Chapter 04

New Service
Development

McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Service Management: Operations,
Strategy, and Information Technology, Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All
Rights Reserved.
6e
 Learning Objectives
 Describe the fundamental characteristics of service innovation.
 Describe the four structural and four managerial elements of service
design.
 Describe the components of the customer value equation.
 Explain and differentiate what is meant by the divergence and the
complexity of a service process.
 Describe the sequence of states and the enablers of the new service
development process.
 Prepare a blueprint for a service operation.
 Explain the difference between direct and indirect customer contact.
 Compare and contrast the four approaches to service system design:
production-line, customer as coproducer, and information empowerment.

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Introduction
 Designing a service delivery system is a
creative process.
 It begins with a service concept and strategy
to provide a service with feature that
differentiate it from the competition.
 Various alternatives for achieving these
objectives must be identified and analyzed
before any decisions can be made.
Introduction (2)
 Designing a service system
involves issues such as location,
facility design and layout for
effective customer and work flow,
procedures and job definitions for
service providers, masures to
ensure quality, extent of customer
involvement, equipment selection,
and adequate service capacity.
Introduction (3)

 The design process is never

finished; once the service becomes
operational, modifications in the
delivery system are introduced as
conditions warrant.
Innovation in Services
Based on the NSF definitions, service innovation is
the output of applied research and develpment
efforts which has one of the following goals:
 Basic Research: Pursue a planned search for new
knowledge regardless of possible application.
 Applied Research: Apply existing knowledge to
problems in creation of new service.
 Development: Apply knowledge to problems to
improve a current service.

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Challenges for Service
Innovation

 Ability to protect intellectual and property

technologies.(The transperancy of service
system are make immitation simpler, and
pattents are difficult to obtain)
 Incremental nature of innovation. (Because
customers participate in service systems,
innovation tends to be evolutionary rather
than radical to allow for acceptance)
 Degree of integration required. (among
people,products,and technology)
 Ability to build prototypes or conduct tests in a
controlled environment.

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 Levels of Service
Innovation
Radical Innovations
 Major Innovation: new service that customers did not
know they needed.
 Start-up Business: new service for underserved market.
 New Services for the Market Presently Served: new
services to customers of an organization.
Incremental Innovations
 Service Line Extensions: augmentation of existing
service line (e.g. new menu items).
 Service Improvements: changes in service delivery
process (e.g. self-service boarding kiosk).
 Style Changes: modest visible changes in appearances.

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New Service Development
Ideas for new service innovations can originate from
many sources.
 Customers can offer suggestions (e.g., menu additions
at a restaurant)
 Frontline employees can be trained to listen to
customers’concerns
 Customer databases can be mined for possible service
extentions (e.g., additional financial services)
 These ideas form the input to the development stage
of the new service development (NCD) cycle shown in
the following figure
 New Service Development
Cycle
• Full-scale launch
• Post-launch review

Full Launch Enablers Development

• Formulation

l
nte na
Co iz atio of new services
objective / strategy
People
xt

Te
• Idea generation
• Service design
n

am
ga

and screening
and testing

s
Or

• Concept
• Process and system
development and
design and testing Product
• Marketing program testing
design and testing
• Personnel training Technology Systems
• Service testing and
pilot run
• Test marketing Tools

Design Analysis
• Business analysis
• Project authorization4-10
New Service Development
(2)
 Technological advances often are
the basis for radical service
innovation.
 The following table presents
examples and industry impact of
technology-driven service
innovations from various sources
Technology-Driven Service
Innovations

Source of Service Example Service Industry Impact

Technology
Power/energy Jet aircraft International flight is feasible
Nuclear energy Less dependence on fossil fuel

Facility design Hotel atrium Feeling of grandeur/spaciousness

Enclosed sports stadium Year-around use

Materials Photochromic glass Energy conservation

Synthetic engine oil Fewer oil changes

Methods Just-in-time (JIT) Reduce supply-chain inventories

Six Sigma Institutionalize quality effort

Information E-commerce Increase market to world-wide

Satellite TV Alternative to cable TV

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Service Design Elements
Design Elements Topics

Structural

Delivery system Process structure, service blueprint, strategic positioning

Facility design Servicescapes, architecture, process flows, layout
Location Geographic demand, site selection, location strategy
Capacity planning Strategic role, queuing models, planning criteria
Managerial

Information Technology, scalability, use of Internet

Quality Measurement, design quality, recovery, tools, six-sigma
Service encounter Encounter triad, culture, supply relationships, outsourcing
Managing Capacity and Strategies, yield management, queue management
Demand

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Customer Value Equation
(1)
 To ensure acceptance of a new
service innovation, the design
process should take a customer-
centric view of what is important
 The value of a service from a
customer’s perspective can be
captured in the following equation
 Customer Value Equation
(2)

