INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION (BM006-3.5-2)
NAME: Ibrahim Anwar
INTAKE CODE: UC2F1305IT
LECTURER NAME: Devika A/P Nadarajah
HAND OUT DATE:
HAND IN DATE: 5th Aug 2013
WORDS: 4909
1
ContentsExecutive Summary..................................................4PART 1: PROBLEM DEFINITION.........................................4
Competitor Analysis................................................5Objective Statement................................................7
PART 2 : IDEA GENERATION TECHNIQUES................................72.1 Force fitting trigger..........................................7
2.1.1 Opening......................................................72.1.2 Outcomes.....................................................8
2.1.3 Evaluation...................................................8Mind Mapping:......................................................9
2.2.1 Opening......................................................92.2.2 Outcomes....................................................10
2.2.3 Evaluation..................................................10SCAMPER...........................................................10
2.3.1 Opening.....................................................102.3.2 Outcomes:...................................................11
2.3.3 Evaluation..................................................11PART 3: PRODUCT DESCRIPTION.......................................12
Opening 3.1.......................................................123.2 Illustration(Next Page).......................................12
3.3 Availability for purchase:....................................13Features:.........................................................14
3.4 Function......................................................143.5 Frequency of usage............................................14
3.6 Price:........................................................15Technology:.......................................................15
PART4: MARKET IDENTIFICATION......................................17
2
PART 5: IDEA EVALUATION...........................................18Force Field Analysis..............................................18
5.1 Opening.......................................................18FFA Diagram Illustration (Before recommendation):.................18
Recommendation....................................................19FFA diagram (After recommendation):...............................21
Conclusion:.......................................................22Bibliography......................................................23
APPENDICES........................................................24Questionnaire.....................................................24
3
Executive SummaryFood is the primary necessity of a human being. No matter
where we are, whatever we are doing, we need food in order to
survive. In many places the food that we get from the
restaurants is very expensive. Although the food maybe good
but many people cannot afford it, or may not like to do
extravagance. Also food in many places Is unhygienic and
unhealthy. If we cook food at home, which is hygienic and
healthy, a third problem arises that is time and energy.
People have to spend a lot of time and energy in order to make
delicious food which takes away their productive time.
We have introduced a food vending machine that is especially
made for home users. It can also be used by other industries,
or areas, like shops, restaurants and offices but our main
target market is households. This vending machine has the
ability to cook food by just adding up the required
ingredients into the machine and pressing a button for a
specific meal, and it will cook the food for you in a few
minutes.
4
The machine has a special heating oven, which generates high
temperature in order to make the cooking of the food very
fast. It also has sensors in order to detect the ingredients
from the machine and process the ones that are needed in order
to make the selected dish, so the food is cooked properly and
is delicious.
PART 1: PROBLEM DEFINITIONFood is the primary source of living. Without food we cannot
survive, while without shelter and other necessities we still
can survive. In everything, food and water prove to be the
most important ones. However reports show that the shortage of
good food is found mostly in the developing nations, An
example is Malaysia, a nation which is still in the process of
developing. Although most people are getting their food but
still they do not have access to good food i.e which is
healthy and delicious.
Statistics show that people in Malaysia suffer from many
health conditions because of a lack of hygiene in food. In
Malaysia people make food at home and also eat outside.
Although making food at home is a good practice but many times
cooking food takes a major portion of your day, especially if
you cook for the whole family, which makes you less available
for other available tasks or free time.
5
Another big problem is that food is becoming expensive every
single day in Malaysia due to inflation and service/sales
taxes placed on this industry. The vegetables, chicken, meats
etc. are becoming more and more expensive, and if you eat from
a restaurant they will charge you more than double the price.
Since Malaysia is a developing country, almost above 60% of
the population cannot afford proper food at proper timings.
Even If they can afford it, it’s unhealthy and if they cook,
it takes a huge portion of their time which takes away their
productive time. Since Malaysians now prefer to have their
meals outside as compared to eating at their homes, the risk
of diseases have increased because of the food sold in the
stalls. Even the food in proper restaurants does not ensure
proper hygiene.
