A Typology for Service Supply Chains and its Implications for Strategic Decisions

The strategic management of service supply chains is largely undeveloped despite recent emphasis on service supply chain management as the next frontier of competitive advantage. We propose a new typology for service supply chains that focuses on the service delivery process and is based on two process-related criteria: what is being processed (i.e., people, data, or things) and how it is being processed (i.e., through transforming or transporting). With a focus on the service delivery management process, we compare and contrast the different service supply chains of our typology along four key characteristics: (a) the separability of the customer from the process, (b) the level of customer-induced uncertainty in the process, (c) the importance of providing the customer with physical access to the process, and (d) the type and degree of customer interaction with the process. We discuss managerial implications of these characteristics with respect to the overall strategic focus (cost or differentiation) and outsourcing practices for each type of service supply chain.