Facing the challenges of service automation: an enabler for e-commerce and productivity gain in traditional services

Business plan, psychological factors, and operational issues are three major reasons that Internet-based businesses fail. The paper considers why operational concerns occur and illustrates how they can be avoided, by demonstrating the application of techniques that were pioneered in manufacturing automation and service management. The use of process mapping and failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) can assist the development of e-commerce business processes in a manner similar to the way these tools have proven valuable in manufacturing. The use and value of process mapping and FMEA are demonstrated through the development of an online auction process.