How does Robot affect to MICE business?
Mostly MICE business including trade show or convention is related to hospitality industry, which provides network and meeting service for people’s interaction. Robots can substitute humans labor regarding giving service information or network interaction. So I can suggest 3 processes that could benefit from the use of robotics.
① Robots can play a role of guide instead of human.
As people visit a convention center when they only have a meeting or tradeshow to go, they might feel uneasy in the unfamiliar surroundings. So they usually find information center and ask about show information. Robots can answer simple questions without human staff, so it saves cost.
② Robots can connect convention participants with speakers who are not on site.
As robots have a face and body like human, it can speech as like a keynote speaker on a convention stage. If a human speaker can not participant for the keynote speech, robots play a speaker using a telecommunication technology.
③ Robots can link between trade show exhibitors and global buyers beyond the time and space limit.
As trade show exhibitors want to meet as many buyers as possible trade show organizers try to bring more global buyers to their events. Buyers can connect robots, and robots meet and talk with exhibitors instead of human buyers. It would enhance the motivation to join the show for both exhibitors and buyers.
Definitely I believe future state of business events like trade show and convention will be a model combining off-line events with on-line contents. As off-line events have a limit of time and space, it can extend its areas by combining online contents together. Robots can add business events’ competitive edge by giving a differentiation and cost leadership strategy. Robots, for example, can be a conference speaker instead of human who cannot join the show, and it would give memorable effects to participants and extend its time and space limit. It gives a competitive edge for business events and we can see this is a case for differentiation strategy. Also robots might play a guide role like show information including show contents, venue amenities, etc. It affects both differentiation strategy and cost leadership. We can save cost for recruiting and managing human staffs, and human like robots are marketing points for promotion and positioning of competitive advantage compared to other business events.
I think this project is not just a robot-implementing but an implementing of new disruptive technologies for enhancing our business. Therefore CEO and CMO or CTO should be involved in this program. CEO or c-level executives should firstly have a mission for strategic direction, and the role and responsibilities of robots. If the R&R is fixed then they assume the budgets for developing and running of robots for their business. Finally they consider what impacts would give human employees as robots substitutes areas of human labor. This is also connected to ethics of robot and AI.
We have mission to examine the project feasibility and expected result of new business. So we have to find out why we should implement robot project and what kind of business effect would come to our company by this robot project. It is very important for us because we might be in position of c-level executives and then we need to know finally this project would be a benefit or not. If we don’t know or examine the expected future, the project would not a fruit but a disaster.
Our business strategy should be focused on differentiation and cost leadership based on deep understanding of customers and our industry. As more and more online business solution and meeting technologies compete with off-line events, I consider how we should have a competitive edge using online and offline combined event business. Robots and RPA will be an opportunity initiating new technology showing our competitive events business positioning. And of course, we can show our customers that we are not old fashioned but creative organization.
Finally, robots have many functions to control but I think the most important technologies are remote telecommunication for control. As we would use robots not only for service guide but also giving break-through convention experience, we need robots can move freely controlled by remote controller. I hope global buyers, speakers and related participants use our robots for networking on site even though they are not on site. That’s why I think robust telecommunication technology like 5G is mainly required.