Transcript
Page 1: The product development process of an enterprise from an SSME perspective

EMPI RICAL ARTICLE

The product development process of an enterprisefrom an SSME perspective

Liang-Chuan Wu • Ivan Shih

Received: 1 August 2012 / Accepted: 4 February 2013

� Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Abstract This study empirically explores a real-world manufacturer product

development process from a service science perspective. In this era of keen global

competition, the process of product development is crucial for companies before the

final product is launched to the market. The poor development of a product can fail

to meet customer needs and result in product failure, which can even lead to sig-

nificant losses for manufacturers. However, traditional product development pro-

cesses are much more manufacture-oriented rather than customer-involved. In this

paper, we aim to use the Service science, management, and engineering (SSME)

perspective, proposed by IBM, to improve product demand asymmetries by dis-

covering true user requirements in order to enhance customer involvement and lead

to better product development. We show how SSME is applied in the context of

product development and in the discovery of customer needs, and propose a

modified process based on SSME to the product development process.

Keywords Service science � Product development � Process design �Customer demand

1 Introduction

With intense commercial competition, the value and quality of services have

significantly increased and surpassed any tangible product (Boix et al. 2012; Hau

and Thuy 2012). Consequently, customer perceptions of and satisfaction with

services are crucial. Consider the economic development of advanced countries as

an example. In Europe, the United States, and Japan, the industrial structure is

L.-C. Wu (&) � I. Shih

Institute of Technology Management, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Road,

Taichung 402, Taiwan, ROC

e-mail: [email protected]

123

Serv Bus

DOI 10.1007/s11628-013-0185-y

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highly service-oriented insofar as regardless of the scale or number of employees,

the service industry plays a central role in their national economy (Hartwig 2008).

From the perspective of business and competitive strategies, because traditional and

current business management theories and strategies are increasingly becoming

obsolete or unable to provide competitive advantages, new business concepts and

practices must be developed. Thus, the concept of Service Science, Management,

and Engineering (SSME) (Maglio et al. 2006; Spohrer et al. 2010), which was

initially introduced by IBM, has become a popular school of thought (Hidaka 2010).

A service involves an interaction between particular entity types, either person to

person or product to person, and has a value creation outcome. In recent decades,

globalization and enhanced communication has increased service interactions (Jallat

2004) resulting in today’s service-oriented environment in which providing services

that fully satisfy customer needs is an important task for enterprises. For this reason,

this study employs the concept of SSME to develop an approach that enables

enterprises to remain close to customers.

The primary purpose of this study is to redesign the Treadmill Service Blueprint

to improve the service processes and systematically and effectively satisfy customer

demands from a service science perspective. Since academic discussion of the

benefits of SSME is still in the early stages (Voss and Hsuan 2011), this study

explores how SSME generates economic potential from an enterprise perspective.

As case studies are one of the recommended research approaches for investigating

how and why effects occur in the real world, this study uses a real-world case of a

fitness equipment manufacturer to identify the benefits of using an SSME

perspective and analyze its application in real life.

For this case study, we first interviewed an international fitness equipment

manufacturer to understand their product development process from a company

perspective. Next, we distributed questionnaires among customers of gymnasiums,

analyzing the returned results using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method

(Saaty 1988; Saaty and Vargas 2012) to determine the customers’ implicit

requirements. We then used the customers’ demands to redesign the product

development process and create a new service blueprint.

2 Theoretical background

In the twenty-first century, the service industry has become the main component of

international economic activity (Schneider and Bowen 2010). The SSME system,

originally introduced by IBM, has the following three purposes (Maglio and Spohrer

2008): (1) to provide a scientific method for measuring services, enabling the

maximization of service productivity through engineered production processes; (2)

to provide effective solutions when confronting a difficult problem; and (3) to

develop a framework that can automatically develop innovation. SSME is employed

as a knowledge base to integrate different innovation types, including technological

innovation, business innovation, social/organizational innovation, and demand-side

innovation (Hidaka 2006).

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Service science and business operations are closely related (Yu and Willoughby

2012). From the provider’s perspective, service science is expected to increase

service productivity, enhance business forecasts, and reduce business risks. From

the customer’s perspective, service science is expected to balance product

development and customer demand to develop products that can fully satisfy

customer needs (Abe 2005). SSME is a concept that integrates numerous related

fields, such as medical treatment, law and economics, industrial engineering,

computer science, web services, information management, business strategies,

cognitive science, and others (Maglio et al. 2010). In this way, SSME can be defined

as a multidisciplinary approach for examining, creating, and improving the value

co-creation process (Maglio and Spohrer 2008).

