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Choosing and sourcing quality kiosk components

The decision to design and manufacture a new kiosk for your business isn’t generally one made lightly. You need to know just what aspects of component selection and sourcing are most critical, and know how to best utilize this knowledge to make the process seamless and just as importantly, painless, for your clients.

September 2, 2015 by Ben Wheeler — Director of Marketing and Sales, RedyRef

The decision to design and manufacture a new kiosk for your business isn’t generally one made lightly. It’s an investment -- of time, money and resources, and one that can pay incredible dividends when done right. But with all of the different ways that a kiosk can be built, it is often difficult to know what components are most important, especially at the start of a project.

You need to know just what aspects of component selection and sourcing are most critical, and know how to best utilize this knowledge to make the process seamless and just as importantly, painless, for your clients. We view these aspects of kiosk development as two main tasks:

• Identifying the components needed, based on the kiosk’s intended use;
• Selecting a company that manufacturers the required components -- ones that actually do what is expected once integrated and assembled.

Sounds simple, but the process can be one that is easier said than done if everyone isn’t on the same page, working toward a common goal.  

In order to simplify the first stage of kiosk development listed above, you should use a process called storyboarding -- yes, the same concept that’s often mentioned in relation to the development of Hollywood movies.  But instead of laying out movie scenes,  work with you clients to chart out the experience they hope to deliver to consumers when their new kiosk goes to market.  Essentially, use this way of thinking to find out exactly what the client wants the kiosk to do in real-world situations.

Most of the time, we use a simple, bulleted format to get at the most important factors.  Here is an example based on creating a new type of self-service ticket kiosk for a Major League Baseball team:

1.       Kiosk screen plays “attract” video loop advertising Dodger baseball games;
2.       Customer approaches kiosk;
3.       Kiosk displays a “Start” button; customer taps it;
4.       Kiosk displays calendar of dates with game tickets available;
5.       Customer choses date by touching screen;
6.       Customer is asked for number of seats needed;
7.       Customer types in number of seats desired as the numeral “4” in queue;
8.       Map of ticket locations with four adjacent seats is displayed on screen
9.       Customer choses location by touching screen;
10.     Customer confirms choice of seating by selecting seats on screen and touching “Accept” button;
11.     Screen updates to customer information screen;
12.     Customer inputs information;
13.     When completed, customer swipes credit card and types the word “accept”;
14.     Transaction is processed;
15.     Customer is asked to sign for transaction on signature capture pad;
16.     Kiosk prints out tickets on thermal receipt paper or ticket stock; and
17.     Transaction is complete


From this storyboard we know that the following items must be included in the kiosk:

1.       Enclosure with touch screen;
2.       Transactional software, including onscreen keyboard;
3.       Credit card reader;
4.       Signature capture pad; and
5.       Thermal receipt printer or ticket printer

(Other Items can later be added as required, i.e. if it is decided that the machine must accept cash as well as credit cards, which will require the addition of a cash validator, as well.)
 

Thus completes step one of component selection. Stay tuned -- we’ll be explaining how to choose the best company from which to source your components in our next blog...