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A cost-based model for customer batching in mass service operations

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Journal of Service Science Research

Abstract

Customers of mass services have similar needs. Therefore, operations managers have options to process customers in batches, rather than individually. While batching in manufacturing may reduce setup time, batching in services may reduce both setup and processing time. Although substantial prior research has been done on batch sizes in the manufacturing context, significant differences in cost structures complicate direct application of these models to services. Of special concern for polices regarding batching in service operations are immediate temporal effects on and preferences of customers. This paper synthesizes and extends previous research to develop and analyze an economic model for determining optimal batch sizes for many mass service scenarios.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Business Administration, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, USA

    Jacob V. Simons Jr. & Gerard Burke

  2. School of Business Administration, Morehead State University, Morehead, India

    Gregory R. Russell

Authors
  1. Jacob V. Simons Jr.
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  2. Gerard Burke
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  3. Gregory R. Russell
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Correspondence to Jacob V. Simons Jr..

Additional information

Dr. Jacob V. Simons, Jr. received a bachelor’s degree from the Air Force Academy, master’s degrees from Ball State and Troy State, and a Ph.D. from the University of Houston. He retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel, having served as an aircraft maintenance officer and a tenured faculty member at the Air Force Institute of Technology. He joined the faculty at Georgia Southern in 1997, where he currently serves as a Professor of Operations Management, teaching courses in operations management, service operations, and quantitative analysis. He has published papers in journals such as Journal of Operations Management, OMEGA, International Journal of Production Research, Production and Operations Management, and Journal of Service Research.

Dr. Gerard (Jerry) Burke is an associate professor of operations management in the Department of Finance and Quantitative Analysis at Georgia Southern University, located in Statesboro, Georgia. He holds a Ph. D. in operations management from the University of Florida. His teaching and research interests include manufacturing and service operations management, purchasing and negotiation, sourcing strategies in supply chains, supply chain coordination, combinatorial optimization and decision support systems. He has taught undergraduate, graduate and continuing education classes for Georgia Southern University as well as undergraduate courses for the University of Florida in operations and supply chain management. Jerry is a member of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), Manufacturing & Service Operations Management Society (MSOM), Decision Sciences Institute (DSI), Production and Operations Management Society (POMS) and Beta Gamma Sigma. As a member of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) he is a recognized instructor for study courses to prepare for Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) exams.

Gregory R. Russell is currently the Associate Dean in the School of Business Administration, College of Business and Public Affairs, at Morehead State University. Prior to his time as Associate Dean, he was a Professor in the Department of Finance and Quantitative Analysis at Georgia Southern University. His published research has appeared in such journals as the Journal of Operations Management, International Journal of Service Industry Management, International Journal of Production Research, Production and Inventory Management Journal, Review of Business, and the Journal of Quality Management.

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Simons, J.V., Burke, G. & Russell, G.R. A cost-based model for customer batching in mass service operations. J Serv Sci Res 3, 123–151 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12927-011-0006-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12927-011-0006-6

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