At present, the service industry accounts for *75 % of the U.S. economy

(Schneider and Bowen 2010). To fully appreciate the substantial output of services,

the term ‘‘service’’ must be clarified. A service is the utilization of specialized

competences through actions, processes, and performances for the benefit of the

company or another entity (Vargo and Lusch 2004). Services are ideas, disciplines,

and concepts, whereas products are tangible items. Customers experience tangible

products differently than intangible services. Additionally, increasing competition

in the sports and fitness industry has heightened demands for better quality services

(Thompson 2011). To remain competitive, providers must be able to identify and

meet the expectations of their target consumers (Papadimitriou and Karteroliotis

2009), and as such, services are valuable co-creation processes conducted by the

provider and with the customer (Vargo et al. 2008). In other words, services are no

longer peripheral activities, but are instead an essential part of our society and form

the core of most national economies. The demand for services, particularly

innovative services, is endless (Crevani et al. 2011).

Since manufacturers are increasingly facing slower growth, diversification of

competitive products, and an inability to sustain product profitability, they have

begun adopting service-based strategies to avoid these problems and maintain

competitiveness (Anna 2011). Consequently, manufacturers are likely to become

increasingly service- and customer-oriented. Manufacturers experiencing pressure

to move closer to customers, improve product development processes, and create

new products that meet customer demands must allow better communication among

top management, marketing staff, designers, and engineers, to create better product

development processes (McCain et al. 2004). Additionally, manufacturers have

begun developing product-related services for their customers, providing the range

of services required to use the product to increase customer loyalty.

In the past two decades, obesity has increased dramatically (Flegal 2012).

Currently, *50 % of adults and 25 % of children in the U.S. are overweight

(French et al. 2001). Thus, effective weight loss has become an important task for

people in modern society. The solution to obesity involves increasing people’s

participation in exercise and improving their physical fitness. Fitness equipment

allows people to exercise indoors, eliminating weather concerns and potential

embarrassment. In the U.S., gyms and health and fitness clubs generate $25 billion

annually (IBISworld 2011). The services provided by the recreational sports

industry can be defined by their characteristics. In this industry, customers not only

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purchase services, but also actively participate in service production and consump-

tion. Human performance is the primary product and customer experience is a major

output (Ko and Pastore 2004). Since the fitness equipment industry involves

substantial interaction with customers, we selected a fitness equipment provider as a

case study to explore the service science approach.

Previous studies have shown that service evaluations are related to customers’

behavioral intentions and habits (Backman and Veldkamp 1995; Baker and

Crompton 2000; Chang et al. 2013). It is the goal of this study, therefore, to analyze

customers’ implicit requirements. Among the various demands and questionnaires

developed to analyze service processes, the AHP method proposed by is an

excellent tool for prioritizing a set of alternatives and determining the relative

importance of attributes of multiple criteria decision-making problems. Thus, the

various aspects of the AHP method have been widely discussed (Schniederjans and

Wilson 1991). Given that this method employs pairwise comparisons of hierarchi-

cally organized elements to produce a set of priorities (Saaty 1988), AHP assists

decision makers in solving problems in establishing a hierarchical structure and

determining the weights of each element to simplify complex decision-making

assessments into a series of simple comparisons. The AHP method can thus enable

decision makers to make optimum decisions (Ounnar and Pujo 2012). Specifically

in this study, AHP in the form of questionnaires to determine customers’ implicit

requirements can provide clear data for each element, which enables us to better

distinguish customer demands and extend the applications of SSME.

Service blueprinting is a process analysis method proposed by Shostack (1982)

that is included in SSME to demonstrate the design of services. Since today’s firms

have evolved to be more customer-based, service blueprinting has become a useful

tool for service process analysis (Zeithaml et al. 2009). This method of process

analysis involves the description of all activities involved in the designing and

managing of services, including schedules, project plans, detailed design represen-

tations, and service platforms. Service blueprints comprise the following five

components (Bitner et al. 2008): (1) customer actions: this includes ‘‘all the steps

that customers conduct as part of the service delivery process’’; (2) onstage/visible

contact employee actions: these are the actions performed by frontline employees as

part of a face-to-face interaction with customers; (3) backstage/invisible contact

employee actions: these are invisible employee-customer interactions and other

activities that employees undertake to serve customers; (4) support processes: all

activities conducted by individuals within a company who are not contact

employees, but whose functions are important to completing the services processes;

(5) physical evidence: this represents all the tangibles that customers are exposed to

or collect during their contact with a company. This study uses service blueprints to

represent the interaction between customers and treadmills to identify customer

actions, the support processes provided by onstage and backstage employees, and

other support processes.

The primary objective of this study is to apply the service science approach in an

industry case. We employ a real-world case as an example to clarify the service

science approach and identify users’ demands of treadmills. By applying the tools

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supported by SSME, we develop an improved process to satisfy treadmill users,

thereby providing a systematic SSME method.

