● With the global transition of developed and developing countries to service economies, consider the implications for manufacturing supply chains. How will the world look 100 years from now if this trend continues?
● Consider how many services you have encountered today (e.g. your mail being delivered, the café where you bought your morning coffee, the lunch queue at the university cafeteria, the shop where you bought groceries, the call centre you called to query your mobile phone bill). List them, reflect on how the service provider performed and score them out of 10 for speed, quality and cost. Evaluate their scores and suggest how they might improve.
● Consider the role technology plays in both of this chapter’s caselets. How do you think advances in technology (e.g. mobile communications, cloud computing, social media) will influence the service sector? Consider potential technology‐based service innovations.
