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distribution system

The question of redefining the distribution system came up due to several
findings. Nobody knows what is going where. Thus, a lot of waste has
been created. Storage being one of the major issues, cost addition due to
an imbalanced distribution system has led the farmer to have a substantial
loss. The ever increasing demand of organic food has led a demand for a
formation of a organic regulated market. A lack of blanket demand among
consumers has led the organic produce becoming raw material to reach
processing units.
In conclusion, most of the lack; transparency of whereabouts of organic
produce, reduction of carbon footprint, reduction of end cost, reduction of
waste, information sharing of farming methods between farmers, would be
solved with a sort of data collection. This was the hunch.
I was then working on a unified digital system with enabling speculated
technologies which could let us understand the existing system and hence
enable the government to change things for a smoother implementation
of the supply chain. A list of ways how it could be done came out of a
brainstorming session with the individuals in the office. What kind of data
was not considered. Data though, was a solution, more than a problem
area. The absence of the same was the problem, but it itself could be a
solution. I have put forth the process of ideation.

[Implement behavioral guidelines for the farmers, buyers, consumers
and traders on a short-term, but scalable basis so that the government
officials have an immediate action plan, in order to cater the needs of the
stakeholders, considering that Sikkim Organic is their Mission?]

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102 brainstorming

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3.
taking a
step back

I chose a particular opportunity area to define it more and understand it. Design is an
ever expanding and shrinking process. It was time to go for a broader problem area.

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bird view

The parent brief

How might we implement an immediate action plan for the farmers, buyers, consumers
and traders on a scalable basis so that the government officials can cater to the needs of the
stakeholders and help Sikkim
Organic Mission?
This was an extremely broad area. Ideation requires a focused problem scenario or a
statement. Further boiling down to some child brief, an area of interest was supposed to be
chosen.

Child briefs

How might we - create an ecosystem of data storing and sharing between the farmers to
reduce cost?
How might we - create supportive environments for young adults in Sikkim to choose
farming as an occupation while inculcating traditional values and maintain food security on
a long term basis?
How might we - encourage the end consumers by creating a new value equation, so that
they choose organic produce over chemical produce which can increase the demand?

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4.
system mapping

I chose a particular opportunity area to define it more and understand it. Design is an ever
expanding and shrinking process. It was time to go for a broader problem area.

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system map

With relation to the information obtained until now, a system map was
created. This map was not exactly that of the supply chain, but a relational
map of sorts to have a better quality of the whole picture. Keywords and
stakeholders were related. Furthermore, the map was divided into segments
in relation to the broader problem areas.
Demand
Cost
Waste
The Government
Infrastructure
Stakeholders
Farmer
Trader
Government
End consumer
Vendor

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The system map 109

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Fig. 6

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Fig. 7

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Fig. 8

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Fig. 9

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Fig. 10

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Fig. 11

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The goals were put in an
assumed time to impact ratio

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5.
empathising with
end consumers

A second interview session took place, where we went and validated our findings, to be confident
about

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Interviewing end consumers

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Several vendors
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the demand

The distribution system is not in place. Nobody has any idea where what
is getting delivered. The imbalanced flow has made it extremely difficult
for the consumers to have an amount of faith in organic. I assumed that
the perishables which are chemical based and are organic are mixed on
the vendor level. But, due to the lack of the regulated market, the organic
produce of Sikkim does flow to the markets of Siliguri, where it gets
mixed up and may even come back to the markets of Sikkim. The overall
production is less, and less and less new farmers are getting into farming.
Cost then increases due to less produce. Value organic is reducing too.
This all at this point about the end consumer was based on the previous
research. In conclusion, local inhabitants of Sikkim are not eating food
from Sikkim.
The next question was whether, increasing the value of organic can lead the
redirection of fresh produce supply in the local regions instead of it being
exported to other cities, adding a lot of cost and waste.

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findings from research to
be validated

User needs
-Availability of organic food
-Consistent looks
-Clear idea of what produce is what
Availability (stock or access)
-All types of produce - variety is preferred
-Fresh good looking produce is sold more
-Organic produce may or may not be available in close proximity
Reliability
-Users trust their regular vendors; familiarity, less efforts
-Certification helps authenticate product’s nature
-There is a misconception that organic is costlier
-They are unsure what is organic and what is not
-They do not value Organic food

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validating with users

Consumer
- Name, age, education, profession, fan following
- How long have you been living in Sikkim?
- Who buys the fresh produce in your household? How? When? Which kind? From where?
Who cooks? When?
- Staple food of house? Other vegetables?
- How far is the nearest vendor? How often do you go to laal bazaar?
- What do you think about shopping fresh produce? Likes/dislikes/challenges
- How much do you spent at a time approximately? What is your salary?
- What do you think about organic food? Preference and reasoning? Can you describe
some benefits, if any? Do you understand which produce is what?

Keywords - Trust, loyalty, reliability, habit, position, ethics, availability,
health, lifestyle

Vendor
- Name, age, education, music, fan following
- How long have you been living in Sikkim?
- What is it about being a vendor do you enjoy? Likes/dislikes/challenges
- Who are your suppliers? How much do you earn per batch? Salary per month? Cost
decrement?
- How do you store the fresh produce?
- Do you sell any organic fresh produce? How do you keep it? How do you know if it’s
really organic?
- Do consumers ask for organic food?

