SUMMARY OPS
CHAPTER 1
The ‘IHIP’ characteristics
Intangibility – services are not physical items
‘A service is something that can be bought and sold, but which cannot drop on
your foot’
However, many services have a tangible element. It also does not mean that
physical resources are unimportant to the customers view of a service.
Customers are unlikely to distinguish between intangible and tangible elements
of service.
Heterogeneity – services are difficult to standardize
‘Each time a service is delivered, it will be different because the needs and
behavior of customers will vary’
When a service involves interaction with a provider, the exact nature of the
contact will vary each time an interaction takes place.
Many physical products are valued for their variation. Customized products are
valued for their lack of standardization.
Inseparability – production and consumption occurs simultaneously
‘The service provider is often physically present when its consumption by a
consumer takes place’
Services cannot be consumed asynchronously. Businesses must be ready to
meet demand as it happens. Production and consumption happens at the
same time.
Perishability – services ceases to have value after a relatively short time’
‘They may even perish in the very instant of their creation’
Matching capacity with demand, or managing demand to fit capacity,
becomes particularly important to avoid underutilized resources and lost
revenue.
,What is service operations management?
Operations management is transforming a set of inputs into outputs. The
purpose is to produce a combination of products and services.
1. They include not just internal resources but also those that can
conveniently be accessed
2. Operations resources are more than buildings, technology, and facilities.
They include all tangible elements tighter with intrinsic capabilities,
relationships enz.
Resources + processes = vital ingredients of all operations
The interaction between resources and processes is the key to effectiveness of
an operation.
Experience can be add to the capability of its resources. This mutual
dependency is important to help us understand how operations improve
capabilities over time.
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,It is the importance of the customers presence in the operations that makes
service operations management distinct, it follows then that ‘service’ will mean
different things depending on the type of customer and the nature of the
service.
All operations managers need to manage the interaction between all the
various input resources and shape them into processes.
There are also support processes that may not deal with customers directly, but
which indirectly contribute to run the service smooth.
These processes include hr, training, finance, and maintenance.
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, Customer experience is the customer’s direct and personal interpretation of,
and response to, their participation and interaction in the service process and its
outputs.
The experience involves the customers journey through a series of contact points
and process steps
An experience is perceived purely from the pov of an individual customer and is
personal.
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