Abstract
In an increasingly competitive market, companies must look for new ways to gain competitive advantage. One of these ways is the provision of services. This article presents a multicriteria model for analysis and evaluation of services in a manufacturing company. We divided the services that the manufacturing company can offer to its customers into pre-sales, sales and after-sales services. In the second phase we developed a specific model for the furniture industry. The model was tested with information obtained in a survey by eight kitchen manufacturers from four European countries and was applied to determine the level of services offered. Results have shown that the model can be a useful tool when evaluating the competitiveness of individual manufacturing companies in terms of service provision. Based on the results, companies can develop their business strategies to meet the needs and expectations of potential customers from this perspective as well.
Highlights
In developed market economies, the service industry is already generating approximately three quarters of gross domestic product and employing about two thirds of the working population
The indexes for all groups of services for eight kitchen manufacturers, which are the results of fuzzy logic inference decision system (FIS), are listed in columns 3 to 10
In the paper we presented a model that allows us to evaluate and analyze individual furniture manufacturing companies in terms of service provision
Summary
The service industry is already generating approximately three quarters of gross domestic product and employing about two thirds of the working population. Services are usually performed and used at the same time, changing quickly, transient and cannot be stored For this reason, many authors (Brady & Cronin, 2001; Cronin Jr & Taylor, 1992; Gummesson, 1991; McLaughlin & Coffey, 1990; Muyeed, 2012; Sahay, 2005; Schembri & Sandberg, 2002; Zeithaml, 2000) believe that it is extremely difficult to determine and monitor service quality. Many authors (Brady & Cronin, 2001; Cronin Jr & Taylor, 1992; Gummesson, 1991; McLaughlin & Coffey, 1990; Muyeed, 2012; Sahay, 2005; Schembri & Sandberg, 2002; Zeithaml, 2000) believe that it is extremely difficult to determine and monitor service quality We cannot measure it precisely and the sole criterion of quality is customer satisfaction with the service, which is closely linked to customer expectations (Santouridis & Trivellas, 2010). Companies that do not offer services and companies with poor services eventually lose even the most loyal customers (Ahn & Sohn, 2009; Brax, 2005; Murali et al, 2016b)
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