Competitor AnalysisHere we will compare the product of our competitors with our
company’s product which is Mr.Vendy Food Vending Machine. We
have compared our product with two other companies which make
and sell vending machines. One of them is coke vending machine
which is already known for their vending machines all around
Malaysia. They have extensive amount of machines in a diverse
range of areas. From the Coke vending machines you can buy all
the products/drinks manufactured or produced by Coke such as
Sprite, Coke, Fanta etc. The second competitor we have is
Silkron Vending Solutions which are based in Malaysia as well
as many other countries. They create vending solutions for
6
your home/office etc. Their main focus is on the technology of
the vending machines and the different ways in which you can
pay and the huge amounts of options/features you have
available in these vending machines. They also have a
multimedia touch screen in which you see the image for your
products. They offer snacks, sodas etc.
Coke Vending Machines
Silkron Vending solutions
Provides Sodas and Drinks for the brand Coke
Provides Customisedvending solutions
Uniqueness 1. It provides you with all the coke brands and they are freshand full of gas as the coke manufacturers themselves stock up thesemachines. It ensures 100% quality as compared to supermarkets which may not be selling genuine coke brand drinks.
2. It is cheaper
1. Customised Vending solutions
2. Has a very unique interface if you compare itin the vendingmachines market. A digital touchscreen interface unlike most vending machines. It’slike a computer’s or a mobile’s interface.
7
than the coke drinks bought from the supermarkets becauseIt is provideddirectly by the manufacturers.
Technology 1. Vendors that are connected to the internet can report sales, inventory and service issuesto Coca cola refreshments in real time. It drasticallyimproves services and minimized costs
2. Cashless gateway: Can pay with credit cards, debit cards etc.
1. These vending machines have eye-catching graphics expertly designed to attract customers
2. It has a remote monitoring system that helps you to monitor the sales of your machine without visiting the location
Limitation 1. It only provides coke products. No other products
1. Since this machine is using state ofthe art technology, itis extremely expensive and most people cannot buy it.Only big companies can afford this
8
machine.
Objective StatementSo the product that our company wants to introduce and
innovate is a Food Vending Machine. It is a machine that makes
different types of food for you in just minutes. You just have
to put the ingredients in the ingredients box and the machine
will store it in an internal fridge where it keeps all the
materials for the foods. The machine for now includes around
upto 7-10 dishes that it can make.The main objective to make
this machine is to achieve a breakthrough in the food
industry, providing people cheap and quick service, while
saving the labour that they have to go through. It will
benefit the mass population of the country in a very positive
and productive way.
PART 2 : IDEA GENERATION TECHNIQUES
2.1 Force fitting trigger
2.1.1 Opening In the force fitting trigger one has to select 3 pictures of 3
different objects. The pictures can be random. Then we have to
think of a few words to relate to each picture. Then we have
9
to pick out a few outcomes of the 3 pictures by adding one
word for each picture to come up with new ideas.
Tires Black WoodGood design Cotton Curved RectangleGreen Comfortable GroceryTransport Casual Easy to CarrySeat Jeans lightweight
2.1.2 OutcomesOutcome 1: Good design + Cotton + Curved rectangle
Outcome 2: Seat + Comfortable + Wood
Outcome 3: Transport + Black + Lightweight
10
Outcome 4: Green + Jeans + Easy to Carry
2.1.3 EvaluationAfter a thorough examination and consideration i have
concluded that the best combination of outcome would be
Outcome 3. This is because the machine should have such weight
and shape that it is able to be transported from one place to
another. Most Vending machines are black in color, so I would
like to go with the general trend, since people are used to
it. The machine should be lightweight as it may need to be
transported to people’s homes.
The advantage of force fitting trigger is that it is very easy
to come up with ideas that link with the random pictures. A
ton of new useful ideas can be created with the words that
describes those pictures/visuals.
Since the pictures are chosen at random and not related to the
product, the ideas generated can sometimes be far-fetched.
