Recipient of the 2019 IISE Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Joint Publishers Book-of-the-Year Award
This is a comprehensive textbook on service systems engineering and management. It emphasizes the use of engineering principles to the design and operation of service enterprises. Service systems engineering relies on mathematical models and methods to solve problems in the service industries. This textbook covers state-of-the-art concepts, models and solution methods important in the design, control, operations and management of service enterprises.
Service Systems Engineering and Management begins with a basic overview of service industries and their importance in today’s economy. Special challenges in managing services, namely, perishability, intangibility, proximity and simultaneity are discussed. Quality of service metrics and methods for measuring them are then discussed. Evaluating the design and operation of service systems frequently involves the conflicting criteria of cost and customer service. This textbook presents two approaches to evaluate the performance of service systems –
Multiple Criteria Decision Making and
Data Envelopment Analysis. The textbook then discusses several topics in service systems engineering and management – supply chain optimization, warehousing and distribution, modern portfolio theory, revenue management, retail engineering, health systems engineering and financial services.
Features:
- Stresses quantitative models and methods in service systems engineering and management
- Includes chapters on design and evaluation of service systems, supply chain engineering, warehousing and distribution, financial engineering, healthcare systems, retail engineering and revenue management
- Bridges theory and practice
- Contains end-of-chapter problems, case studies, illustrative examples, and real-world applications
Service Systems Engineering and Management is primarily addressed to those who are interested in learning how to apply operations research models and methods for managing service enterprises. This textbook is well suited for industrial engineering students interested in service systems applications and MBA students in elective courses in operations management, logistics and supply chain management that emphasize quantitative analysis.
About the Authors
A. Ravi Ravindran has been a professor and former department head of industrial and manufacturing engineering at the Pennsylvania State University (1997-2017). He is an Emeritus Professor now.
Paul Griffin is the St. Vincent Health Chair and Director of the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering at Purdue University and a professor in the Schools of Industrial Engineering and Biomedical Engineering (2017-present).
Vittal Prabhu is currently a Professor in the Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State, where he started his academic career as an assistant professor in 1996. He also serves as the Director of Service Enterprise Engineering 360.
Industry Reviews
"I am thrilled to see this fabulous book getting published. I have been waiting for several years to offer a course on service engineering but never took the next step. As soon as I saw the contents of this book as well as the first couple of chapters, I got the inspiration to put in the paperwork to offer the course. The book is current, covers a vast set of service industries, goes deep in terms of analysis, focuses on applications of operations research, and is written like a textbook tailor made for classroom purposes. The authors bring in their years of experience into this masterpiece of a book. I am delighted that the authors have an extensive exercise section, several worked out examples, and are offering materials for other instructors. I cannot wait to read it cover to cover and teach the aforementioned course on service engineering. For me this book is the greatest thing since the slice of bread, and the Internet."
- Natarajan Gautam, Texas A&M University, USA
"This is a well written book by distinguished faculty members in the discipline. The material covered is state-of-the-art and clearly explained. I highly recommend this as a textbook and as a reference book in the newly emerging area in industrial engineering."
- Bopaya Bidanda, University of Pittsburgh, USA
"I am thrilled to see this fabulous book getting published. I have been waiting for several years to offer a course on service engineering but never took the next step. As soon as I saw the contents of this book as well as the first couple of chapters, I got the inspiration to put in the paperwork to offer the course. The book is current, covers a vast set of service industries, goes deep in terms of analysis, focuses on applications of operations research, and is written like a textbook tailor made for classroom purposes. The authors bring in their years of experience into this masterpiece of a book. I am delighted that the authors have an extensive exercise section, several worked out examples, and are offering materials for other instructors. I cannot wait to read it cover to cover and teach the aforementioned course on service engineering. For me this book is the greatest thing since the slice of bread, and the Internet."
- Natarajan Gautam, Texas A&M University, USA
"This is a well written book by distinguished faculty members in the discipline. The material covered is state-of-the-art and clearly explained. I highly recommend this as a textbook and as a reference book in the newly emerging area in industrial engineering."
- Bopaya Bidanda, University of Pittsburgh, USA