3 Case study and research methodology

3.1 Introduction

This study aims to improve user satisfaction for a real-world fitness equipment

manufacturer (Company A) by conducting a case study. Company A manufactures

fitness equipments, and given that among these the treadmill is the most popular, it

will be the target of our investigation. Company A was founded in 1975 when it

mainly produced and sold dumbbells and barbells. After 3 years, Company A

became the world’s largest supplier of weightlifting equipment, demonstrating its

success as a manufacturing enterprise. However, to obtain a greater brand edge,

Company A developed its own brand X in 1995, which was primarily targeted to the

fitness equipment store market. In 1999, they then founded their second brand Y,

which was sold directly to the discount store market in 60 countries around the world

through 65 dealers. Company A expanded rapidly after the creation of its brand X, its

earnings and profit increasing by 30 % for five consecutive years. By 2001, Company

A had become a worldwide fitness group that owned four brands. In 2004, Company

A created its own research center in the U.S. to collect users’ opinions and

suggestions regarding fitness equipment, which was then manufactured at a factory

in Taiwan. Since Company A’s product development process has been similar to the

concept of SSME, conducting an SSME analysis is relatively straightforward.

Company A’s best-selling product in 2004 was the treadmill and the elliptical

trainer, both combined accounting for 74 % of its total exports. Today, Company A

is a large-scale company although its product growth rate has diminished. As such,

to continually increase its number of orders, Company A needs to fulfill its

customers’ explicit requirements and create innovative products that attract

customers. In this way, SSME is an excellent method for conducting further

investigations into customer demands, and because Company A already has its own

method of responding to customer demands, they can use SSME to extend their

understanding of customer needs.

As mentioned previously, in light of the fact that the service customers’ experience

influences their enthusiasm to continue using the product, suppliers must be able to

identify customer demands and satisfy their expectations. Since Company A has

become a widely known international enterprise, it is imperative that it provides an

appropriate service that satisfies customer demands. SSME considers that customer in

product design enables customization of service. The difference between SSME and

traditional manufacturing is as follows. First, literature shows that SSME emphasizes

on a ‘‘service as a whole’’ concept for the manufacturing sector (Forsman 2011; Xu

and Wang 2011). Platform, systems, and infrastructure are all indispensible part to

support customer needs. Customers-centering philosophy for traditional manufac-

turing is sometimes more fragments rather than entirely involved in the input of

production process. Second, customer’s voice is a driving force for manufacturers’

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competitiveness in the global market, so that traditional manufacturing-oriented

companies are turning into the service-oriented manufacturing concept to gain

competitiveness advantage (Gebauer et al. 2010; Minguez et al. 2010).

This study thus investigates the customer requirements and treadmill-related

services of Company A in order to identify customer demands, integrate them in the

treadmill design, and reorganize the treadmill workflow. This study employed the

interview survey method, which permits the in-depth investigation of users’

perceptions and opinions of the treadmill. The first stage involved conducting an

open-ended interview with a manager from Company A to understand their treadmill

development process. During the interview, the interviewee explained Company A’s

product development process, which comprises seven phases. The first two phases are

related to the product design and development, and the next five phases are associated

with the product manufacturing and distribution. Since SSME concerns the creation

of products that satisfy user demands, only the first two phases are relevant and are

included in this study. The first phase is the initial product development that defines

the product market and target customers, functions, price range, selling channels,

development time, and budget. The second phase involves determining the product

specifications, developing the model, locating related patents, classifying the product

costs, and creating the manufacturing mold. By understanding the product develop-

ment process, we can see that SSME can be employed in the first phase that involves

defining the demands of the market and the customers.

Next, we constructed a questionnaire by referencing the responses of company

officials and previous studies on treadmills and the fitness industry, and distributed

the resulting questionnaire among the customers of health clubs. This enabled us to

better understand the real needs of customers because they are the ones who actually

use the fitness equipment. Since they understand the condition and service gaps of

current treadmill models and fitness equipment, they can suggest appropriate

improvements to service processes. Due to the fact that these improvements are

primarily technology- or service-related, in the following stage, we sought to

uncover the functions that users desire the most.

In this stage, we analyzed the results obtained in the previous stage using AHP

and identified the treadmill factors that were most highly weighted. The results

revealed the most important customer requirements. Finally, we applied this

demand to the service blueprint method and transformed the design of service

processes to satisfy the customers. Therefore, this study focuses on customers’

current satisfaction with treadmills, describes the disadvantages of the services

provided by treadmills, and suggests new or improved service processes.

3.2 Sample demographics

The survey respondents’ background information was obtained, as shown in

Table 1, to understand the participants’ demographics, and included gender, age,

occupation, annual income, fitness level, treadmill use history, and current treadmill

use frequency. We selected customers of gymnasiums as the sample participants

since they are the actual users of the fitness equipment, they have genuine

expectations of treadmills, and they can provide accurate assessments for our

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questionnaire. This study contained 197 respondents, of which 35.54 % were female

and 64.46 % were male. The participants’ annual income was divided into four

categories. As the questionnaire was conducted in Taiwan, participants’ income is

presented as NTD. To ensure that most of the survey respondents have experience of

the fitness industry, we included a question regarding participants’ fitness

experience. As for participants’ occupation, this information can allow us to better

understand their background. The section on treadmill use history allows us to

confirm that the respondent has treadmill experience. Overall, the majority of the

respondents that participated in this study provided good survey responses.