Mind Mapping:
2.2.1 OpeningA Mind map is a diagram used represent ideas, thoughts,
visions, images, plans linked together in order to create a
brainstorming map which helps students clarify ideas. It is a
diagram to visually outline information.
11
Illustration
2.2.2 OutcomesOutcome 1: Plastic + Children + Provides Heat + Low
Outcome 2: Acrylic powder coating + Teenagers + provides
utensils + high
Outcome 3: Steel + All + Mixes ingredients to make a recipe +
Medium
2.2.3 Evaluation I will choose the 3rd Outcome because to me it is the most
suitable one. First of all the vending machine is made of
12
steel, which means it will be strong and durable and then it
is for all sorts of age groups. It mixes the ingredients to
make different recipes, that is you will get the meal/dish you
want. Above all the price category is medium as it cannot be
low because the technology used is advanced, i think medium
cost is an achievement.
The good thing about Mind mapping is that the user can easily
brainstorm many different ideas and link and connect them
together. It helps to clear the head and put all the ideas on
paper to arrange them and implement. Also because Mind maps
are visual and portray relations between key words, they are
much easier to remember than straight line notes.
Mind maps offer a self-explanatory demonstration of evidence
and structure to only those people who were involved in the
formation of a mind map. This is because meaning and signs
used are taken inside the Mind Mapping group and members
develop a shared understanding. As a result of this, keywords,
relationships and organisations that represent sense for their
creator do not necessarily mean anything to someone who did
not take part in the Mind map creation.
SCAMPER
2.3.1 OpeningThis is a technique that simply requires you to ask a
checklist of questions based on 7 questions or things. SCAMPER
is an abbreviation for Substitute, Combine, Adopt, Modify, Put
to Another Use, Eliminate and Reverse. So we create a table
13
and we relate our product to these functions and how these
functions can be implemented to our product. We list those
things in front of each function. It is shown Below:
S Metal, Copper, Plastic, Glass
C Coffee maker, Drink mixer and dispenser
A Coffee Vending machines, Drinks Vending Machines
M Not applicable
P Restaurants, Hotels, Resorts, Public Places
E Make it limited to one type of food only. Eliminate
Variety
R Toy Vending Machine, Gumball Vending Machine, Sweets
Vending Machine
2.3.2 Outcomes:Outcome 1: Plastic + Coffee Maker + Coffee Vending Machine +
Hotels + One type of food + Toy vending machine
Outcome 2: Glass + Drinks mixer and dispenser + Drinks Vending
Machine + Hotels + one type of food + Toy Vending Machine
Outcome 3: Metal + Coffee Maker + Coffee Vending Machine +
Resorts + Toy Vending Machine
14
2.3.3 EvaluationAfter carefully analyzing all the outcomes from this technique
I have reached the conclusion the Outcome 1 is the best one.
This is because since this machine can also serve as a Coffee
Vending machine the material used should be plastic as it is
an insulator of heat. In Hotels , Coffee is a high preference
for the customers whether in the coffee shop or in the room. I
have figured out that this machine could be made much simpler
and efficient if we could eliminate variety and keep to one
type of meal or dish. However the exact reverse i have found
for this machine is a Toy Vending Machine.
The advantage for SCAMPER is that by using this method, people
can be spurred into generating new ideas, simply by evaluating
an existing one. They can generate new ideas from an existing
idea.
But For this method to be successful, the atmosphere has to be
right. The individuals who are breeding ideas should be in the
right kind of environment to influence creativity and promote
new ideas. SCAMPER process is also known to encourage
creativity among the children. This process has largely been
proven to promote constructive problem-solving abilities in
children by engaging their minds to think around the obstacles
in order to overcome them.
