Location services as a product

- Service products ensure uniform processes
- Lower costs and higher comparability through standardization
- Flexibility through component structure of services
- Lünendonk® theme dossier "Engineered Site Services" available free of charge

Services and products are often seen as something opposite. However, when services are provided for a comparable target group, processes and calculations become similar. The basis for a standardized and replicable product is thus in place. The advantages are obvious: standardized processes help compare services, systematize interfaces, and thus achieve higher efficiency.

Service products offer added value when they are optimally tailored to the customer's requirements and at the same time transferable to other users. In a theme dossier, the market research and consulting company Lünendonk, Kaufbeuren, explains the added value that service products represent for users of building services. In addition to Lünendonk, the consulting firm Dr. Odin is responsible for a contribution to the product development of services, as well as the multi-technology service provider SPIE, Essen, for illustrative practical examples. The theme dossier is particularly aimed at industrial customers.

Service products require standards

Products offer numerous advantages but are unthinkable without standards: once developed, they can be reproduced as often as desired. They are available without long lead times and can usually be deployed quickly. Standards also reduce overhead costs – benefiting users. Products also demonstrate their strengths when they precisely reflect the requirements of the target group, such as in cleanroom production.

"In this context, 'product' means that the customer can rely on a target group-specific service offering with defined quality standards and service levels. Just like buying a car, the user knows in advance what services they will receive at which service level," comments Thomas Ball, consultant at Lünendonk. "When services are conceived and understood as products, it makes it easier for service providers to incorporate their professional experience into service design. Ultimately, the user benefits from this."

Component structure enables flexibility

The success of the "Building Service" product depends on a modular structure and intelligent integration into the overall service. Providers of engineered site services adapt their service offerings to the level of professionalism of their customers: industrial production processes are highly standardized.

In addition, industry-specific legal requirements apply, such as those for cleanrooms and occupational safety. Industrial companies follow particularly strict quality standards. Production failures can quickly cause significant damage. Markus Holzke, managing director of SPIE: "Service providers offer added value through their experience. Modern solutions are needed for standardizing services. High service quality must leave enough room for creative ideas. This must be reflected in the service provider's strategy."

Example: Car purchase

Standardized services are comparatively easy to implement as products at low complexity levels. Comprehensive and diversified real estate portfolios impose much higher requirements: they must be highly standardized yet as flexible as possible to adapt to customer demands. The following image illustrates how this can be achieved: When purchasing a car, the customer chooses a model from a provider. Using multiple equipment options, they then customize the platform to their needs: they select, depending on their requirements, between different engine types, technical features, and colors. Similarly, standardized services are structured. The platform is a prerequisite, but the components must work together with the platform to deliver optimal results.

Reference

The Lünendonk® theme dossier "Engineered Site Services" comprises 60 pages and is now available free of charge in print from SPIE, as well as accessible as a PDF at www.luenendonk-shop.de.