This study seeks to provide organizational optimization mechanism for Epinions.com through implementation of IDEF0 model. This research focuses on analysis of service provision processes, which with the growth of the EBE’ structure and the scope of activities must be enhanced and optimized in the view of realizing company’s mission.
Current Epinions.com’ mission is to provide various product review services to the customers, who are both individuals and commercial entities. Current services may be outlined in several interdependent categories:
- Web of trust service focuses on the provision of information, reviews and specification of specific manufactured goods differentiated by categories. This service is provided by Category Managers (CM) who work on structuring review in the specific categories, gather information on them and contact with manufactures sites and representatives.
- Epinions’s happy provides a possibility for registered members to earn Eroyalties, Epionions prize currency by providing the most popular and adequate reviews for the customers.
- Sharing knowledge with specialists of Epinions.com. This service presupposes communication on the specific category of the products customer is interested in.
- Epinions.com also provides the service of ignoring certain members’ reviews for their poor quality or inaccurate information provided.
The current service provision structure is managed by CM and must be enhanced in view of meeting the challenges of company’s enlargement. Moreover, growth creates possibilities of more customer tailored and profit-oriented approach to the provision of the services, which are now mainly connected with the provision of peer reviews. Thus a process model for changing services provision mechanism must be created.
Context model of service provision process
The model created for the purpose of service provision optimization through creating functional schemata of service realization and its provision to the customer. The current mechanism of service provision is not adequate in terms of company’s enlargement which results in increasing of product categories numbers and increasing scope of data needed to be analyzed. The existing family of CM in the company though to meet those challenges must be increased by new employees which is nor efficient in terms of cost-effectiveness of the company. The current model seeks to reorient the functions of CM and related to them service provision processes in order to guarantee company’s and employees’ efficiency. Moreover it seeks to provide groundwork for new services provision which would make it more profit-oriented. The main innovations to service provision model include the following:
- Reorienting CM roles purposes to such as CC as opposite to categories.
- To divide functions between of category processing between CM and registered members enjoying Eroyalties and other advantages.
- Provide new paid service of professional tailored analyses of product’s categories realized by Category Managers (CM).
- Orienting Category Managers on customer communication by category groups rather than structuring existing categories.
In sum, the modeling of new service provision processes will allow the association to absorb the ever-widening variety and scope of aid, while limiting extra headcount.
Further, the provided schemata will give a possibility to reorient company to demands of cost and efficiency economy in the view of improving company’s performance. Thus, CMs can easily focus their labors on income generate behaviors, which will form extra avenues for enlargement and endorsement within Epinions, as well as enhancing the circulating of information and messages across various groups.
The following A0 diagram characterizes basic features of service provision process, which further more specifically and differentially modeled in IDEF0.
As various services will be provided and ensured by both CMs, who will take the function of CC and registered members the delivery of service would be differentiated during this specialization. The developing of products category structure and cooperation with product’s companies would be realized on the permanent basis of service provision process as an innovative mechanism of designing new services and possibilities for the customers. The acknowledgement of request would be provided by company’s online support as well the process of communicating requests to CM and registered stakeholders. Communication with customers on the matters of service delivery would be maintained at every stage of service provision process in order to ensure guaranteeing quality and complying with responsibilities. The structuring of services, updating product data system and delivering tailored services for individuals and companies would be realized through specialization. Data system is enabled in the process of acknowledging service request, at the stage of service delivery and elaboration of new services as support tool.
The full model is presented in the additional file. A1 stands for the first stage of the process, which presupposes acknowledging requests; A2 explains the process of service delivery and realization. A2 is then subdivided in A21 and A22, the first presenting the process of structuring products categories and elaborating them (Category Managers and registered members) and the second – realizing tailored services for customers (Category Managers). At last A3 stands for developing new services for the customers.