15
PART 3: PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Opening 3.1 This is a food vending machine. Although there are many other
vending machines but it’s uniqueness lies in the fact that in
unlike other vending machines we have to put in ingredients of
the food instead of coins or currency notes in order to get
what we want. It makes food, unlike most vending machines
which makes drinks, candy’s etc. It also has a refrigerator
which can store raw ingredients (chicken, vegetables etc.) and
a storage compartment where it stores ingredients which are to
be stored at normal temperature., so you don’t have to put in
the ingredients every time you want to make something in the
vending machine. Another good thing about this is that it
automatically mixes the ingredients of the dish/meal you want
to make and even if some ingredients are missing, a low siren
will be initiated and tell you that the ingredients are less,
if you want to make with less ingredients it will make it for
you, otherwise you can add up more ingredients by opening the
box. It also asks for the confirmation of the order in normal
situations, on the display screen and you can respond by
pressing the ‘Yes’ or the ‘No’ button.
3.2 Illustration(Next Page)
16
3.3 Availability for purchase:The first launch for this product will be in Malaysia. Since
the initial target market is Malaysia. The product will be
introduced by first being launched in the significant areas of
Malaysia, namely Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi, Kota
Damansara,, Putrajaya In order to see the response of the
people as there are more rich people in these cities who will
be willing to pay the money for this kind of machine. After
that it will be set to launch in the smaller state’s of
Malaysia. Although there would be less people willing to pay
the money for the machine in those less developed areas, but a
huge shortage of good food in those areas will encourage the
17
Meal names
Displayscreen
Meal selection
Small refrigerator to
Power button
The area where your actual food will be
NOYES
Storage compartment fordifferent sauces, spices
people there to buy the machine. A few people can share one
machine in order to save money.
Features:Refrigeration System: This vending machine has a small
refrigerator. It stores and keeps cool all the vegetables,
fruits, chicken, beef, meat etc. i.e things that are needed to
make certain types of food. An example is you, order a Bar-B-
Que chicken Pizza , so the cheese, the chicken pieces will be
already in the refrigerator and once you order that Pizza, it
is made in such a way that the recipe for each kind of
dish/food is already programmed in the machine, so it will
automatically drop in all the materials and the the exact
quantity into the machine and it will start processing and
making the dish at a high temperature.
Small, Compact, Mobility and Usability: It will not be a huge
vending machine like others. Because this is a product that
people can keep at their homes and use, so it needs to be
carry able etc. The machine is lightweight and the design is
sleek. It also has wheels underneath in order to make the
moving of the machine easy. It can be dragged from one place
to another. The design is also attractive and the usage of the
machine is simple. Even the children can operate it.
18
3.4 FunctionThe main function of this product is to make/cook good food in
a very less time without human intervention. Just with the
press of a few buttons your food will be served in the
delivery tray on the bottom of the machine. This product makes
7-10 selected meals which are already programmed in the
machine. In future the plan is to increase the variety of the
foods and recipe’s available.
3.5 Frequency of usage Having a delicious meal outside in a restaurant maybe
entertaining and enjoyable, still it costs you a lot. You
cannot have your daily meals, like three times a day outside
in a restaurant. On the other hand making food at home is a
tedious task itself. It takes someone who can be really
responsible to make and provide food to the whole family, Most
of the time, the mother or the maids who are heavily paid. So
this product will be used on a daily basis by the people who
have bought this product as food is a necessity and people
will prefer making good food with less cost and in a very less
time. Although the initial cost of this product may be a
little bit higher but it will be covered in the long run and
benefits will exceed the cost.
19
3.6 Price: The price of the product we have kept is as low as we could make. The prices of our competitors are much
higher than the price of our product. That is the reason why
the technology and the variety of food we offer may seem
limited. Since our target market are the people who use this
machines at their homes and benefit from it, we have to make
the cost and the price somehow low. Because mostly vending
machines are not used for personal use and instead put on
different public places and it is meant to earn profits for
its owners. The coke vending machine would cost around RM
9000. While our second competitors Silkron Vending solutions
have machines starting from around RM 23,500, because the
technology they have used is remarkable high-tech and is
extremely expensive in cost. The vending machines are equipped
with extremely advanced technology. In comparison our prices
are much lower ranging in between RM 3000-3500. The reason
being for such a difference is that our product is half the
size of a normal vending machine. We have used plastic in
most of the body of the machine which is cheaper than metal,
copper and steel. The quality and strength of the body is also
not that much strong as of a normal vending machine, because
they are meant to be used in public places while our product
is meant for using at home so the body of a little less
quality can withstand in a home environment.
