IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

Idea Generation and Business Model Development

Help Restaurant Automation of Their Kitchen with Robot Chefs
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IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

Executive Summary

In the rapid growing technological world, adopting innovation and emerging technologies is

necessary for restaurants to solve the problem facing by them in offering food services to its

customers, prepare a variety of food items, build right menu, increase the quality of food, prepare

delicious and tasty dishes, increase productivity and serve customers in timely-manner to

differentiate from its competitors, attract customers, increase sales and increase the growth of a

firm. The main theme of this report is to introduce robot chefs into the restaurants to prepare food

items faster and deliver high-quality services, reduce costs and attain competition. The report is

analyzing the benefits to the business due to adopting robot chefs, the feasibility of an idea, create

a business model canvas and identifying interrelationships in the business model, finding the

critical success factors of an idea and concludes with identifying risks of robot chefs and

assumptions for adopting robot chefs into the restaurant.

IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

Table of Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 4
2. Reason for Innovation in Restaurant ....................................................................................... 4
3. Benefits to Business with Robot Chefs ................................................................................... 5
4. Feasibility of Robot Chefs in Restaurants ............................................................................... 5
5. Business Model Canvas for Robot Chefs ................................................................................ 6
6. Interrelationships in the Business Model................................................................................. 7
7. Critical Success Factors of Robot Chefs ................................................................................. 7
8. Threats and Assumptions......................................................................................................... 8
9. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 9
References ..................................................................................................................................... 10
Appendix: Business Model Canvas .............................................................................................. 12
IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

1. Introduction

Automation is one of the key trends in the food industry in the present days. A new business idea

implementation of robot chefs to provide help in the kitchen of the restaurants is proposed. It is

innovative helps in solving the various problems facing by restaurants such as a human error in

food preparation and reducing the food wastage (Shiny, Kumar, Nanthagopal, & Raguram, 2017).

The flow of the report is in a smooth way including the key topics such as reason for innovation

in restaurants, benefits to business with robot chefs, feasibility of robot chefs in automation of the

kitchen operations in restaurant, development of Business Model Canvas, identification of

interrelationships between the elements of business model, critical success factors, and threats and

key assumptions to proposed idea.

2. Reason for Innovation in Restaurant

Many of the restaurants are facing significant issues in processing customer orders, proper use of

raw materials for dishes, prepare a variety of food items faster, and serve food items in required

time due to human chefs. It leads to a decrease in customer satisfaction, decrease in sales, and

ultimately close down the business. Robot chef helps to solve these business problems. The key

reason for innovation in restaurant is to solve the problems facing by restaurants in performing

daily operations, increase transparency in restaurant operations, reduce workload for waiter and

increase the efficiency of a restaurant in offering food items, introduce online menu ordering,

automate the billing process at restaurant, increase the ability of a restaurant to adopt new

technologies in future, change the way of performing restaurant operations (Doorn, et al., 2016).

Another reason is to enhance the skills of employees at the restaurant, improve the quality of

dishes, decrease costs, increase restaurant capability to offer the products and become one of the

famous restaurants among its competitors.

IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

3. Benefits to Business with Robot Chefs

The idea of using robotic chefs allows restaurants to automate the cooking process and operations

processing by a restaurant, introduce integrated and easy cooking, add more items to the menu,

create right and smart menu, offer a variety of items and differentiate menu from other restaurants

in offering food items, advanced inventory management, mix ingredients in required amount and

prepare food items with based on customer taste, reduce the waste of items in preparing food items,

minimize the number of human resources to serve food items to the customers and clean dishes

(Malik, Rani, Singh, Pratibha, & Pragya, 2016). The robotic chefs also helps the restaurants to

increase efficiency in managing the restaurant, process orders efficiently, create smart kitchen,

operate the kitchen remotely via smartphones, avoid the problems in finding right staff for the

restaurant to cook food items and serve to the customers appropriately, minimize customer waiting

time and increase productivity, improve customer service, enrich customer experience and make

the customer to visit restaurant again, and increase the reputation of a restaurant effectively

(Ivanov, Webster, & Berezina, 2017). So, the idea of introducing robotic chefs in a restaurant helps

to solve the common problems and achieve desired results.

