Automated Service Kiosk

1
Automated Service Kiosk

• Grant Approval
• CS 411
• Spring 2006
• Presented by
• Mylène Cover
• Keegan Morrison
• 1 May 2006

2
Team Organization
Hill Price General Manager
Mylène Cover Project Manager
Enrique Polanco Researcher Technical Writer
Jared Miller GUI Programmer Web Master
Keegan Morrison Hardware Specialist Web Master
3
Outline

• Background
• Societal Enhancements
• Beta Testing
• Project Scheduling Requirements
• Project Budget
• Prototype

4
Societal Problem Defined

• Poor customer service in retail is a cause for
  low customer retention.

5
Shopping Experience
6
Did you know?

• Poor customer service is on the top five list of
  reasons why businesses fail.
• - Center for Entrepreneurship

Belmont University Center for Entrepeneurship
09/22/2005 http//forum.belmont.edu/cornwall/arch
ives/003452.html
7
Why do customers leave?
CRMGURU.com http//www.rightnow.com/resource/RN_L
oyaltyCRMGuru.html
8
Keep your customers!

• Repeat customers spend 33 more than new
  customers
• It costs 6 more to sell to a prospective
  customer than to an existing customer
• Referrals among repeat customers are 107 greater
  than new customers
• Customers are 50 more likely to be influenced by
  word-of-mouth as opposed to ads

Stylus Systems, Inc. http//www.outsource2india.
com/services/customer_interaction_services.asp
Strategiy.com http//www.strategiy.com/feature.as
p?id20051003030433
9
Proposed Solution Defined/Goal

• Provide an in-store customer service terminal
  that will serve as an alternative source of
  knowledge and help for consumers.

10
Project Research Objectives

• Design a friendly customer interface
• Produce interface with inventory database
• Design and organize queries to databases for
  product comparisons and search analyses
• Create ability to notify customer of
  sales/coupons

11
Solution Characteristics

• Display all available items at specific store
• Notify of stock availability
• Produce a map of inventory general location
• Compare products
• Explain key terms/in depth or quick overview of
  product description
• Analyze queries and hits/misses
• Notify of sales/availability of coupons
• Give customers an outlet for voicing in-store
  experiences
• Provide option to queue up for additional
  assistance from associate

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A.S.K. System
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Technical Components

• Touch screen monitor
• ASK software
• Thin clients
• Inventory database interface
• Internal database
• Network connection
• Server

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Scope
15
A.S.K. Database Overview
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A.S.K. will not

• Replace associates
• Collect personal information from the shopper
• Act as a point-of-sale device
• Have autonomous inventory updates

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Benefits to Retail

• 15 to 20 average increase in sales
• Improve customer experience
• Help is there when needed
• Provide efficient help alternative
• Decreased wait time
• Improved response time
• Immediate gratification
• Better inform customers of products available
• Analyze the inquiry process
• Keep customers, increase sales, succeed! 
• Increased customer satisfaction increased sales

Kiosk Market Sales http//www.kioskmarketplace.co
m/news_story.htm?i22182 Inter-media Kiosks
http//www.intermediakiosks.com/news/03-09-26_pre
ssrelease.html
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Societal Importance

• Consumers increasingly using
• ATMs
• Websites
• Self-help Kiosks
• New technology, low cost
• Competition is technology and customer driven
• Customers expect the newest and most effective
  tools

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Scientific Merit Technical Innovations

• Airlines 1st to implement kiosks
• Declining sales need to bounce back
• Good and bad of technology
• Customers are happier
• Customers expect similar, efficient technology in
  all aspects of their lives
• Kiosk market booming
• Sales
• Budget
• Stores advised to target multi-channel consumers

20
Customer-Operated Kiosk Market Data
JBS Interactive http//www.jbsinteractive.com/opp
ortunities.html
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Evaluation PlanBeta Testing