20
Technology: The main function our vending machine is to cook food all by
itself just with the use of ingredients put inside a small
fridge/refrigerator which is a part of our food vending
machine. That refrigerator is used for storing the materials
so that we do not have to put materials every time we want to
make something using the vending machine. We have to put an
enough quantity of ingredients in the refrigerator and the
right ingredients that are required to make the specific dish.
The fridge has different compartments to store different
materials, like it has a section for round vegetables like
onions or tomatoes, then it has sections for long vegetables
like carrots and white radish etc. It also has compartments
for meat, chicken etc. The machine has a sensor to detect the
kind of vegetable, meat, toppings it wants. This is the
remarkable function that this machine has. Each dish has a
predetermined recipe and if there is enough ingredients and
the right amounts it will extract those ingredients such as
vegetables, meat, chicken and cut them according to the needs
of the machine by the use of a cutter/knife placed inside the
tools section of the machine. Even if it does not have all the
available materials it can still make the desired dish with
what it has available in the fridge. After cutting all the
ingredients would be mixed and then heated at a high
temperature. After being cooked a food tray will come up on
which the selected dish will be served to the user.
21
Our product is creative and innovative in away that firstly we
are providing vending services for home, usually the target
market for companies providing vending solutions focus their
market in offices, buildings, supermarkets and other public
areas. The cost is also such that people earning a normal
income can buy it. The great thing about it you can also share
it with someone else also. Just put the ingredients for your
desired meal/dish and you will get the prepared dish in a few
minutes. The big difference between this and other vending
machines is that it does not use money, coins, cash or credit
card in order to give you the desired object. All it requires
is the ingredients and it will cook the food for you. So it is
very cheap and beneficial in the long run. Also the food will
be healthy because the recipes specified in the software for
the machine are ‘healthy recipes’.
22
PART4: MARKET IDENTIFICATION
GenderThis vending machine wouldbe usable by all the genders. No specific gender is targeted.
Age group
Only children under 8 are not allowed to use it because they may not know the operation of the machine. They may do something wrong, and sinceit is an electrical device, mis- operation mayresult in harmful consequences. This machineis for anyone who is educated to use it. We give a user’s manual and our technical team will assist you on how to use it when you set up initially.
Purchasing Power
Current price range is RM 3000-3500. Prices may go up if any more addition offeatures and change of materials to a better quality is implemented in the future
OccupationNo specific occupation. For all the people who want to use this device
23
for their homes.
Country
Since this machine has Predefined Dish recipes and does not makes all kinds of food, so it is targeted for countries which eat that food. So inorder to make it more accessible, we have included Fast food (Pizza,burger, Fries), Italian, Malay, Pakistani and Indian dishes. Since we are based in Malaysia so we have included Malay food also.
PART 5: IDEA EVALUATION
Force Field Analysis
5.1 Opening Force Field Analysis (FFA) is a technique for listing,
discussing, and assessing the numerous forces for and against
a projected change. When a change is planned, FFA helps you
look at the wider picture by investigating all the forces
influencing the change and weighing the pros and cons. By
knowing the pros and cons you can develop strategies that
helps you to reduce the influence of the opposing forces and
make strong the supporting factors.
24
FFA Diagram Illustration (Before recommendation):+2 -5
+4
-3-3
+4 -1
+3
-2
+2 -2 -2
Supporting Fac
Supporting Factors: + 2 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 2 = 15
Restricting Factors: (-5) + (-3) + (-1) + (-2) + (-2)
= -13
25
Food VendingMachine
It has some popular dishes and recipes. No need to order from
Delicious food. Recipes are made by the best chefs of the
Time saving. Since noneed to cook. More
Overall money saving at food.
This vending machine is very cheap comparedto other vending
Still expensive for a home user. The time it will taketo cover up the initial
Number of dishes is still limited, although it has some popular dishes.
There may be less social interactions as people are getting the delicious food at home without pay much for it
Maintenance costs may be
The material is of slightly poor quality.
