Future research and consulting

Future research


We will continue to research the above-mentioned research areas (service system research, system design research). Above all, we plan to focus on product - service systems research and Kansei design research.

◇Product/Service System Research
The product/service system that is the subject of research in this laboratory is a system that focuses on the servicization of the manufacturing industry, so-called servicizing. Product-Service Systems (PSS) research has been generated and developed as socio-economic system research centering on Europe. Around the same time as the occurrence of this, in the United States, the idea of not offering products as products but providing their functions in the form of services, a business model study of function-selling products + services began. This is called servicizing. Since PSS covers a wide range of fields, it seems that it is generally called PSS under the idea that servicizing is included in PSS. The US manufacturing industry lost its competitiveness and economic downturn in the 1980s, but it recovered in the 1990s due to servicizing. Servicizing has created new business models such as "manufacturing → sales", "manufacturing + maintenance", "manufacturing + insurance", "manufacturing + used product recycling → sales", and "manufacturing → outsourcing". And now it can be said that Japanese manufacturing is in the same position as American manufacturing in the 1980s. Unlike the 1990s, the 2020s have made dramatic advances in ICT technology, enabling servicizing to increase the added value of goods and products through services. However, Japan's servicing research and implementation activities have fallen behind, which is a major national challenge.
This laboratory will not only focus on the manufacturing industry, but also on primary industries such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and work on research into goods and service systems that will realize new high added value.

◇Kansei design research
In this research, we plan to pursue generally accepted methodologies and theories that hold for individual service systems and product - service systems.
As of April 2020, we are considering "kansei design for internal services". Internal service is a service to employees and organizations in the company, and it has been found that high employee satisfaction with internal service affects corporate performance. In recent years, it has become important to design the environment, treatment, and operations in which employees are placed within a company, so that the term work style reform is discussed. For example, when designing a system that introduces an office robot to improve productivity, it is necessary to design at the same time a sensitivity that also improves the happiness of employees. It is necessary to study such design theory and methodology of how to do it.
　In this research, we plan to develop based on previous research such as Kansei engineering, psychology, business administration and system design theory.

Joint/contract research, consulting, seminars, lectures


This laboratory is recruiting the following joint/contract research, consulting, seminars, and lectures.
◇ Contract contents
・Improvement of existing services (current system analysis → problem discovery → design of improvement measures → implementation → evaluation)
・New service design
・Products/Products Manufacturing service development (manufacturing → sold-out business to service business)
・Service of the purchasing and sales business (from purchasing → sold-out business to service business)
・Improvement of existing marketing system (analysis of current system → discovery of problems → design of improvement measures → implementation → evaluation)
・Design of new marketing system
・Design of risk countermeasure system (design of disaster countermeasure system for business continuity)
・Internal service design to improve employee satisfaction (current situation analysis → service design → implementation → evaluation)
・System design method seminar (in-house education: system creation thinking method)
・Innovation thinking ability improvement seminar (in-house education: innovation creation thinking method)
・Service system design / Eight principles seminar (employee education)
・Lectures and application seminars related to the above

◇Explanation and past achievements
[Joint/contract research, consulting]

Koji Mihara, chief examiner of this laboratory, has developed SSID method (Service System Individualization Design Method) based on many years of product-service operation and marketing practical experience in manufacturing industry. This is a practical service system design method that enhances customer value, systematized for practical use by everyone.
The SSID method was developed through theoretical research and service case studies based on Work Design Method, which is a technique for creatively designing a system, and practical use and practical use in service design. This method is a wide-ranging planning and design method that can be universally used to design any mechanism or system that provides value to people. And it is developed with the concept that it can be understood and used by many people regardless of science or humanities.

- Logistics marketing service
- Overseas remittance service system
- Import and sales system integration service
- Transportation price inquiry service system
- Other services such as customer service and manufacturing
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[Seminar, lecture]
From 2014 to 2016, the research group of this laboratory has a course of "Innovation Creation Thinking Method" in the WASEDA-EDGE human resource development program of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Global Entrepreneur Development Promotion Project (EDGE Program) . More than 150 learned. The "Innovation Creation Thinking Method" is a thinking method that has been improved from the "System Creation Thinking Method", which is a system design method that originated from work design, so that new ideas that will become innovations will be born. From 2017 to 2019, we have prepared courses for general companies and held practical seminars. At the same time, since 2017, we have been enrolled in Waseda University's courses for all universities (undergraduate to adult graduate students), and about 60 students take this course each year.
In regard to service systems, the service system design method: SSID method (Service System Individualization Design Method) should be designed so that it can be easily and easily understood, and the service system can be designed based on the "creation of the structure of many customers-the eight principles of service systems". We hold seminars on the principles and design recommendations.
Please contact us as these seminars will not be held on a regular basis but will be customized according to the circumstances and needs of each company and will be held at any time.

The lecture was a lecture on "How to Create Ideas-Thought Development Workshop-", which is a book that explains the idea generation method and purpose expansion method to the general public, and the SSID method is explained to general service industry people. We are giving a lecture on "Creating a system for thousands of customers-Eight principles of service systems". In addition to these lectures, we will accept lectures on system design, service systems, product-service systems, etc.