Value =
( Re sults Pr oduced ) + ( Pr ocessQuality )
( Pr ice ) + ( CostsofAcquiringtheService)

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 Strategic Positioning
Through Process Structure

 Degree of Complexity: Measured by

the number of steps in the service
blueprint. For example a clinic is less
complex than a general hospital.
 Degree of Divergence: Amount of
discretion permitted the server to
customize the service. For example the
activities of an attorney contrasted with
those of a paralegal are highly divergent,
because interaction with the clients
requires judgment, discretion, and
situational adaptation

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 Structural Alternatives for a
Restaurant

LOWER COMPLEXITY/DIVERGENCE CURRENT PROCESS HIGHER COMPLEXITY/DIVERGENCE

No Reservations TAKE RESERVATION Specific Table Selection

Self-seating. Menu on Blackboard SEAT GUESTS, GIVE MENUS Recite Menu: Describe Entrees & Specials
Eliminate SERVE WATER AND BREAD Assortment of Hot Breads and Hors D’oeuvres
Customer Fills Out Form TAKE ORDERS At table. Taken Personally by Maltre d’

Pre-prepared: No Choice Salad Bar Salad (4 choices)

Limit to Four Choices Entree (6 choices) Expand to 10 Choices: Add Flaming Dishes;
Bone Fish at Table
Sundae Bar: Self-service Dessert (6 choices) Expand to 12 Choices

Coffee, Tea, Milk only Beverage (6 choices) Add Exotic Coffees; Wine list, Liqueurs
Serve Salad & Entree Together: SERVE ORDERS Separate-courses; Hand Grind Pepper
Bill and Beverage Together

Cash only: Pay when Leaving CASH OR CREDIT CARD Choice of Payment. Including House Accounts:
Serve Mints

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Service Blueprinting
 When a building is developed the design is
captured on architectural drawings called
blueprints
 These blueprints show what the product
should look like and all the specifications
needed for its manufacture.
 G.L.Shostack has proposed that a service
delivery system also can be captured in a
visual diagram (i.e., a service blueprint)
and used in a similar menner for the
design of services
Service Blueprint of Luxury

Hotel (1)

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Service Blueprint of Luxury
Hotel (2)
 At the top we find the “physical evidence” that
customers will see (e.g., hotel exterior, room decor)
and experience (waiting for check-in, taking a bath,
watching TV)
 Activities in the first row above the “line of
interaction” are customer-initiated steps, choices, and
interactions the customer performs in the process of
purchasing, consuming, and evaluating the service
Service Blueprint of Luxury
Hotel (3)
 Any vertical flow line crossing the “line
of interaction”depicts a direct contact
between the customer and organization
(i.e., service encounter)
 Paralleling the customer actions are two
areas of contact-employee actions.
Above the “line of visibility” are actions
in full view of the customer and thus
“onstage” (e.g., checking in)
Service Blueprint of Luxury
Hotel (4)
 Below the line of visibility are activities
that are “backstage” and not seen by
the customer, such as taking food
orders over the telephone.
 Below the “line of internal interaction”
we find the support processes, such as
a reservation information system and
kitchen.
Service Blueprint of Luxury
Hotel (5)
 The position of”line of visibility” in
a service blueprint can
immediately signal the level of
involvment of the customer in the
service delivery proces. (e.g., the
line of visibility is relatively high for
a gourmet restaurant compered to
that for a fast-food restaurant.
Service Blueprint of Luxury
Hotel (6)
 In summary, a blueprint is a precise
definition of the service delivery system
that allows the management to test the
service concept on paper before any final
commitments are made.
 The blueprint also facilitates problem
solving and creative thinking by identifying
potential failure and highlighting
opportunities to enhance customers
perception of service.
Taxonomy of Service
Processes (1)
 Service processes can be classifed
based on the following criteria:
 Degree of divergence,
 Object of the service process
 Degree of consumer contact.
Taxonomy of Service
Processes (2)
 In Table 4.5, services are broadly divided into
low divergence (i.e., standardized services) and
high divergence (i.e., customized service)
 Within these two categories, the object of the
service is devided as goods, information, or
people
 The degree of customer contact ranges from no
contact to indirect contact to direct contact and
is divided further into self-service and personal
interaction with the service worker
Taxonomy of Service Processes
(3)
Low divergence High divergence
(standardized service) (customized service)
Processing Processing Processing Processing Processing Processing
of goods Information of people of goods Information of people
Dry Check Auto repair Computer
No Cleaning processing Tailoring a programming
Customer Restocking Billing for a suit Designing a
Contact a vending credit card building
machine
Ordering Supervision
Indirect groceries of a landing
customer from a home by an air
contact computer controller