• The following will be tested
• Products functionality
• Products user-friendliness
• User documentation
• Each beta tester will receive the following
• Basic instructions
• User Manual (in the form of the terminals online
  help system)
• Sample walk-throughs of the product
• Will include troubleshooting instructions
• Designed in a user-friendly format
• Feedback and Comment Form (in return for coupons,
  for example)

22
Evaluation PlanAcceptance Criteria

• 75 of beta testing polls must react positively
  for the product to be considered a success
• Success is when the following are obtained
• Functional prototype software
• Functional prototype hardware
• Functional integration of hardware and software
• Technical documentation for software and hardware
• Secured SBIR grant for Phase II

23
Scheduling OverviewProjected Phase I
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Scheduling OverviewProjected Phase II
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Scheduling OverviewProjected Phase III
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Budget OverviewPhase II - Personnel
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Budget OverviewPhase II - Resources
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Budget OverviewPhase III - Personnel
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Budget OverviewPhase III - Resources
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DeliverablesPhase 1

• Assemble Team
• Papers
• Creative Writing Paper
• Descriptive Writing Paper
• Technical Supports Paper
• Budget White Paper
• User Manual
• Prototype Design
• Market Research
• Project Website
• Lab Prototype
• SBIR Proposal (Phase II)

31
A.S.K. Break-Even Analysis
32
Forum/Expert Feedback

• Of 550 people surveyed, 85 would go to a store
  if an A.S.K. was available
• Managers at Radio Shack, Best Buy, and Office Max
  expressed interest in a product that would
  provide the functionality of A.S.K.

33
Happy Shopper Profit for Store
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Wrap-up

• Poor customer service is a problem
• A.S.K. will
• Improve customers in-store experience
• Help the store better meet customer needs

35
Prototype Practicality

• Regular computer substituted for the kiosk during
  demo
• Simplified database
• Web server instead of an in-store server

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ASK Prototype Overview
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ASK Prototype Database Overview

• MySQL Database
• Three tables
• Comments
• Glossary
• Sales
• Predictive Analysis Database

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ASK Prototype Database Comments Table

• Three fields
• Date
• Rating
• Description

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ASK Prototype Database Glossary Table

• Three fields
• Word
• Definition
• Quantity of Queries

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ASK Prototype Database Sales Table

• Two fields
• SKU Stock Keeping Unit
• Coupon

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ASK Prototype Database PAD Table

• Four fields
• Date
• SKU
• Specific Kiosk Number
• Items in Stock

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Store Inventory Database

• Eight fields (varies by store)
• SKU
• Name
• Brand
• Price
• Category
• Location
• Number in Stock
• Details

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ASK GUI Software

• HTML
• PHP
• Images
• Inkscape
• The Gimp
• MySQL

44
Prototype Demonstration
http//cs.odu.edu/jmiller/ask/new/ask.php
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(No Transcript)
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Backup 1 Reasons Businesses Fail
5. Poor Internal Controls and Execution
customer service, accounting controls, theft,
fraud 4. Poorly Designed Business Model 3.
Reliance on Critical Financing that Dries Up 2.
Failure to Adapt to a Changing Market AND THE 1
REASON? Management in Complete Denial
Belmont University Center for Entrepreneurship
09/22/2005 http//forum.belmont.edu/cornwall/arch
ives/003452.html
47
Backup 2 Kiosk Acceptance
JBS Interactive http//www.jbsinteractive.com/opp
ortunities.html
48
Backup 3Competition Matrix Available to
Associates
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Backup 4Forum Results

• Would you use A.S.K.?
• 85 of respondents (n 550) said YES
• Respondent Testimonials
•  You could change the way stores work forever
  with an idea like this. It's awesome.
• I think the best part is the item location in
  the store. I've had countless times when I went
  into a best buy or circuit city already knowing
  exactly what I wanted, but then had to spend like
  30 minutes finding it. The sales reps are
  sometimes helpful with this, but you can't expect
  them to know the exact location of everything,
  and this method would be much quicker and not
  waste a sales rep's time.