4. Feasibility of Robot Chefs in Restaurants

The idea Robot Chefs in the kitchen restaurant is feasible in terms of three aspects including

economic, technological, and organizational feasibility. Most of the restaurants in the food industry

are showing interest in the adoption of technologies to automation of the food preparing, serving,

and kitchen cleaning operations. No resistance will be expected from the restaurants in the

inclusion of robots in the kitchen. When the cost of robots is considered, these are not available in

cheap. But, the leasing option is available to utilize the robots. Even though the cost of robot chef

is high, restaurants showing interest to invest in robot chefs due to various problems such as
IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

increased labor costs, chances of food theft, and wastage (Eksiri & Kimura, 2015). In many

countries, staff working in restaurants are welcoming the robots in various operations. But, fear of

job loss to Chefs exists in the restaurant point of view.

5. Business Model Canvas for Robot Chefs

The proposed Business Model Canvas (BMC) for Robot Chefs is created including the nine

building blocks such as customer segments, key business partners, value proposition, major key

activities, business channels, and revenue streams, structure of the cost, key resources, and

relationships with customers (Joyce & Paquin, 2016). Customer segments for selling the robot chef

service include restaurants, large hotels, and food companies. These have a high demand for

automation of the tasks in offering food services. The partnerships such as relationships with non-

competitors, suppliers for providing raw material, and establishment joint restaurant business with

other restaurants or food companies. Robot chefs offer a value proposition of high quality and tasty

food to consumers at affordable price (Goorah & Panchoo, 2017). They are also helpful in

delivering the food ordered in a short time. The fourth building block includes key activities such

as preparation of food in an agile production environment, effective customer service, and

automation of kitchen cleaning and inventory maintenance and ordering.

Channels are a crucial thing to enhance awareness among the customers about the new

service introduced into their operations. These include online advertising, restaurant website, and

traditional advertising. Revenue will stream from delivering high-quality food to consumers in a

short time and reduced expenses in wastage and labor costs. Structure of the cost includes different

costs in the introduction of robot chefs including robot costs, robot operator staff costs, upgrading

and maintenance costs (Štefan & Richard, 2014). Key resources are required for robot chefs in

kitchens of the restaurants include suppliers, the staff of the restaurant, robot operators, technology
IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

partners, and top management. Relationships with customers are required to develop to know the

success achieved in food delivery. These are developed through integrating customer relationship

management to the website, feedback forms, customer support service, and mobile applications.

6. Interrelationships in the Business Model

The elements presented in the BMC are linked with each other to ensure success to the robot chef’s

business idea. Identification of key customer segments helps to add customized services to them

through value proposition (Murray & Scuotto, 2015). Key resources are required for other

elements of BMC model including value proposition, finding the customer segments, the

establishment of required channels to communicate with customers, generating more revenues

elimination of key problems in the kitchen, and building and maintaining the good relationships

with customers. Revenue is indirectly depended on the value proposition and customer

relationships. Channels such as website and online advertising are key to make communication

with customers which in turn helps to maximize the sales and revenues (Sloan, Legrand, &

Hindley, 2015). Key partners are required to utilization of the Robot chefs in automation of kitchen

operations to support in key activities of food serving. These are further helpful in achieving the

ultimate goal of business-enhancing customer satisfaction.

7. Critical Success Factors of Robot Chefs

The restaurant needs to consider different factors help to adopt robot chefs into the business

successfully. The critical success factors of robot chefs include

Innovation: Focusing on creativity and encouraging the employees to think innovative helps the

restaurant to increase innovation and adopt new technologies that help to adopt robot chefs and

handle them properly (Souza & Goncalves, 2016).

IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

Market requirement: it must conduct a survey into the market to collect the perspectives of

different customers and firms on using robot chefs and food requirements, and instruct robots to

provide services to customers based on perceptions.

Right business idea: The restaurant must create the right business to determine the idea of

introducing robot chefs supports the restaurant to overcome problems and adopt robot chefs

successfully (Trott, 2017).

Adaptability: The restaurant must be ready to adopt new technologies and tools, and introduce

continuous learning to manage robot chefs and direct them to work properly and serve customers

in a proper manner.

Financing: It must have the capability to recruit professionals that are expert in handling robot

chefs and resolve technical issues in robots, adopt new technologies for effective cooperation

among robot chefs and work properly (Nayik, Muzaffar, & Gull, 2015).

