Workshop – ’Results of customer demand research for wood and furniture products’
Place: FH Burgenland University of Applied Sciences, Eisenstadt, Campus
Date: 16th April 2018
Program:
9:00 – 9:15 Arrival, registration
9:15 – 9:30 Greeting
9:30 – 10:15 Furniture market supply in the border region
10:15 – 11:00 Introducing the results of customer demand research
11:00 – 11:15 Coffee break
11:15 – 12:30 Presentation of the directions for development based on the SME innovation situation exploration
12:30 – 13:15 Lunch
13:15 – 14:00 Discussion of directions for development based on the results of customer demand research in groups
14:00 – 15:00 Coordinating innovation areas based on customer and SME research in groups
15:00 – 15:15 Coffee break
15:15 – 16:45 Presentation and discussion of the range of products to be developed among the groups. Finalize innovation areas and priorities.
16:45 – 17:15 Summary
The participants were greeted by Silke Paulkovits-Rauter of FH Burgenland University of Applied Sciences. After that Katalin Schmidt, chairman of PANFA AIK opened the workshop.
Following the opening, Szabolcs Németh, the professional manager of the Innowood project, presented the previous results of the SME innovation survey. The participants thus familiarized themselves with the supply, entrepreneurial side options and its innovative potential in the border region.
Dr. Levente Dénes and Dr. Éva Bednárik presented the results of customer demand research. The research has revealed the underlying causes behind many social phenomena. The audience listened with interest the scope of these phenomena and their expected impact on the purchase of furniture. The feedback showed that the detected customer behavior trends were definitely considered useful by the participants. The questions asked concerned target groups and market gaps to be determined in the light of this information.
Further fine-tuning continued after the coffee break with Dr. László Elek presenting the directions for development outlined in the SME Innovation Survey. Participants made useful additions and comments on the directions presented.
After lunch, the demand side was again in focus. Dr. György Horváth outlined some possible development directions as a think-tank based on the results of customer demand research. He then invited the participants to form groups and discuss possible development directions and make suggestions.
In the next phase of the group work, the scope of potential opportunities was supplemented by innovation areas based on supply side opportunities, conflicting them and coordinating development directions when discussing them.
The suggestions for group work were presented after the coffee break. Several segments have been focused on the range of products to be developed. The Austrian colleagues present highlighted that in Austria, everything that places children and disadvantaged individuals in focus is more likely to be successful in the selected segments. On the basis of feasible products, on the basis of the primary information obtained from the research, the entrepreneurial skills, plans, business policies and expectations of the consumer side were considered.
As the closing of the day, the findings were summarized, and after the common denominator of both the customer and the entrepreneurial needs, the suggestions for marketability were translated to the participants of the furniture development camp. As a result of the workshop, the product areas to be developed in the project are: senior furniture, fitness furniture, children's furniture, space-saving furniture, furniture for disadvantaged people, smart furniture, multifunctional furniture, outdoor public furniture (mainly acacia), eco furniture, home office.
At the workshop we provided care for the participants: 2 coffee breaks (snack buffet with mineral water, coffee, tea) and two-course menu lunch.