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Focused findings(vendors and consumers)
- Price fluctuates drastically
- Vendors can add up the price how much ever they want
- They keep he produce separately always.
- Locals of Sikkim always support the local produce
- Purity and honesty are what they are proud of.
- It is almost as if organic being costly
- Staple produce is unavailable
- Nobody really knows what is what and have to depend on he vendor
- Otherwise they are all assumptions of separating organic from
the other produce
- Organic food is seasonal
- The consumers do not trust the vendors completely
- As the age increases, stability also increases, the care for health increases and hence
organic is chosen
- Habit is how consumers understand the difference between organic and inorganic
- As cost is high, convenience has been reduced
- Absence of a regulated market brings in doubt in terms of actual
cost versus overly hyped cost
- It seems as if the cost is more because it is termed organic

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- Organic is considered healthy
- Cost is high either because of distribution, less production yield wise or there is lesser
supply on a local level
- Education about shopping vegetables takes place generation wise
- Locals in Gangtok want to support the local farmers
- The locals are aware of the health benefits
- Younger generation people want fast and easy options mostly
- Middle-aged consumers carry their own bags mostly
- Younger locals buy vegetables at night time after work hours where they don’t get fresh
produce and might lack a vessel to carry perishables
- People often go to the market when there is a market set, that is Sundays, because they
have the time to settle the perishables for the whole week
- If the major population is not earning enough, they will not choose organic
- Restaurants and food joints either buy inorganic or buy local food on wholesale, only
about money
- The farmer traders mostly come to the set up stalls on the market day only and can get
fooled by the bulk buyer cost demands
- Standardization of cost fluctuation is a necessity
- Feeling good is a factor experienced by the locals eating organic
- Organic is eaten during sick days
- Vendors are mostly honest about the organic and inorganic separation
- A lack of end action cue to purchase organic is observed
- Organic produce exists, but lack of consumer demand leads the traders to distribute the
produce elsewhere, adding cost and waste both
- People often identify trust-worthy shops and stick to them

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insights

- Lookism and frugality plays an important role in consumerism
- Familiarity increases loyalty among people
- Awareness is what one knows, action is what one does about it
- Trustworthy directions can lead to action creation
-Belief is valued, but knowledge is trusted

What are the factors affecting consumption of Organic food?
- Availability, in terms of accessibility too
- Frugality
- Reliability

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The focused brief

how can we
increase the
reliability of
buying fresh,
local, organic
produce for the
frugal locals
of sikkim?

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expand

Fig. 12

What we want to or can produce?

Production

product

Distribution Consumption

How and where it goes and what happens of it? Can we address the need instead of the want?
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existing services

I was reading about existing solutions about increasing reliability among
customers during shopping. Walmart like companies have started using block-
chain to for a complete transparency of the product they are selling. They are
separating and branding the organic food. Block-chain is a encrypted long
chain of supply where, no interference can take place, but a dominoes like
effect is created.
If a chain starts from block A, block B has a code connected to block A and
block C, and this goes on.
Big bazaar works on schemes only for frugal consumers. They buy in bulk
and also give in bulk, by telling the consumer that they are in fact reducing
the price when they increasing enough for their own profit. The schemes such
as Wednesday sales have given people, ‘a sense of saving money’. They have
associated savings with big bazaar in such a way. Though Big Bazaars’ end
consumers are middle-class and upper middle class locals. They are building
infrastructure strategically, forming areas which are on the vicinity of
residential buildings. They are building services such as mobile applications
for high-end customers. Apparently, no matter what the income of people is,
no matter what class they are from, they always want cheap food.

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Image source - Google Images

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ideate

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1.
probable
solution
areas

As soon as I had the focused brief of the problem area I sat down with my Industrial mentor and a
few other people, to come up with probable solutions.

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Three probable solution areas were visible during the
solution area.

1_communication
for awareness

Solutions included communication collaterals to be made the government
for the people to choose organic. Local inhabitants of Sikkim are aware of
benefits when it comes to eating organic food, though the end action is
missing.
Intuitive communication strategy through every day products used for
shopping vegetables in the main market could be formed. Here, the motif
was not to make customers aware, but to provide an ‘end-cue’ so as to make
sure that they buy organic. Example, packaging used to wrap vegetables or
bags used in the main market.
Other communication media such as advertisements of green consumerism
or upliftment of local farmers so that it encourages a communal organic
culture in Sikkim.

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2_shopping
experience
intervention

Probable solutions included shopping experience where customers get into
an interactive spaces which lead them to buy a vegetable and a different
vegetable they can buy with the same.
A recipe can be given to people in order to buy the particular
organic produce.
A technologically progressive market place where you can choose produce
and technology will identify its authenticity.
An interactive game or way-finding can be made in the main market to
understand where which organic produce is situated.
More research into this area would have given more insight into
the possibilities.

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3_service design
intervention

Probable solutions included unrestricted ideation which has been shown
in the next few pages. The point was to create a service that encourages
the consumers to buy vegetables. One way to do that is building trust by
using a brand or introducing a new service to an existing trusted brand in
the context of Gangtok.
In this brainstorming, an unrestricted path was taken to understand
the importance of possible solutions. It is possible to come with an
executable solution which can be introduced to engineers to work on. As
told by my mentor, we should not be restricted with existing technology
and hence int his way we can give space for new technology too come
into existence.

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Trash and cold storage can be made into one truck

Branded vegetable shop Have vegetable
shops near
taxi stands.

A application which only delivers vegetables

Cook and give pure organic food .

A taxi plus vegetable delivery system

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Introduce walking sellers.