ABSTRACT
In this chapter the traditional term ‘product’ is used for the product, or service, which an organization is offering. Products and services have long been treated separately, but increasingly it is being recognized that all products have an element of service, as for example, where capital equipment is sold with a long-term credit package, commissioning by a service engineer and the provision of training for operatives. More and more, the change over time has led to specialized products becoming general ones. For example, computers which are sold in all kinds of outlets rather than specialized ones have become generic commodities that can only be distinguished from similar products by the services which are provided with them. Conversely, services may be provided but be reliant on products for their execution as in the provision of insurance-cover. This involves the production of a policy and can involve the use of the telephone, the fax machine and the Internet. In this way air transport service involves more than the provision of transport, it also includes the issue of tickets, baggage facilities and conveyance, the seat on the aircraft and, sometimes, the serving of food. One or other element, product or service, is likely to dominate to varying degrees depending on the nature of the offering.
