Operations Management: Sustainability and Supply Chain Management, Twelfth Edition

Technology in Services

Just as we have seen rapid advances in technology in the manufacturing sector, so we also find dramatic changes in the service sector. These range from electronic diagnostic equipment at auto repair shops, to blood- and urine-testing equipment in hospitals, to retinal security scanners at airports. The hospitality industry provides other examples, as discussed in the OM in Action box “Technology Changes the Hotel Industry.” The McDonald’s approach is to use self-serve kiosks. The labor savings when ordering and speedier checkout service provide ­valuable productivity increases for both the restaurant and the customer.

In retail stores, POS terminals download prices quickly to reflect changing costs or ­market conditions, ...