Bill of Services (BOS)

Abstract

Bill of Services (BOS) is a novel management tool designed to support service organizations in developing their services and planning resources to satisfy management's target service level. This paper presents a methodology for configuration of the BOS in a manner similar to configuration of the Bill of Materials (BOM) in a manufacturing organization. Definition of the BOS enables management to calculate the capacity of the resources needed to satisfy service demand and support the cost process of any service category in the organization. The BOS may also support management during the phase of negotiations with potential customers by testing various service alternatives. The BOS assists management in the day-to-day planning and control of activities, and facilitates a professional management infrastructure in service organizations. The paper presents a detailed example of a hotel BOS and elaborates the advantages of using this management tool.