4 Analysis and results

In this section, we aim to determine the importance of customer needs, and locate

these needs into the ordinary treadmill process. Support for these newly added

customer needs results in modified processes that are described in Sect. 4.3.

Table 1 Sample demographicsDemographic variables Options Frequency (%)

Gender Male 127 64.46

Female 70 35.54

Annual Income \480 K 90 45.68

\600 K 54 27.41

\800 K 31 15.73

[1,000 K 22 11.16

Age 10–18 12 6.09

19–25 45 22.84

26–40 88 44.67

40? 52 26.39

Fitness experience \6 months 12 6.09

6 month to 1 year 44 22.33

1–3 years 77 39.08

More than 3 years 64 32.48

Treadmill use frequency Everyday 25 12.69

Once a week 18 9.13

Once a month 51 25.88

Casually 103 52.28

Occupation Service 85 43.14

Manufacturing 30 15.22

Information 27 13.7

Financial 19 9.64

Education 36 18.27

Treadmill use history Several months 30 15.22

\1 year 58 29.44

1–3 years 41 20.81

More than 3 years 68 34.51

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4.1 AHP questionnaire construct and result analysis

Since a customer need comes in a variety, key customer needs must be determined

for Company A. For this reason, AHP is used as a decision-making method that

determines the priorities of multiple criteria. Given the limitation of company

resources, an AHP questionnaire was constructed and the resulting analysis was

used to find out key customer needs for process modification. The questionnaire was

developed based on previous studies relating to the fitness industry and the

interview was conducted with a manager of Company A. According to the manager

interview, the aspects of treadmill use can be divided into six categories, namely

functions, texture, model, organization, price, and follow-up services. We identified

34 factors in the six categories that may affect the customers’ use of the treadmills,

as shown in Fig. 1.

4.2 Analysis for top customer needs (first level analysis)

To obtain the weightings of various treadmill factors, we inputted the AHP

questionnaire values into Expert Choice version 2000, the software for solving

AHP-related issues. After analyzing the results using Expert Choice, the respon-

dents were surveyed for all the treadmill factors. A comparison of the results for the

six main aspects is shown in Fig. 2.

The results in Fig. 2 indicate that treadmill users consider the treadmill functions

to be the most important. The second most important factor is the treadmill model,

followed by the texture, organization, and follow-up services. Price was the factor

that was least concerned by the treadmill users. According to these findings, users

are primarily concerned with the treadmill functions, or, in other words, the health

inducing effects that treadmills can enable users to achieve. In terms of the model,

or appearance of the treadmill, users want a treadmill that has an attractive

appearance that is pleasing to their eyes.

4.3 Second-level customer needs analysis (detailed requirement analysis)

In order to look more deeply inside the customer needs, it is beneficial to conduct a

second-level analysis of customer needs. In the second-level analysis, we

investigated the factors identified in the six categories to determine users’ primary

demands.

4.3.1 Function aspect

We divided the function aspect into the following five factors: (1) multimedia

entertainment applications that provide users with games, video, and music; (2)

exercise features that enable users to achieve their fitness goals; (3) safety measures

to prevent injury when using the treadmill; (4) effective fitness procedures to

maintain a healthy body; and (5) various additional features for calculating the

calories expended, improving users’ body shape, and ensuring the movements are

performed correctly. Figure 3 shows the weighting of these five factors. Most users

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Functions

Required to achieve the effect

of exercise

Innovative featuresSafety

Guide the process of the correct

movement

A sense of fun when used

Effective weight loss

Training in vital capacity

Muscle growth

Multimedia entertainment applications

Music

Video

Games

A variety of additional features

Records and calculation of

calories consumed

Improve body shapes

Effective fitness to maintain a healthy

body

Prevention of disease

Disability

Immobility

Texture

To be able to represent the status of their own identity

Strong and stable structure

Comfortable

Modeling

Aesthetic style

Personalized color

A variety of colors

Coordination with the indoor furniture

Trendy and special texture used

The development of peripheral

products series

Organization

Cooperating the overall folding to

save space

Assembly, disassembly, easy

installation

Ease mobility

Size coordinates with the interior

space

Price Reasonable and affordable price

Follow-up services

After sale service

Well-known brand

Good quality, reduce

maintenance rate

Assisted

instructions

Easy clean

Fig. 1 Distribution of various aspects and factors

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were primarily concerned with multimedia entertainment applications. In other

words, when using treadmills, users tend not want to focus on exercising, but rather

want to focus on entertainment, such as music, videos, or games, to help them pass

the time when exercising. Users rated having various additional features as the least

important of the function factors. Figure 4 shows the weightings of the third-level

factors. Among these factors, the most important are games and effective weight

loss. This indicates that users want treadmills with a game function to provide a

distraction when exercising and to ensure they do not feel bored when using

treadmills. Additionally, given that users want to achieve effective weight loss,

providing functions that help users lose weight more effectively is a crucial aspect

of treadmill design. Finally, users rated immobility as the least important factor.

