---
sourceDocument: Xanadu Customer Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/xanadu/customer-service-management

 Release :

    - xanadu

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Xanadu Customer Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - csm

bundleId :

    - csm

workflow :

    - Customer and Industry


---

# Service Model Foundation overview

# Service Model Foundation overview {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Xanadu
* 
* Updated August 1, 2024
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read

Service Model Foundation provides a framework enabling customers to model and manage their operational hierarchy of the entities involved in offering CRM functions likes sales and customer service in alignment with
their business needs.
The Service Model Foundation framework expands the Customer Service Management data model, including the install base model. It provides the flexibility and security needed to support business organizations with internal and external locations, households, customers and
consumers, and the relationships that exist between these entities.  
Use the Service Model Foundation framework to model the service organization structure that is involved in supporting your end customers. With this framework, you can:

* Create a service organization structure that includes both internal and external business locations.
* Assign customer service agents to business locations and provide access to the cases and customer information in their business location hierarchy.
* Establish relationships between agents and specific customers that enable agents to manage cases and information for those customers.
* Establish relationships between consumers, including consumers who are members of the same household.
{#csm-industry-data-model__ul_lvm_j2p_dmb}

## Entities included with Service Model Foundation {#csm-industry-data-model__section_x5q_nzc_gmb}

The Service Model Foundation feature includes the following entities.{#csm-industry-data-model__table_ky1_wy4_dmb__entry__3}

| Entity | Definition | Examples |
|-|-|-|
| Service organizations | The internal and external entities that are involved in providing a service to customers. A service organization provides the base framework that supports the customer service value chain. This includes internal and external service organizations. You can extend the service organization to create new entities as needed. | * Financial service organizations with multiple branches * Automobile manufacturers with multiple dealerships * Government agencies with multiple office locations {#csm-industry-data-model__ul_zqg_xmq_gmb} |
| Internal business locations | The internal entities that belong to a service organization and are involved in providing goods and services. | * Stores * Branches * Centers {#csm-industry-data-model__ul_rqw_r1p_dmb} |
| External business locations | The external entities that belong to a service organization and are involved in providing goods and services. | * Franchises * Dealerships {#csm-industry-data-model__ul_jzg_v1p_dmb} |
| Customers (B2B) | The external customers in the business-to-business model who use goods and services. | * Accounts * Contacts {#csm-industry-data-model__ul_nm4_h1p_dmb} |
| [Customers (B2C)](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/1EyEkgaQMIIkdlKvOq0ANQ "The household entity represents a group of consumers that usually share a common address and use services as a group.") | The external customers in the business-to-consumer model who use goods and services. | * Consumers * Households {#csm-industry-data-model__ul_j1b_z4q_gmb} |
| Employees and staff members | The people who work at internal and external service organizations and assist customers. | * Internal employees * External agents * External staff {#csm-industry-data-model__ul_pyd_m1p_dmb} |
| [Roles](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/ki4YEwfVWtTI50dr2mK~lw "Roles that are included with the plugins that enable the Service Model Foundation feature.") | Job functions that are performed by various users in the service organization. | * Location managers * Location agents * Location consumer agents * Location relationship managers * Location manager contributors {#csm-industry-data-model__ul_w31_wpr_2mb} |
| [Responsibility definitions](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/qpstQ4Im3Pm1XqmN3X1s1Q "A responsibility, or responsibility definition, describes a role or a function that supports a customer. Use responsibility definitions to create relationships between an agent and a customer or between two consumers.") | Definitions of the responsibilities that an agent can perform for a customer or that a consumer can perform for another consumer. Use these responsibilities to create relationships between agents and customers or between consumers. | * Location agents * Location consumer agents * Location contributors * Location manager contributors * Location manager fulfiller * Location relationship manager {#csm-industry-data-model__ul_yyc_brr_2mb} |
| [Relationships](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/Y3BzyCH3EYHnAxAiHVdR3A "Create relationships between an agent and a customer or between two consumers that provide additional access to customer data.") | Relationships that are created between agents and customers or between two consumers, are based on specific responsibilities. Use these relationships to provide additional access to data. | * Relationships between an employee or staff member and a customer * Relationships between two consumers {#csm-industry-data-model__ul_dys_hvr_2mb} |
[Table 1. Industry data models entities]

{#csm-industry-data-model__table_ky1_wy4_dmb}

## Plugins for Service Model Foundation {#csm-industry-data-model__section_fb4_zfv_kjb}

Users with the system administrator role can activate the following plugins to enable Service Model Foundation features.

Business Location
:   Activate the Business Location plugin (com.snc.business_location) to enable support for businesses that interact with customers through physical channels such as stores, branches, franchises, and dealerships. This
    plugin automatically activates the Service Organization plugin (com.snc.service_organization).

Customer Service Household
:   Activate the Customer Service Household plugin (com.snc.household) to manage customer service for households. This plugin enables you to create households, define the members of a household, and identify relationships
    between household members. This plugin automatically activates the Customer Service Base Extension Entities plugin (com.snc.cs_base_extension).
**Related tasks**   

* [Configure Service Model Foundation](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/bzQw_jueiWYqrsVpWcbLxA "Configure the Service Model Foundation feature to enable a foundational data model framework. You can use this framework to create structured and flexible data models that represent your business needs.")