Compare and contrast a manufacturer versus a service provider in terms of operations management.

  • 2nd July 2014
  • General, Knowledge Bank, News, Tools & Techniques, Webinars, Seminars & Training

Tangible output: Service operations are typically found in banking, hospitality, advertising, consultancy and the public sector. The output of a service firm, such as consultancy or training, is intangible. Manufacturers produce tangible goods, which are physical products that can be held and seen and stored.

Inventory: Service firms, unlike manufacturers, do not hold inventory; they create a service when a client requires it, it cannot be stored. Manufacturers produce goods for stock, with inventory levels aligned to forecasts of demand. Inventory also represents a cost.

Customisation vs. Standardisation: Manufacturers have a standardised way of producing goods en-masse in a factory. One finished product is defined, fixed and the same as the next. They can also produce for stock in advance of any orders. Service firms do not produce a service unless a customer requires it, although they design and develop the scope and content of services in advance of any orders. Service operations have more opportunities to customise the services they provide tailored to customers’ needs. E.g. beauticians and hairdressers must customise the styling and treatments to match the customer’s hair, shape of face etc.

Labour: A service firm recruits people with specific knowledge and skills in the disciplines that it offers. Service delivery is labour intensive and cannot be easily automated, although knowledge management systems enable a degree of knowledge capture and sharing. Manufacturers can automate many production processes to reduce their labour requirements or relocate to countries where labour costs are low.

Location:  Service firms do not require a physical production site. The people creating and delivering the service can be located anywhere. For example, global consulting firms use communication networks to access the most appropriate service skills and knowledge from offices around the world. Manufacturers must have a physical location for their production and stock holding operations.

Production Environment: Manufacturing and service operations both plan the environment in which work takes place, but they focus on different elements. Manufacturing operations consider the manufacturing layout and its affect on the flow of work: fixed, process-focused or product-focused (assembly line). In a service operation managers schedule workers to handle customer demand. They must coach and train employees to provide optimal services to customers when they arrive. Service operations also plan the environment according to how it affects customers. They are concerned about the atmosphere for customers, layout of furnishings, arrangement of signs and colours and sounds designed to enhance the customer experience.

Extract from articles by Ian Linton and Matthew Schieltz, Demand Media

Compare and contrast a manufacturer versus a service provider in terms of operations management.
Manufacturing does not just offer products, and service organizations do not just offer services. Both types of organizations normally provide a package of goods and services.

Although service provides cannot inventory their outputs, they must inventory the inputs for their products.

As for customer contracts, many service operations have little outside customer contracts. Such as the backroom operations of a bank or the baggage handling area at an airport.

  • Strategic Decision: Manufacturers do not just offer products, and service organization does not just offer services. Both types of organizations normally provide a package of goods and services. Customers except both good service and good food at a restaurant and both good service and quality goods from a retailer. Manufacturing firms offer many customer services, and a decreasing proportion of the value added by them directly involves the transformation of materials.
  • Process: Even though service providers cannot inventory their outputs, they must inventory the inputs for their products. These inputs must undergo further transformations during the provision of the service.
  • Quality: As for customer contact, many service operations have little outside customer contacts, such as the backroom operation of a bank or the baggage handling area at an airport. However, everyone in an organization has some customers outside customers or inside customers whether in services or manufacturing.

Operations management is relevant to both manufacturing and service operations. You need to know about operations management, regardless of the type of organization.

Definition of Manufacturing and Service

Manufacturing process: Manufacturing can be defined as the process of covering raw materials, components, or parts into finished goods that meet customer satisfaction.

Service process: A valuable action, deed, or effort performed to satisfy a need or to fulfill a demand. Differences between manufacturing and servicing are as follows:

Similarities between Manufacturing and Service

The similarities between manufacturing and service operations are given the following:

  1. Manufacturers do not just offer products, and service organizations do not just offer services. Both types of organizations normally provide a package of goods services.
  2. Generally, service organization cannot inventory their outputs, but manufacturing firms that make customized product also cannot inventory their output.
  3. Everyone in an organization has some customers, whether in service or manufacturing.
  4. Both of the organizations require hard labor.
  5. Both have a very good return on investment.
  6. Both have huge marketing potential.
  7. Both have forecasting and capacity planning to match supply and demand.

Difference between Manufacturing and Service

The difference between manufacturing and service operations fall into the eight categories as follows:

Key point Manufacturing Service
Physical nature of the product Manufacturing organization provides physical and durable products. Service organization provides the intangible and perishable product.
Inventory Output can be inventoried. Output cannot be inventoried.
Customer contact It involves low customer contact. It involves high customer contact.
Response time It requires a long response time to meet customer demand. It requires a short response time to meet the customer’s demand.
Location and size of the operation It serves the regional, national, even international market. It serves in the local market.
Facilities It requires a larger facility, more automation, and greater capital investment. It requires small facilities.
Intensive It is capital intensive organization. It is a labor-intensive organization.
Quality Quality can be easily measured. Quality can’t be easily measured.
Nature Manufactured goods are physical, durable products Services are intangible, perishable products often being ideas, concepts, or information.
Facilities Manufactured goods are output that can be produced, stored, and transported in anticipation of future demand. By contrast, service cannot be produced.
Contact Most customers for manufactured products have little or no contact with the production system. However, in many service organizations, the customer is input and active participation.
Time While manufacturers generally have days or weeks to meet customer demand. Many services must be offered within minutes of customer arrival.
Transport Manufacturing facilities often serve regional, national, or even international markets. Service cannot be shipped to distant locations.
Quality As manufacturing systems tend to have tangible products and less customer contact, quality is relatively easy to measure. By contrast, the quality of service system which generally produces intangible is harder to measure.

What is the difference between manufacturing and service operations?

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MANUFACTURING AND SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS First, manufacturing organizations produce physical, tangible goods that can be stored in inventory before they are needed. By contrast, service organizations produce intangible products that cannot be produced ahead of time.

What is the difference between manufacturer and service providers?

In general, manufacturers have a standardized way of producing goods. Goods are produced en masse in a factory or warehouse-type environment. One finished product is generally the same as the next. Service Industries include those industries that do not produce goods and instead provide services.

What is the difference between a manufactured product and a service?

The main difference between products and services would be tangibility. While the outputs of manufacturing are tangible, the outputs of service provision are intangible. Some industries are the mixture of both manufacturing and service provision, which provide both products and services.

How does operations management differ in service vs manufacturing companies?

Differences Between Goods Production and Service Operations While manufacturing operations focus on producing goods and storing them at a warehouse before delivering them to customers, service-providing operations facilitate simultaneous production and consumption of services.