4.3.2 Model aspect

We divided the model aspect into the six factors of aesthetic style, personalized

color, a variety of colors, coordination with existing furniture, fashionable and

unique texture, and the development of peripheral products. For this aspect, the

Fig. 2 Comparison of the six main aspects

Fig. 3 Weightings of the second-level factors in the function aspect

Fig. 4 Weightings of the third-level factors in the function aspect

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most important factor is aesthetic style, and the least important factor is a variety of

colors, as shown in Fig. 5.

4.3.3 Texture aspect

We divided the texture aspect into three factors, namely the ability to represent the

user’s identity, a strong and stable structure, and the provision of comfort. For this

aspect, the most important factor is the ability to represent the user’s identity

indicating that users want a treadmill that can represent their identity. Additionally,

the least important factor is the provision of comfort, as shown in Fig. 6.

4.3.4 Organization aspect

We divided the organization aspect into four factors: developing foldable equipment

to save space; easy equipment assembly, disassembly, and installation; ease of

mobility; and ensuring that the equipment size is suitable for the interior space. For

this aspect, the most important factor is developing foldable equipment to save

space, whereas the least important factor is the ensuring of equipment size being

suitable for the interior space, as shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 5 Weightings of the model aspect

Fig. 6 Weighting of the texture aspect

Fig. 7 Weighting of the organization aspect

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4.3.5 Follow-up services aspect

We divided the follow-up services aspect into the following five factors: after-sales

service; a well-known brand; good quality, reduced maintenance rate; assisted

instructions; and easy to clean equipment. For this aspect, the most important factor

is after-sales services, whereas the least important factor is easy to clean equipment,

as shown in Fig. 8.

4.3.6 Price aspect

Since the price aspect has only one factor, namely a reasonable and affordable price,

the only factor that affects users’ intention to purchase a treadmill is a reasonable

and affordable price.

Considering the respondents’ weightings of the 34 factors in the six main

categories, we merged and organized the 34 factors according to their relative

weightings to enable cross-aspect comparisons of the various factors. Based on the

analysis results for the 34 factors, we determined that the most important factors

influencing respondents’ use of treadmills are games, effective weight loss, aesthetic

style, a fashionable and unique texture, safety, ensuring that the equipment size is

suitable for the indoor furniture, and the ability to represent the user’s identity

Fig. 9).

This study adopts a service science perspective to redesign treadmills using

process and experiment, and as such, consumer demand is the major focus of this

study. In order to satisfy consumer demands, we use the 10 most significant factors

from each aspect, as shown in Sect. 4.4 to design a treadmill according to the goals

defined in the use of the AHP technique. However, the price aspect is not considered

in this study for the reason that although the treadmill price may be a significant

concern for consumers, from a service science perspective, the primary aim is to

satisfy consumer demands; thus, the issue of price is not included in the scope of

this study.

In summary, we adopted the factors of games, effective weight loss, safety,

videos, and the prevention of disease from the function aspect; the aesthetic style

and a fashionable and unique texture from the model aspect; the ability to represent

the user’s identity from the texture aspect; the development of foldable equipment

to save space from the organization aspect; and after-sales service from the follow-

up services aspect.

Fig. 8 Weighting of the follow-up services aspect

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4.4 Exploring the new customer needs on treadmill design

Through the customer needs exploration, and the determination of priority of these

needs, three key customer needs are reported for the new process design of

treadmills. Below we present the treadmill design concepts developed to satisfy

customer requirements.

4.4.1 Competition between users

For this concept, we expanded the original treadmill process into a competition

between treadmill users; thus, instead of running alone, which may be boring, users

can compete and interact with other users during their running session. Additionally,

by transforming their running session from just exercise into a competition, we can

not only increase users’ enjoyment of exercise, but also increase their desire to use the

treadmill. Figure 10 shows the six customer demands obtained using the AHP method

that support this concept. These six demands are aesthetic style, prevention of disease,

games, effective weight loss, videos, and the ability to represent the user’s identity.

4.4.2 Personal membership

For this concept, every user has a personal membership that they must input to use

the treadmill. Additionally, users should wear a heart rate sensor on their chest to

enable the treadmill to record their heartbeat during every session so that the

treadmill can monitor the user’s physical condition and report the personalized

statistics to the remote host. From the company side, an on-site assistant should be

available to provide guidance and feedback to the users. Additionally, two groups

can support the on-site assistant, the customer physical ability analysis group and

Fig. 9 The factors that influence respondents’ treadmill use

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the remote home care group, which can also provide care to the elderly. Figure 11

shows the six customer demands obtained using the AHP method that support the

membership concept, namely safety, prevention of disease, after-sales services, the

ability to represent the user’s identity, videos, and a fashionable and unique texture.

