Scenario Planning for Domestic Plumbing Services

Table 4.12: Crisp weight & ranking for product service and system-related design requirements

Product Service System

Criteria Crisp

weight Rank Criteria Crisp

weight Rank Criteria Crisp

weight Rank Consumption of

resources 0.209 6 Working

conditions 0.071 12 Capacity 0.079 11

Safety & Health 0.311 4 Sequence 0.123 11 Skills 0.616 1

Interaction 0.066 9 Transparency 0.067 13 Labour time 0.184 9

E uipment’s 0.064 10 Input & output

values 0.159 9 Remuneration 0.223 8

Costs 0.074 8 Human

interaction 0.381 5 Location 0.316 3

Risks 0.077 7 Interfaces 0.172 7 Establishment 0.231 7

Availability 0.275 5 Language &

culture 0.166 8 Auxiliary

material 0.111 10

Flexibility 0.354 2 Availability 0.545 2 Operating material 0.259 4

Reusability 0.315 3 Transfer time 0.122 10 Communication 0.389 2

Efficiency 0.662 1 Processing time 0.512 3 Data storage 0.241 6

Transaction

time 0.342 6 Capital 0.244 5

Response &

delivery 0.574 1

Reliability 0.413 4

Table 4.12 represents crisp weight and ranking for product, service and system-related design requirements. The prioritization or ranking through Rough Group AHP study results show that the most important product-related design requirements are efficiency, flexibility and reusability. Service-related design requirements are response/delivery, availability and processing time. System-related design requirements are skills, communication of plumber and location.

lifestyle, education and online platforms. The technological drivers of change are video in real- time, mixed reality and drone delivery. The aforementioned driving forces of change and trends were collected from government reports, research articles and market surveys. The impact vs.

uncertainty matrix was conducted for each identified driving force of change. Figure 4.7 depicts the impact vs. uncertainty mapping for the domestic plumbing in Indian context. A brief discussion on driving forces of change and trends are as follows,

Political: The Government of India has implemented various programs for skill development, skill upgradation and certification under schemes viz. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, National Skill Development Mission. The prime objective of such skill development/certification program is to provide livelihood and employment for Indian youths.

The Government of India has organized several training programs for skill development and upgradation in plumbing sector.

Economic: The Government of India has initiated ‘Start-up India’ to nurture innovations and start-ups to drive sustainable economic growth through entrepreneurship development and employment generation. In India, gig workers have enormous opportunities to work for online platform-based businesses. Gig workers are those who work on-demand and provide services mainly through online platforms.

Social: Nowadays, social media are emerging and new ways of marketing and increasing online business. The impact of customer reviews and feedback directly affects the way of doing online business. Consumers have a much wider choice of products/services available in the cyber market. Consumers can compare products, features, prices and even look up reviews before selecting what they want. Consumers enjoy more extensive access to assistance and advice from experts and peers. Consumers also avail options of fast services and fast delivery of products/services.

Technological: Technology may transform jobs of the future and lean more towards tech- enabled. Digital services from e-learning to online payments, e-health to broadcasting preventive measures, news, online video streaming is all seeing a boom. There could be a rise in technological advancement and consumers’ adoption of technologies as they embrace technology while working from home. The aid of drones was beneficial during the Covid-19 crisis. For example, medical deliveries, spraying disinfectants, surveillance and monitoring public places. Therefore, technology will greatly influence the domestic plumbing sector.

Figure 4.7: Impact vs Uncertainty mapping of domestic plumbing services

Two scenarios were created for the plumbing service system as follows,

Scenario 1: With Indian cities witnessing significant growth, plumbing services online will expand sufficiently to tier II and tier III cities. Figure 4.8 illustrates the first scenario on existing online plumbing services in urban areas and why to choose on-demand home services. In this scenario, the extent to which online ordering for plumber service is limited to urban cities. The number of plumber service requests could be high, but most consumers request plumber service through a phone call, neighbours’ recommendation and walk-in. The Indian Plumbing Association (IPA) has taken several initiatives for professionalization of plumbing. However, generally plumbing apprentices work as helpers in urban cities with a practising plumber (Ranganathan, 2013). These apprentices learn plumbing skills as they worked on practical jobs.

Plumbers concentrate more on conventional learning and there is lack of professional training including plumbing codes and certification programs. Therefore, the service provided by the plumbers are subjective and challenging to regulate. The strategic implications for service providers and consumers in this scenario are challenging, particularly in identifying certified plumbers. The strategic actions for on-demand home services are identified as follows,

• To encourage the apprentices to take up certification programs to improve labour status and income through professionalization.

• To have uniform guidelines on health and safety measures. Policies on monetary benefits, job security for plumbers.

• To refocus on business models and areas of potential growth in the future.

• To have the advantage of delivering first its kind in services to attract more customers.

• To invest or capitalize in research and development for new products and services.

• Design Thinking in development of online platforms for better user navigation, user interactions, secure payment methods and transparency in pricing details.

Figure 4.8: Scenario-1 of the plumbing service system

Scenario 2: Potential customers are likely to solve minor plumbing issues with specific instructions through online streaming. Figure 4.9 depicts the second scenario of the domestic plumbing in Indian context. In this scenario, the stakeholders involved are viz. customers, service providers, delivery agents and plumbers. Customers can access the website for resolving minor plumbing issues with proper instruction and specific images of particular plumbing issues. This design solves the problem of long waiting times for the arrival of plumbers. From the survey data, minor plumbing issues were identified as dripping faucets/taps, low water pressure, clogged drain/toilets and leaked pipes. Customers can compare and purchase the tools/spare parts for a particular plumbing issue through the information obtained from the website. This design solves the problem of transparency in the cost of tools/spare parts. Further, customers can make direct contact with the plumbers through the internet for significant issues of on-demand services. This design solves the search and availability of plumbers in the market. The support process such as easy access to the website, inventory of products, availability of plumbers must be added to the solution so that the quality of the whole operational process, including onstage and backstage process, can be enhanced.

Service providers could have opportunities to attract new customer segments with specific content that delivers value. The strategic implication for business organizers in this scenario would,

• To consider factors such as mobility, privacy risk and assessment of the service provider, which may affect the adoption of home services.

• To consider systematic management in trade-offs and balances between customers and plumbers in need of urgency.

• Design management strategies in service quality, easy access, availability and customization in service processes.

• To develop a new business model with an emphasis on design thinking approaches.

Figure 4.9: Scenario-2 of the plumbing service system