Service Blueprinting

SERVICE BLUEPRINTING

MEANING:

^v A service blueprint is a picture or map that accurately portrays the service system so that the different people can understand.

^v      It is useful at the design and redesign stages of service development.

^v It visually displays the service by simultaneously depicting the process of service delivery, the points of customer contact, the roles of customers and employees.

BLUEPRINTING COMPONENTS:

Line of interaction:

It represents direct interactions between the customer and the organization.

Ex: Initial interview, intermediate meetings.

Line of visibility:

This line separates all service activities that are visible to the customer from those that are not visible.

Line of internal interaction:

It separates contact employee activities from those of other service support activities and people. Ex: Blueprint for express mail delivery services.

BUILDING A BLUEPRINT:

STEP -1:

Blueprints can be developed at a variety of levels and there needs to be agreement on the starting point. Identifying the process to be mapped will be determined by the underlying purpose of building the blueprint.

STEP-2:

A common rationale for market segmentation is that each segments needs are different and therefore will require variations in the service features once any level of detail is reached, separates blueprints should be developed to avoid confusion and maximize their usefulness.

STEP-3:

This step involves charting the choices and actions that the customer performs / experiences in purchasing, consuming and evaluating the service.

STEP-4:

In case of technology-delivered services, the required actions of the technology interface will be mapped above the line of visibility.If no employees are involved in the service at all, then the area can be relabeled “onstage technology actions”actions,thoseactivities.If bo “onstage contact employee actions”

STEP-5:

Here the line of internal interaction can then be drawn and linkages from contact activities to internal support function can be identified.

STEP-6:

Finally, the evidence of service can be added to the blueprint to illustrate what it is that the customer sees and receives as tangible evidence of the service at each step in the customer experience.

BENEFITS OF SERVICE BLUEPRINTING: 1.It provides an overview of the service

2.It provides a basis for identifying and assessing cost, revenue and capital invested in each element of the service.

3.It facilitates top-down, bottom-up approach to quality improvement.