Total: +2
Recommendationa. Although there are 5 weaknesses of the product that
we have identified, we will discuss the two of the
weaknesses which can be improved within the shortest
period of time and with ease as compared to other
weaknesses. This will have a positive affect on the
product’s implementation and it’s use will become
much more better.
1. First weakness is that the number of dishes are
limited. What we need to do is program the device in
a way that it is able to make more variety of
recipes and dishes.
2. The material is although lightweight but it is of
poor quality. There is a chance of breakage, if
mishandled it can break much easily as compared to
other vending machines. Also the machine cannot cook
continuously for hours because of the poor quality
of the material, it needs a rest. What we can do is,
since we have used plastic in this product, we can
replace it with steel. Steel is much better at
withstanding heavy processes going on in the
machine, and we can carry it with ease also without
the fear that the machine will break.
26
b. There are 5 strengths we have mentioned above which
are the reasons and motivational factors for the
fact that this product will perform well in the
market and we should go on to introduce it. However
we will discuss two of them and discuss on how to
improve even more on them in order to increase our
product’s performance. The two strengths we would
give recommendations about are time-saving and money
saving.
1. Although we are already saving money as to the
fact that we can cook Restaurant like meals at
home with just the cost of the ingredients it
needs. We can make it even more better by
programming the machine in such a way that it
consumes the ingredients in an even more efficient
way, not sacrificing the taste, but only
minimizing it to the degree of avoiding any
wastage.
2. We already are saving time when we are using this
machine. We can do even more better by installing
a processor that is much faster than the present
one. Suppose it take 7-10 minutes to make a
certain type of dish, if we install the
processor , it may only take 3-4 minutes to make
the whole dish.
27
FFA diagram (After recommendation):
+2 -5
+4 -1
28
Food Vending
It has some popular dishes and recipes. Noneed to order from
Delicious food. Recipesare made by the best chefs of the world
Still expensive for a home user. The time it will take to cover up
There may be less socialinteractions as people are getting the delicious food at home
+5-2
+4 -2
+2
+2
Supporting Factors: +2 + 4 + 5 + 4 + 2 = 17
Restricting Factors: (-5) + (-1) + (-2) = -8
Total: +9
29
Food Vending
Time saving. Since no need to cook. More productive time
Overall money saving at food.
This vending machine is very cheap compared to other vending machines
Conclusion:This product is believed to be highly useful for the home
users. It will result in long term cost savings on food for
the household and make delicious food, that is much better
than the restaurants. This product in Malaysia will be highly
successful as people living here eat a variety of foods, and
this machine offers a little bit of variety. It offers malay,
Italian, fast food etc. The limitation of this machine is that
It makes around 10 recipes only. But we are working to improve
upon this limitation in the future and we believe that after
the release of this product in the market, there would be
great demand and our customers will be satisfied with it.
30
BibliographyAnon., 1996 . Mindtools. [Online]
Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm#
[Accessed 22 July 2013].
Anon., 2007 - 2013 . Wonderful Malaysia. [Online]
Available at: http://www.wonderfulmalaysia.com/living-and-working-
in-malaysia.htm
[Accessed 29 July 2013 ].
Anon., 2012. KLIX. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.klix.co.uk/vending-machines/klix-450/technical
[Accessed 25 July 2013].
Anon., 2013. Fresh Healthy Vending. [Online]
Available at: http://freshvending.com/support/
[Accessed 1 August 2013].
Anon., 2013. Scirbd. [Online]
Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/80089184/14/Force-fitting-
trigger
[Accessed 22 july 2013].
Designs, J., 2013. Vending Solutions. [Online]
Available at: http://www.vendingsolutions.com/faq/
[Accessed 22 july 2013].
31
Silkron, 2013. Silkron Technologies. [Online]
Available at: http://www.silkron.com/smart_vending
[Accessed 28 July 2013].
university, I. s., 2013. Iowa state university extension and outreach. [Online]
Available at: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/communities/force-
field-analysis
[Accessed 31 July 2013].
APPENDICES
Questionnaire
(Next Page)
32
Top Related