Business services are the intangible operations that support the production of goods and services. They include activities like advertising, marketing, consulting, logistics (including travel and facilities), waste handling, staffing, shipping, and administration services to name just a few. These services are a crucial part of the economy and they offer unique value propositions for customers and clients.
A successful business service design aligns IT assets with the needs of employees and customers to deliver better quality products and outcomes internally for the organisation and externally to its customers. It can help a company to reduce costs and improve productivity.
Companies can also outsource these operations to other companies, known as business-to-business (B2B) services. This may include consultancy services, accounting, IT services and other related work. Companies can use these services to gain access to new technologies and expertise that they do not have in-house, which can improve their profitability.
Another important type of business services are financial services. This includes activities such as banking and investing as well as insurance. These types of businesses can provide a critical source of funding for companies that need additional capital to grow or expand.
While these services can be beneficial, they can also lead to inefficiencies and conflicts. This is particularly true when revenue-generating line managers overrule shared services managers, which can undermine the performance of the system. To avoid this, it is necessary to develop a balanced approach to designing and managing business services.