4.4.3 Simulation of real scenery

This concept involves the simulation of real scenery in front of the user. After

stepping onto the treadmill, users can select the scene they want. The scenery can

Aesthetic

Prevention of disease

Games

TreadmillCompetition

EffectiveWeight loss

Video

To be able toRepresent the statusof their own identity

Fig. 10 Consumer demands that support the treadmill competition concept

Safety

Prevention of disease

After sales services

MembershipService

Trendy and special texture

used

To be able toRepresent the statusof their own identity

Video

Fig. 11 Consumer demands that support the treadmill membership concept

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vary from a mountain road to a street view, so that instead of running without

enjoyment, the simulated reality can attract users and increase their enjoyment.

Additionally, all the simulations are obtainable from a scenery database. The

treadmill company must, therefore, have a group that collects scenery images to

update the scene database, allowing users to be able to experience new scenes every

time. If the users require any assistance when exercising, they can obtain instant

help from the live on-screen live help assistant. Figure 12 shows the 8 demands

obtained using the AHP method that support the membership concept that covers

the ability to represent the user’s identity, games, after-sales services, effective

weight loss, safety, videos, aesthetic style, and prevention of disease.

The treadmill design concepts were developed based on user’s implicit require-

ments. We propose these concepts according to the SSME standards to satisfy user

demands and better apply SSME in an actual case to discover the benefits of SSME.

4.5 Using the service blueprint flowchart to demonstrate the modified process

The goal of this subsection is to demonstrate how the original processes are

modified to accommodate the customer requirements explored above. The three top

customer requirements outlined in Figs. 13, 14, and 15 are included into the original

process for demonstration. The service blueprint flowchart, a useful overview to

show the overall final process, incorporates the original treadmill processes and the

redesigned processes based on user demands. The service blueprint flowcharts can

clearly describe the actions performed during every stage on both the customer and

the company sides and can be used to distinguish the original processes from the

improved processes, generating an output that is easier for future studies to employ.

The following figures show how the treadmill service processes depend on user

demands.

Games

EffectiveWeight loss

Safety

RealityScene

Video

AestheticStyle

Prevention ofdisease

To be able toRepresent the statusof their own identity

After sales services

Fig. 12 Consumer demands that support the treadmill reality scene concept

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Figure 13 shows the original treadmill processes. The first category comprises

the physical evidence and includes space, belt, handle, and panel. The second

category comprises the customer actions, namely stepping onto the treadmill,

choosing mode, starting to run, finishing running, calculating the exercise load,

viewing session results, and ending the sessions. The third category comprises the

Original Version

BluePrint fortreadmill

Customer Actions

Physical Evidence

Onstage/VisibleContact employee

Actions

Backstage/InvisibleContact employee

Actions

SupportProcesses

Spaciousspace

Trail HandleTouch panel

With networkconnected

TreadmillMaterials

TreadmillMotor

Step on thetrail

Choosemodel

StartRunning

EndRunning

Calculateload ofexercise

View ResultOf a session

End of thesession

Manual Touch Panel

CustomerService

MaintenanceStaff

After SaleService

WarrantyInformation

System

InstructionsAdjust Model States Provided

Uncommon Problem

Information Collect

Future Support

Any Service Required

Fig. 13 The original treadmill processes

Competition Version

Blueprint for treadmill

PhysicalEvidence

Spaciousspace

Trail HandleTouch panel

With networkconnected

TreadmillMaterials

TreadmillMotor

Step onThe Trail

ChooseCompetition

mode

Registerfor a race

StartRunning

ObserveCompetitor, sRecords andStatus/ Chat

EndRunning

CalculateLoad ofExercise

View Resultsof the

Competition

End of thesession

FAOVideo

Tutorial

On screenLive helpassistant

Real TimeConnection

CompetitionArrangment

CustomerReactions

Collect

ITDepartment

MaintenanceStaff

After SaleDivision

WarrantyCompetitionInformation

System

Problem occurInstant help if problem occur Provide video and sounds between competitors

Tutorial for using competition

Support ProcessProvide competition division

Competition data

Reactions transfer

Competition result transfer

Stats TransferMeliorate and maintain system

CustomerActions

Onstage/VisibleContact

employeeActions

Backstage/InvisibleContact employee

Actions

SupportProcess

Represent Process Represent Division or Group Represent Program

Fig. 14 Blueprint for the treadmill competition concept

L.-C. Wu, I. Shih

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visible contact employee actions, which includes the manual dimension of

providing instructions to users, as well as the touch panel dimension of the user

operation interface. The fourth category comprises the invisible contact employee

actions, such as customer service and additional user support. The final category

comprises the support processes of maintenance staff providing maintenance

services; after-sales services for users requiring further support; warranty for

checking whether the user is within the warranty time; and an information system.

Succinctly, the overall user process is as follows: first, users step onto the treadmill.

Second, choose the running mode, start running, finish running, and calculate the

exercise load, and finally view the session results, and end the sessions.

