Mobile Venue Concession Ordering System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for ordering and delivering goods at events, such as sports venues, are inefficient, requiring attendees to leave their seats and disrupt their experience, as they must navigate long lines or rely on vendors who can be distracting and inconvenient.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a core module to manage orders and fulfillments via wireless communication with attendees' devices, allowing for seamless ordering, payment processing, and delivery tracking, minimizing disruption to the event experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If attendees leave their seats to purchase concessions at traditional stands, then they can obtain food and merchandise, but they miss portions of the event and their viewing experience is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows attendees to place concession orders in advance through mobile devices before leaving their seats. The order is transmitted to the venue system, which prepares the items and delivers them to the attendee's seat, eliminating the need to leave during the event.
Solution Approach 2:
A mobile computing device acts as an intermediary between the attendee and the concession system. The device receives orders, transmits them to the venue's fulfillment system, and coordinates delivery, allowing attendees to shop without physically leaving their seats.
2Productivity
If traditional concession stands are located away from seating areas, then service operations can be efficient, but attendees must travel away from their seats to access them
Solution Approach 1:
The system adds a digital dimension to the concession purchasing process. Instead of requiring physical movement to concession stands, attendees interact with a mobile interface that delivers orders to their seating location, transforming the spatial relationship between customer and service point.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical mechanical system of attendees walking to concession stands is replaced with an electronic information system. Mobile devices transmit orders wirelessly to the venue's fulfillment network, which then delivers items to specified seating locations, eliminating the need for attendee movement.
3Loss of time
If hawkers walk among stadium seating to sell products, then waiting time is reduced, but they create distraction and interrupt the event experience
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a virtual copy of the concession shopping experience through mobile applications. Attendees can browse menus, place orders, and receive confirmations on their devices, replicating the purchasing process without requiring physical interaction with vendors or leaving their seats.
Solution Approach 2:
The distracting element of roaming hawkers is extracted from the event environment. The sales function is separated from the viewing area and relocated to a digital interface that attendees access privately on their own devices, eliminating the visual and auditory distractions of physical vendors.
Data Source
AI summary
A central or “core” application a fulfillment application at a venue, and a wireless communication application hosted on a computing device, such as a cell phone, of an attendee at an event at that venue communicate via a network. Customers may sign up online, through a various types of web applications or dedicated applications to receive information, such as menus, catalogs, or the like of available products to be at the event. The core application may manage a database of records of customers, products, and fulfilment locations. The core application may send to fulfilment applications hosted by other computers at fulfilment locations instructions to dispatch “runners” to deliver products to seat locations of customers who may order products (e.g., food, merchandise, etc.) over cell phones or other internet-connected wireless computer devices.