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
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
123
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
The product development process of an enterprise
123
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
L.-C. Wu, I. Shih
123
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
The product development process of an enterprise
123
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
L.-C. Wu, I. Shih
123
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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