Providing a service can be entirely different from manufacturing a product. Services are intangible, generally consumed as they are being produced and are co-produced i.e. as a result of communication between customer and provider. The term ‘engineering’ in both cases refers to design of processes such that the end product/service comprises of interchangeable elements. However, the application entirely varies in manufacturing and servicing contexts. In manufacturing/production engineering, the concept includes elements such as supply chain management for sourcing raw materials and delivering end products, which are not a part of service engineering at all. Further, while in both cases training personnel is important, the reasons and the focus of training is entirely different. In manufacturing engineering, the employees help in making a tangible product , while in service engineering the communication between the employees and the customer is a part of the product. Hence, because of the type of end-product, manufacturing engineering follows a host of production processes whereas the just-in-time (JIT) is the only relevant process for service engineering.
Is IT an integral part of service management and engineering? Why? Explain.
In the modern day business world, it is practically impossible to develop a viable business model, without the use of IT business model. The use of IT in service engineering and management is even more crucial because efficient service requires just-in-time processes and streamlined and efficient communications with other parts of the business. Neither of this would be possible in the present day world without making use of IT in some way. For instance, IT provides highly efficient collaborative tools that help make services better, faster, and cheaper. IT can also be used in cases where data extraction is required to enhance customer relations or provide specific information to customers. Further, the synchronization aspect of software makes it easy to make duplicates of a copy of the software and fast transfer to all interested parties. These are some of the reasons why IT has now become a central part of service engineering and management.
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- Krishnamurthy, A. (2007). From Just in Time Manufacturing to On-Demand Services. Integrated Series in Information Systems, 16, 1-37.
- Ray, g., Muhana, W. A., & Barney, J. B. (2005, December). Information technology and the performance of the customer service process: a resource based ananlysis. MIS Quarterly, 29(4), pp. 625-652. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://fisher.osu.edu/
