of channels.
Managerial issue:
- Customers participate in service processes
- Service providers have to decide what kind of channels they offer to customer in each stage
of the service process/customer journey.
, How to design an omni-channel design to interact with customers and to deliver
services/provide an experience.
Multi-channel management:
- Channel management per channel
- Objectives per channel (experiences/sales per channel)
- Focus on interactive channels (store/online website/chat) and direct marketing like catalogue
Omni-channel management:
- Multiple, integrated channels, providing seamless experience.
- Cross-channel objectives (overall customer experience/sales)
- Interactive channels, mobile channels (smart phones, tablets, apps), social media customer
touchpoints (incl. mass communication channels: TV, radio, print c2c)
Performance of omni-channel design:
- From customer perspective:
o Seamless, consistent, reliable
o Customers include in their evaluation the full service concept: What + how it is
delivered.
- From service provider perspective:
o Provide a fully integrated delivery and experience
o Multiple channels raise coordination (costs) across: variety of customer journeys.
o Maintenance costs: multiple channels.
Omni-channel design: link between customer journey and product flow:
- Co-ordination across:
o Channels
o Different customer journey stages
o Product flow stages is essential
-
Managerial issue: how to design an omni-channel design to interact with customers and to deliver
services/provide an experience?
Two key topics:
- Omni-channel design: balance marketing and operation goals: see key decisions.
, - How to design in practice and omni-channels design that meets both customer preferences
and/or needs and service provider preferences: different types of omni-channel design +
step-by-step design process.
Four typologies of customer journeys applying omni-channel designs: Dimensions:
- Channel redundancy: degree of using different channels in the different process steps
- Channel combination: degree that a combination of channels can be used, switching
between channels is allowed.
-
-
- Assumption: all channels are from the same company although in practice customers might
switch between companies.
Choice of multi-channel and omni-channel design depends on:
- Strategy
- Type of product
- Customer preferences
The design process
Considerations from customer perspective:
- Customers have different requirements during different service stages
- Customers have channel preferences dependent on the service stage
- Customers have intrinsic channel preferences associated with personal traits
Considerations from provider perspective:
- Channels differ in their ability to meet customer requirements as well as operational
(provider) requirements
- Channels can support or canabilise each other
- Design of channel mix has an impact on different performance aspects, such as maintenance
cost, coordination costs, sustainability
