James A. Fitzsimmons

Purchasing business services

The purchase of business services is a growing activity among firms but with little appreciation that the purchase of a service requires a modification of the decision process developed for the purchase of material goods. A taxonomy for purchasing business services is developed to create a matrix with importance of service and focus of service as dimensions. Business services are classified according to their focus on three aspects of the firm: property, people, and process. A number of propositions are formulated based on insights derived from this taxonomy. The taxonomy results in six business service cells: facility support, equipment support, employee support, employee development, facilitator, and professional. Implications for managers considering a purchase in each category are explored. The paper concludes with a research agenda to test the propositions and validity of the taxonomy for purchasing business services.

The performance of push and pull systems: a simulation and comparative study†

Ideally the just-in-time (pull system) production system holds no buffer inventory so that the production is ‘just in time’. This is achieved only when the stages operation times are constant and equal; but realistically the variability of operator performance and/or the unequal distribution of task times precludes such an ideal situation. As a result, the production line experiences problems. In this paper we investigate the effects of these variabilities on the performance of push and pull systems and how the manager can decide which production technique to adopt. The implication of the simulation results are reported and openings for future research are identified.

Strategies for globalizing service operations

International trade in services is growing rapidly despite many barriers to trade. Consumer services are being established world wide and increasingly business services are becoming globalized in much the same way that manufacturing is outsourcing overseas. The manager of a service organization can no longer ignore international competition in services, especially the globalization of back‐room operations. Service managers need a framework in which to develop a global service strategy. Addresses two questions which managers face when developing a global service strategy: what are the factors that we can use to classify services in terms of their potential for moving globally; and how do these factors translate into strategies for the globalization of specific services? The most common dimensions for classifying service operations include consumer involvement and customization, complexity of inputs and outputs, and labour intensity. Examines five generic strategies: multi‐country expansion; importing customers; following your customers; service unbundling; and beating the clock.

Design strategy and its interface with manufacturing and marketing: A conceptual framework

Abstract “Product design is a strategic activity, by intention or by default” (Whitney (1988)). An organization has to compete to ensure its survival and the dimensions of competition are cost, quality, reliability, flexibility, service, and speed of delivery. Major commitments to these dimensions are usually made during the design stage of the product. Unfortunately, we observe in most organizations a widening gap between design and other business functions (Meikle (1989)). This article attempts to bridge this gap by: (1) defining “design” as a strategic activity to facilitate its participation in the corporate debate, and; (2) presenting a conceptual framework which integrates design with manufacturing and marketing as equal partners to support the overall corporate mission. In this article we examine the strategic nature of design. We define “design” and “design strategy” in a language that is familiar to business and present a conceptual framework that can be used to plan, implement, and control design activities strategically. According to this framework all dimensions of competition can be expressed by two basic design variables, complexity and innovation. The design strategy formulation process consists of two stages. In stage one we position a design using complexity and innovation levels to identify threats and opportunities, to evaluate consistency of design strategies, and to obtain an aggregate measure of effort required to support a design strategy. In stage two we use the strategic insight gained in stage one to select an appropriate infrastructure to support our design objectives. The framework presented in this article extends the manufacturing strategy framework by Hill (1989) to provide an effective interface between design, manufacturing, and marketing functions. We have used the dimensions of competition as the integrating force. This article also provides a foundation on which future empirical and analytical research can be based. It emphasizes the need for strategic management of design activity instead of relegating design to a traditional reactive role. In this respect the framework is a significant step towards reducing the existing gap between design and the other business functions, and can help corporate strategists use design as a competitive weapon.

Simulated annealing for machine layout problems in the presence of zoning constraints

Abstract One of the assumptions behind the Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP) formulation for machine layout problems is that any machine could be located to any of the available sites. However, it is quite common in manufacturing environments to find restrictions on the arrangement of machines (zoning constraints). Positive zoning constraints require that machines are located next to each other, while negative zoning constraints force certain machines not to be in close proximity. In this paper we address the machine layout problem in the presence of zoning constraints. The QAP formulation is appropriately modified to account for the existence of such constraints. Two distinct implementations of the Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithms, the Compulsion and the Penalty procedures, are proposed for the solution of the problem. Sensitivity analysis on the control parameters of the above procedures is performed. The computational results on the comparison of the above two methods favor the Compulsion procedure. The Penalty method, however, might still be appealing to layout designers due to the easiness of implementation for any type of zoning constraints. Finally, our computational results indicate that imposing cleverly generated restrictions (for example, machines with exceptionally large flow between them to be close together) on SA procedures for QAP formulations (i.e., machine layout problems with no zoning constraints) can significantly improve the solution effectiveness (i.e., lower total layout cost) of the SA algorithm for such problems.

New issues and opportunities in service design research

In an era of intense high-speed competition, offering to the marketplace a sustainable and profitable value proposition that effectively leverages a firm’s financial, human, and operational resources is critical to both established and emerging businesses. To complicate matters further, in emerging industries such as e-services, customers often do not know what they want or need, consequently limiting a the company’s ability to engineer market-winning product–service solutions. While companies develop their own strategies to compete effectively in the “new” new economy, this competitive environment offers many opportunities to scholars interest in studying services. For example, should an enterprise merely try to adapt to the e-services marketplace? Should it keep juggling with the endless list of alternative service offerings? Or should it strive to shape the future of the business environment within which it operates by offering innovative product–service bundles?

Is self‐service the future of services?

Describes all the automated processes that can be utilised when making a business trip and how human interaction within the service sector has been replaced by machines. This has the potential for customization, accuracy, convenience and speed, dependent on individual customer acceptance of the new system.

Identifying and studying “best‐performing” services

Purpose – One of the fastest growing service industries is long‐term care. Identifying the best performers in the industry in terms of service productivity is difficult because there is no single summary measure of outcomes, particularly quality outcomes. The purpose of the paper is to show the potential of data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a benchmarking method in long‐term care.Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides background information on the long‐term care industry and describes the DEA methodology and applications to long‐term care. Data originated from two data sources with four databases furnishing information on 69 long‐term care facilities used.Findings – In the hypotheses tested it was found that most of the models showed that for profit nursing homes were significantly more efficient than nonprofit. The exception was in the model that included the condition of patients as a co‐production input and then there was no significant difference in efficient performance between ownership t...

Emergency ambulance location using the contiguous zone search routine

Abstract This paper reports on a study to select permanent emergency ambulance sites for the city of Austin, Texas. A facility location algorithm referred to as the contiguous zone search routine (CZSR) was developed to capitalize on the availability of a large data base of interzone travel times. This algorithm was coupled to an existing emergency medical system simulation model (CALL) to permit systematic evaluations of system performance directed at improving average response time. This combination of a simulation model and heuristicsearch routine permitted a degree of model realism not available with deterministic location algorithms currently in use. The output from the system simulation provided the city with a rich description of system performance to evaluate the desirability of locations selected by the heuristic search routine and a set of joint use sites selected by the city. A final analysis confined to the set of joint use sites identified, in priority order, twelve locations for EMS vehicles to be phased in over a five year period. The paper concludes with some observations on the process of public sector planning.

An emergency medical system simulation model

This paper presents a SIMSCRIPT simulation model designed for general use by health systems planners in evaluating existing or proposed emergency medical systems. An extensive validation of the model was performed using actual data from the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. Appropriate operating procedures for use of the model are discussed. In conclusion, an application of the model in determining the desired number of ambulances for a system illustrates its usefulness in planning emergency medical systems.