ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how accounting was used in innovation related to logistics services. It discusses literature on open book accounting and on services. Open book accounting refers to the exchange of proprietary cost information in an interorganizational relationship. Quality assurance, performance measurement, and volume or demand management are managerial challenges in a service environment; they result from the intangible nature and from the role of customer in service process. The chapter investigates a case in which a supplier aimed to change the relationship with its largest buyer in a services supply chain. This supplier is a bakery, which is called as BreadCo. BreadCo's supply chain involved raw materials suppliers for its own bakeries, third-party suppliers that delivered finished products, distributor companies, and customers. In 2003, BreadCo started with a project to improve its costing information. The costing project resulted in a new costing system involving direct costs and three indirect cost pools: transport costs, order acceptance costs, and general costs.
