Business services are activities that support or enable trade. They are often intangible, but have value to a customer by offering something such as knowledge, outcomes or experience. They also include activities like providing support, facilitating communication or offering advice. A typical service is provided for a fee. These businesses can be large or small and may operate in the field or remotely. Some examples of Business services are travel, hospitality, cleaning and maintenance.
A form of Business service is known as business to business (B2B). This type of activity involves two or more trade organizations and is in contrast with business to consumer and business to government transactions. For example, a car manufacturing company performs B2B activities with wholesalers and suppliers for the materials needed to build cars. A business-to-business service might involve an activity where a firm repackages and labels goods it has purchased from a supplier. This process is called reverse logistics and can help companies optimize their supply chains.
Another Business service is outsourcing, which entails the contracting of an entire business process, capability, program or project to a third party. This is a popular way to reduce costs, improve quality and gain competitive advantage. Many companies provide outsourcing services, and this industry is growing rapidly.
Other examples of Business services are logistics, shipping and warehousing. Warehousing and distribution services help companies get their products to market faster by managing inventories, arranging transportation and handling other logistical tasks. This industry is growing in importance as globalization continues and the world becomes a more interconnected place.
The success of Business services depends on the value they create for customers and the context in which they operate. This is why it’s important to define and design them for success, including understanding the business environment in which they operate. This is a key element in creating high-performing Services, and it applies as much to existing Business services as it does to new ones.
There are several ways to manage Business services in SL1. You can select a service and click the Star icon to make it a favorite. Favorited services appear at the top of the list on the Business Services page by default. You can also sort by favorites in the multi-sort function. You can delete a service by clicking the Actions button and then selecting Delete Services. In addition, you can add a Service to a dashboard by selecting the checkbox next to the service and then choosing Add to Dashboard in the action list. You can also create custom dashboards to monitor Business services. To learn how to do this, see Creating Dashboards for Business Services.