The Service Transaction Is Conducted Remotely Developments in telecommunications, online technology, and sophisticated logistics solutions have spurred many new approaches to service delivery. A customer may never see the service facilities or meet service personnel face-to-face when dealing with a fi rm through remote transactions. Service encounters with personnel are more likely via a customer contact center, mail, email, chat, or Twitter. If physical products, documents, or other tangibles (e.g., credit cards or membership cards) need to reach a customer, logistics providers off er service fi rms integrated, reliable, and cost-eff ective solutions. Examples of service transactions at arm's length are: > Repair services for small pieces of equipment sometimes require customers to ship the product to a maintenance facility, where it is serviced and then returned by mail (with the option of paying extra for express shipment). Many service providers off er solutions with the help of integrated logistics fi rms such as FedEx, TNT, or UPS. Th ese solutions range from storage and express delivery of spare parts for aircraft (B2B delivery) to pickup of defective cell phones from customers' homes and return of the repaired phones to the customers (B2C pickup and delivery, also called "reverse logistics"). > Any information-based product can be delivered instantaneously through the internet to apps on smart devices such as phones and tablets (Figure 5.4). When you look at the eight petals of the Flower of Service, you can see that no fewer than fi ve supplementary services are information based (Figure 5.5). Information, consultation, order-taking, billing, and payment (e.g., via credit card) can all be transmitted using online channels. Service businesses that involve physical core products, such as retailing and repair, are also closing physical branches and shifting delivery of many supplementary services to the internet. Th ey rely on speedy business logistics to enable a strategy of arm's-length transactions with their customers (Figure 5.6).