Good team: The restaurant must develop a good team that contains a strong commitment to adopt

robot chefs into the business, communicate well, and learn new things, share knowledge and

support other employees

8. Threats and Assumptions

The key risks of adopting robot chefs into the restaurant include lack of finance to recruit robots

requires higher amounts to purchase them, recruit professionals and adopt technologies to manage

them, lack of skills in using technologies to handle robots properly, solve the common issues

occurring in robots, direct and prepare food items based on requirements, lack of resources

required to maintain robots within firm, lack of technologies to communicate information

throughout the restaurant, and resistance of employees at the restaurant to utilize robot chefs
IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

instead of human resources due to fear of job loss and less support from the staff for adopting the

idea (Ivanov, Webster, & Berezina, 2017). The key assumptions of robot chefs include the firm

has good technologies to communicate information, well-educated staff to understand robot

technologies enough finance to purchase technologies, facilitate infrastructure required to

introduce robot chefs and ability to adapt and manage chefs effectively.

9. Conclusion

Innovation is a key thing to generation of new ideas to business development. The idea helping

the restaurants in automation of kitchen operations with Robot chefs is new one to restaurant

business. It is easy to achieve success with Robot chefs in preparing variety of food items. It

provides many advantages to businesses in resolving the various problems such as decrease in the

sales performance, dissatisfied customers, reducing the time and waste occurred while preparing

food, and increase the quality of food. To deliver these benefits effectively, Robot chefs are

feasible in economic, technological, and organizational perspectives. The elements of BMC model

are identified and analyzed effectively to understand how they are helpful in attracting the new

customers and improving the business performance.

IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

References

Doorn, J. v., Mende, M., Noble, S. M., Hulland, J., Ostrom, A. L., Grewal, D., & Petersen, J. A.

(2016). Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto: Emergence ofAutomated Social Presence in

Organizational Frontlines and Customers’ Service Experiences. Journal of Service

Research, 20(1), PP. 43-58.

Eksiri, A., & Kimura, T. (2015). Restaurant Service Robots Development in Thailand and Their

Real Environment Evaluation. Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 27(1), 1-12.

Goorah, & Panchoo. (2017). Business Model Innovations Transforming the Hotel Industry and Its

Implications for Small and Medium Hotels in Mauritius. Journal of Social Sciences and

Humanities, 25(4), 1529-1544.

Ivanov, S., Webster, C., & Berezina, K. (2017). Adoption of robots and service automation by

tourism and hospitality companies. INVTUR Conference (pp. 1-19). Aveiro: Varna

University of Management.

Joyce, A., & Paquin, R. L. (2016). The triple layered business model canvas: A tool to design more

sustainable business models. Journal of Cleaner Production, 1-13.

Malik, N., Rani, N., Singh, A., Pratibha, & Pragya, S. (2016). Review paper on- Serving Robot

New Generation Electronic Waiter. International Journal for Innovative Research in

Science & Technology, Vol. 2, Iss. 11, pp. 775-777.

Murray, A., & Scuotto, V. (2015). The Business Model Canvas. Emerging Issues in

Management(3), 94-109.
IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

Nayik, G. A., Muzaffar, K., & Gull, A. (2015). Robotics and Food Technology: A Mini Review.

Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 5(4), pp. 1-4.

Shiny, Kumar, A., Nanthagopal, & Raguram. (2017). Automation of Restaurant (Ordering,

Serving, Billing). International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics

and Instrumentation Engineering, 1532-1539.

Sloan, P., Legrand, W., & Hindley, C. (2015). The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Food and

Gastronomy. New York: Routledge.

Souza, A., & Goncalves, L. M. (2016). Occupancy-elevation grid: an alternative approach for

robotic mapping and navigation. Robotica, Vol. 34, pp. 2592-2609.

Štefan, S., & Richard, B. (2014). Analysis of Business Models. Journal of Competitiveness, 6(4),

19-40.

Trott, P. (2017). Innovation Management and New Product Development (5th ed.). London:

Pearson.
IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

Appendix: Business Model Canvas

2. Key Business 4. Key Activities 3. Value 9.Relationships 1.Customer

Partners (effective proposition with customers segments

(relationships customer (high quality and (customer (restaurants,

with non- service, and tasty food in low relationship large hotels, and

competitors, automation of cost) management to food companies)

suppliers, and kitchen cleaning, the website,

joint restaurant inventory feedback forms,

business) maintenance and customer support

ordering) service, and

mobile

applications

8. Key 5. Channels

Resources (online

(suppliers, the advertising,

staff of the restaurant

restaurant, robot website, and

operators, traditional

technology advertising)

partners, and top

management)

7. Structure of the cost 6. Revenue Stream

IDEA GENERATION AND BUSINESS MODEL DEVELOPMENT

(robot costs, robot operator staff costs, upgrading (Food sales and reducing the cost of

and maintenance costs) wastage)

Table 1: Business Model Canvas