Figure 14 shows a blueprint graph of the treadmill competition concept, in terms

of customer actions. First, customers step onto the treadmill. At this time, on-site

staff are available to answer FAQs and assist customers who are unfamiliar with

treadmills. For the additional processes, users can select the competition mode, and

if they have any problems or enquiries, an on-screen video tutorial is available.

Users can register to participate in a race, and once a competitor is found, users can

begin running. During the running session, users can observe their competitor’s

records and status, and chat and interact with other users, thus increasing their

enjoyment of the running session. Finally, after completing the running session,

users can view their ranking in the competition. The onstage actions of this concept

include providing FAQs to customers who encounter problems. If the FAQs do not

solve the customer’s problem, the customer is transferred to the live on-screen help

assistant. Video tutorials that explain how users participate in competitions are also

available. A real-time connection enables video and sound to be shared between

competitors. The backstage actions comprise a competition arrangement group that

Reality Scene Version

Blueprint for treadmill

PhysicalEvidence

Spaciousspace

Trail HandleTouch panel

With networkconnected

TreadmillMaterials

TreadmillMotor

Step onThe Trail

SceneSelect

StartRunning

Re-selectScene

EndRunning

CalculateLoad ofExercise

View Resultsof the

Competition

SuggestionsAnd

Comments

End of thesession

OnScreen

Tutorial

SceneSelection

Menu

On screenLive helpassistant

Reality SceneCollect Group

Division ofScene

Creation

ITDepartment

MaintenanceStaff

After SaleService

WarrantyInformation

System

CustomerActions

Onstage/VisibleContact

employeeActions

Backstage/InvisibleContact employee

Actions

SupportProcess

Represent Process Represent Division or Group Represent Program

Scenedatabase

Instructions Scene SupplyInstant help if problem occur

Improvement on Scene Creation

Connection

Store sceneInto database

Support UnitsMeliorate and maintain system

Connection between database and system

Fig. 15 Blueprint for the treadmill reality scene concept

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organizes the competitions; the program that collects customer reactions and

feedback of their exercise experience; and the information technology (IT)

department, which meliorates and maintains the competition information system.

The support processes category includes maintenance staff, the after-sales division,

and warranties that support the live on-screen assistant. The competition informa-

tion system provides the competition data to the competition arrangement group and

retrieves the statistics obtained by the customer reaction collection program.

Figure 15 shows the blueprint graph of the treadmill reality scenery concept.

Instead of running in a boring and static environment, customers can feel as if they

are running outdoors, increasing their interest or desire to run. The customer actions

category is as follows: After users step onto the treadmill, an on-screen tutorial

provides instructions, and the users can select the scenery and begin running. If the

users find that the scenery does not meet their expectations, they can select another

scene while running. During their running session, if the users have any problems,

they can contact the live on-screen assistant immediately. After the users complete

their running session, the treadmill calculates their exercise load and displays the

results for that session. Users can also provide suggestions and feedback to the scene

creation group. As for the onstage actions, they include on-screen tutorials that

provide instructions to users, the scenery selection menu, and the live on-screen

assistant who provides instant help when users encounter problems. The backstage

actions comprise the reality scenery collecting group that obtains real scenery to

create scenes and improves existing scenery based on users’ suggestions and

feedback. After a scene is created, it is stored in the scenery database. The support

processes category includes the scene database for storing scenes, maintenance

staff, after-sales service, and warranty guarantees, which all support the live on-

screen assistant in the onstage component. The information system is linked with

the scenery database to serve users.

Figure 16 shows the blueprint graph of the treadmill membership concept, which

consists of customers’ physical ability analysis and remote home care. Once the user

has a personal file, their statistics are linked to their member information. Backstage

employees analyze the statistics and provide detailed analytic results to the on-site

assistants, enabling the assistants to provide useful comments and suggestions to

customers. For the onstage actions category, users first step onto the treadmill, input

their membership information, choose the desired mode, and start running.

Additionally, users should wear a heart rate sensor on their chest to enable the

treadmill to record and monitor their heartbeat. If tachycardia is detected during the

running session, the treadmill shuts off. After the exercise session, the treadmill

calculates the exercise load, displays the user’s statistics, and saves the results

automatically. The onstage actions category has a bank of FAQs that act as the first

support measure for users who encounter problems; however, if the FAQs do not

solve users’ problems, the user is transferred to the live on-screen assistant. On-site

assistants also provide feedback and suggestions after each running session. The

backstage actions include the customer physical ability analysis group, which

provides physical analysis statistics for the on-site assistant, the remote home care

group (which provides elderly care and support to the on-site assistant), and IT

department (which is responsible for meliorating and maintaining the systems). The

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support processes category comprises maintenance staff, after-sales services, and

warranty guarantees that support the live on-screen assistant. The membership

management system provides customer statistics to the customer physical ability

analysis group and remote home care group backstage.