No Operating Withdrawing Operating Sampling Documenting Driving a

customer- a vending cash from an elevator food at a medical rental car
service machine an ATM Riding an buffet dinner history Using a
worker Assembling escalator Bagging of health club
interaction premade groceries Searching for facility
(self- furniture information
Direct service) in a library
Customer Customer Food Giving a Providing Home Portrait Haircutting
Contact service service in a lecture public carpet painting Performing
worker restaurant Handling transit cleaning Counseling a surgical
interaction Hand car routine bank Mass Landscaping operation
washing transactions vaccination service

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Degree of Divergence
 Standardized service is designed for
high volumes with a narrowly defined
and focused service. The task is routine
and require a workforce with relatively
low levels of technical skill
 Because of repetitive nature of the
service, opportunities to substitute
automation for labor abound.
 It is also called as the production-line
approach to a service design
Degree of Divergence (2)
 For customized services more flexibility
and judgement are required to perform
the service task
 In addition, more information is
exchanged between the customer and
the service worker.
 They require high level of technical and
analytical skills
 The workers are empowered
Object of the Service
Process (1)
 When goods are processed, a distinction
must be made between goods that belong
to the customer and goods that are
provided by the service firm (i.e.,
facilitating goods)
 Processing information (i.e., receving,
handling and manipulating data) occurs in
all service systems.
 For other services, the information is
communicated indirectly by electronic
means, as with telephone-based account
balance verification.
Object of the Service
Process (2)
 There are services such as counselling,
however, in which information is processed
through direct interaction between the client
and the project team.
 Processing people involves physical changes
(e.g.,haircut) or geographic changes (e.g., bus
ride)
 Workers must posses interpersonal as well as
technical skills
Type of Customer Contact
(1)
 Customer contact with the service delivery system
can occur in three basic ways:
1. The customer can be physically present and
interact directly with the service providers in the
creation of the service
2. The contact may be indirect and occur via the
internet from the customer’s home or office
3. Some service activities can be performed with no
customer contact at all
Type of Customer Contact
(2)
 Direct customer contact is subdivided into two
cathegories:
1. No interaction with service workers
2. Customer interaction with service workers
 Service processes with indirect customer
contact or with no customer contact need not
be constrained by issues that arise from the
physical presence of the customer in the
system
Type of Customer Contact
(3)
 The no-customer-contact and
good-processing combination
creates categories that normally
are thought of as manufacturing.
For example, dry cleaning is a
batch process, and auto repair is a
job shop
Generic Approaches to Service
Design

 Production-line
• Limit Discretion of Personnel
• Division of Labor
• Substitute Technology for People
• Standardize the Service
 Customer as Coproducer
• Self Service
• Smoothing Service Demand
• Customer-Generated Content
 Customer Contact
• Degree of Customer Contact
• Separation of High and Low Contact Operations
• Sales Opportunity and Service Delivery Options
 Information Empowerment
• Employee
• Customer

4-35
 Discussion Questions

 What are the limits in the production-line approach to

service?
 Give an example of a service in which isolation of the
technical core would be inappropriate.
 What are some drawbacks of customer participation in the
service delivery process?
 What ethical issues are raised in the promotion of sales
during a service transaction?
 Go to http://www.oecd.org/home and find the current non-
manufacturing share of total business R&D for the
countries listed in Table 1.1. Are there any surprises?

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 100 Yen Sushi House
1. Prepare a service blueprint for the 100 Yen Sushi
House.
2. What features differentiate 100 Yen Sushi House and
how do they create a competitive advantage?
3. How has the 100 Yen Sushi House incorporated the
just-in-time system into its operations?
4. Suggest other services that could adopt the 100 Yen
Sushi House service delivery concept.

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 100 Yen Sushi House
Layout
Dishwashing Counter in Back
CONVERSATION AREA
Miso and Tea Station

CONVEYOR
BELT

CONVERSATION AREA
TAKE-OUT
POSITION

ENTRANCE = CHEF

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 Commuter Cleaning - New Venture
Proposal

1. Prepare a service blueprint for Commuter Cleaning.

2. What generic approach to service design is
illustrated by Commuter Cleaning, and what
competitive advantage does this offer?
3. Using the data in Table 4.7 calculate a break-even
price per shirt if monthly demand is expected to be
20,000 shirts and the contract with a cleaning plant
stipulates a charge of $0.50 per shirt.
4. Critique the business concept, and make
recommendations for improvement.

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 Golfsmith
1. Prepare a service blueprint for
Golfsmith.
2. What generic approach to service
design does Golfsmith illustrate and
what competitive advantages does
this design offer?
3. Why is Golfsmith a good candidate for
Internet sales?
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INTERACTIVE CLASS EXERCISE

The class breaks into small groups

and prepares a service blueprint
for Village Volvo.

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