Planning for Service Operations Versus Manufacturing
The case study was:
Service operations often face more difficulty in planning than their manufacturing counterparts. However, service does have certain advantages that manufacturing often does not. Explain service planning difficulty, and the advantages and disadvantages. Give your recommendations to management.
The solution provides recommendations such as staggered scheduling of service employees and the use of alternative workers; such as temporary employees. The examples are explained in detail; by utilizing a plumbing business. There is a contrast of planning that occurs in manufacturing; where most organizations produce what is believed to match consumer demand. The major disadvantage with this planning approach is most products have a "shelf life" where they fall out of demand and/or become obsolete.