5 Conclusions

This study explored the SSME applications that can improve the service process

design for a treadmill manufacturer. During the development of a treadmill, it is

important to realize that although the treadmill functions may satisfy users, these

functions do not always meet users’ requirements. It is for this reason that we

explored user demands and the service product research design phase to investigate

the application of SSME in a real-world case. The objective of this research was to

obtain an in-depth understanding of the user demands of treadmills and redesign the

treadmill service process. In other words, we used SSME to develop a service

process design that includes service-oriented activities to satisfy user demands.

In summary, SSME provides a communication channel between users and

equipment manufacturers to ensure that the product development process can be

closer and more refined to the customers’ requirements. Specifically, service-

oriented processes can be used to promptly respond to user needs and to reduce the

gap between manufacturers and users.

This study has numerous implications for researchers, and three important ones

are listed below.

Membership Version

Blueprint for treadmill

PhysicalEvidence

Spaciousspace

Trail HandleTouch panel

With networkconnected

TVAbove

TreadmillMaterials

Step onThe Trail

Put detectBelt in frontof the chest

StartRunning

Terminated ifTachycardia

occur

EndRunning

Calculateload of

Exercise

View ResultsOf a session/Stats savedautomaticly

End of thesession

FAQOn SceneLive HelpAssistant

On-site AssistantTo provide

Comments andSuggestions

CustomerPhysical abilityAnalysis group

Remote HomeCare Group

ITDepartment

MaintenanceStaff

After SaleService

WarrantyMembershipManagement

System

CustomerActions

Onstage/VisibleContact

employeeActions

Backstage/InvisibleContact employee

Actions

SupportProcess

Represent Process Represent Division or Group Represent Program

TreadmillMotor

Support Units

InputMembership

info

Choosemodel

Problem occurInstant Help

Inform Assistant

Provide customer stats

Meliorate and maintain system

Physical Analysis Elder Care

Comments and suggestions

Fig. 16 Blueprint for the treadmill membership concept

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1. The use of SSME is rare in related literature. We applied the SSME concept to a

company in the fitness industry. We identified customers’ requirements of

treadmill service processes to reduce the gap between the concept of SSME and

the real-world case.

2. Examining a real-world case is essential for understanding the practical uses of

SSME. We proposed several service process design concepts based on user

demands to reduce process inconsistency.

3. Since most SSME studies have primarily focused on theory, this study is one of

the first to investigate, synthesize, analyze, and empirically examine a real-

world case. Therefore, we hope that this study inspires further research of

SSME.

For practitioners, this study offers a management-level to guide that ensures that

the service process design is more effective and efficient. The empirical results

revealed the most important user requirements of treadmills, and as such, by

examining a real-world case, we better understand how SSME can improve a

segment of the fitness industry. In the manufacturing context, the competition

between companies is intense, and it is increasingly the case that only companies

with high innovation capabilities and with a deep understanding of customer needs

can survive. This study can provide companies with a method to understand

customer needs and obtain additional competitive advantages. Most importantly,

however, a service process redesign encourages the management team to change

their original attitudes and methods, adapt to user demands, and explore

opportunities to provide better services to users. According to the AHP results,

we can infer that the most crucial user demands for improving treadmills are as

follows:

1. Function improvements. Most users primarily focus on the treadmill functions

that are provided. According to the analysis results, users especially focus on

games, achieving effective weight loss, safety, videos, and prevention of

disease. From these five factors, we can determine that users want a treadmill

that attracts people’s attention, entertaining, and can also assist them in

maintaining their health. These are the factors most desired by the majority of

users.

2. Model improvements. In the model section, according to the analysis results,

most users pay significant attention to the aesthetic style and whether the

texture of the treadmill is fashionable and unique. Thus, we can assume that

users want the latest and most fashionable treadmill model, with a fashionable

and unique texture that is also comfortable. This factor should be developed by

the manufacturer in advance.

3. Texture improvements. For the texture aspect, according to the analysis results,

most users focus on ‘‘the ability to represent the user’s identity.’’ This indicates

that users want a high-quality and reliable treadmill in the future. Therefore,

manufacturers should concentrate their efforts in this area.

4. Organization improvements. For the organization improvement aspect, accord-

ing to the analysis results, most users value the factor of ‘‘developing folding

equipment to save space.’’ Treadmills typically occupy a large space, and thus

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if the treadmill design can save space for the users, it is likely to increase in

popularity.

5. Follow-up services improvements. In the follow-up services aspect, according

to the analysis results, most users pay significant attention to the ‘‘after-sales

services.’’ This indicates that users tend to worry about the services after sale

given that if they experience a treadmill failure, they will require a maintenance

or repair service. This is an aspect especially relevant to SSME: listening to

customer needs and providing the optimum service even after sales.

In this study, we have developed and proposed several concepts to satisfy user

demands. Future studies can explore additional concepts that fulfill users’

expectation to provide additional value for users.

Acknowledgments The authors wish to express their appreciation to the anonymous reviewers for their

constructive suggestions, which have helped us to improve the manuscript.

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