In this paper we consider perishable inventory systems with two types of demand. Demand may be for either fresh items or for somewhat older items. We model the system with two inventory stages. The first stage holds fresh items and the second stage holds the older items. We approximate the performance of the two-stage inventory system and compare two managerial policies.

Services comprise an ever‐expanding source of employment in the world's economies and are of significant interest to both academicians and practitioners. In this study, historical perspectives from which to view service typologies are provided and four decades of service typologies are chronicled. The interest in services demonstrated by academicians is tracked over time as are the purposes for which typologies have been developed. A unified schematic representation of services is developed in which the common themes underlying service typology development are identified from both a macro and micro level. Based on this study, areas for future research are identified.