| Author: | Lam, King-shing |
| Title: | A framework for the development of a business model in service logistics |
| Degree: | M.Sc. |
| Year: | 2003 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations Business logistics Service industries Customer services |
| Department: | Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering |
| Pages: | xii, 144, xiii leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | At present, much emphasis has been placed in the exploration of opportunities in a new business environment in which knowledge management and Hi-tech are prerequisite. Hong Kong has been experiencing a significant economic restructure for the past decade. Economic restructure has brought about a drastic change that forces Hong Kong from a manufacturing centre to a service driven base. Although the Hong Kong government was not inclined to shift to services basis in the earlier days, services management is gradually becoming vital in improving profitability. It is mainly because there are fewer and fewer chances left in market places, in which low-cost and high efficiency working environment dominates the whole economic situation. The shift of business focuses from production to services and customer-oriented industries is a painful experience for all investors in the territory. However, this raises a concern that the previous advantage of having intensive labour force is no longer gaining upper hand in our society. On the other hand, service sectors offer another opportunity. Entrepreneurs realise that the over-heated property market in Hong Kong in last ten years, indeed, made a golden stage in our economic. Nevertheless, it jeopardized the future business development by developing a bubble economic. Especially when the stronghold of manufacturing base moving northern-ward to the Mainland China. In view of this, our economic must be reshuffled to adapt for the changing environment. Service Management and Logistics have been regarded as two different disciplines but with similar nature. More recently, many companies have gradually discovered that the combined force of logistics and services has the ability to enhance competitiveness and achieve differentiation. There are many successful examples to show that the function of logistic in an undertaking manages to add value to services. It is quite clear that business climate in Hong Kong has three characteristics Firstly, there is a once-prosperous property market, Secondly, economic has been moving to service driven. Thirdly, logistics function is able to add value to service management. The question of how to manipulate the function of service logistics in the new economy will be thoroughly investigated in this paper. With an attempt to achieve business differentiation under these three significant forces, this research paper puts forward a business model and specifies its development progress. Services provision is different from goods production in significant ways and that requires different strategies and tactics or even powerful tools to reflect these differences. In the old days, services industry was regarded as labour intensive and manual driven, it was quite illusive in defining adequate service levels and how it got to be satisfactory when received by customers. The research theme of this paper offers a general idea of how logistics is integrated with service sectors and exert its influence in service performance, in particular, how it can deliver value to service quality. To give a realistic scenario, this research paper make use the current situation in Hong Kong as a background to reflect the significance of quality service in boosting profits. The key points of this research paper will be focusing on the logistic support in services companies especially in Property Management, while the core of the business model will pinpoint at the current practices adopted by most of the services companies. The business model is just an arbitrary framework, which based on knowledge management foundation. To prove its viability, a structured case-study approach is used. It not only obtains information from other management services companies but also benchmark them for self-assertion purpose. With the development of a business model, alternative situation and measurement details can be adhered to most of the services areas and that allows management companies to lead changes and control business environment. There are many other areas that the proposed model can be applied to improve performance, for example, the design of a service package, the application of logistic concepts to real work setting, the deployment of enterprise resources etc. This dissertation presents a generic framework by which service logistics in a property management company is utilized as a powerful tool to achieve differentiation. And we will see how service criteria are made to be measurable. The development progress of this research paper touches great deal in the integration of services with logistics management. And, finally introduces a generic framework to construct a business model and elaborate its usage in most of the service areas. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
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| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b17566204.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 8.83 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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