IMPROVED CUSTOMER SERVICE USING NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AS AN ENABLING TOOL

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the strategic potentiality of new information technology in service industries. Electronic Data Inte rchange (EDI) in the transportation industry is used as an exemplary c ase. Recent research showed that higher efficiency is the main reason for service organizations to implement EDI. But EDI can also be used a s an enabling tool to develop new or improved customer services - e.g. tracking and tracing, real door-to-door concepts etc. But in most org anizations it takes time to discover the strategic potentials of EDI. In the first part of the paper, the fields of customer service and new information technology are described. Subsequently, the two subjects are linked in a theory on innovation in services, termed the reverse p roduct cycle theory posed by Barras (1986, 1990). Finally, some first results are presented.