Service: the next frontier.

There is a revolution taking place in the U.S. economy, a service revolution. Today, over 70 percent of the gross national product and 75 percent of all jobs can be attributed to the service sector. This monumental change is affecting not only service firms but also manufacturers. It is estimated that anywhere from 30 to 70 percent of the value added by a typical manufacturer is due to the service component. This article discusses the increased importance of services in our economy and on our shop floors. If manufacturers are to prosper in the coming decade, they will need to embrace this change and put services and service operations at the forefront of their strategic plans.