National Sustainability Innovation

Challenge 2023
(NaSIC ’23)
WORKSHOP 2
27 MAY 2023
Workshop Coaches

Assoc. Prof. Ir. Ts. Dr. Ir. Ts. Dr. Profesor Dr. Fatin Aliah
Liew Peng Yen Kiew Peck Loo Phang Binti Abdullah
School of Education,
Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology,
Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Schedule
TIME AGENDA
8.30 am – 8.35 am Introduction
8.35 am – 9.05 am Question and Answer with Plastic (Polymer) Expert
Assoc. Prof. Dr Roshafima Rasit Ali
9.05 am – 9.35 am Question and Answer with Lotus’s Store Representative
Mr. Sanjay Menon
9.35 am – 10.10 am Understanding the Problem
Activity 1: Pain Points Brainstorming
10.10 am – 10.30 am Break
10.30 am – 11.45 am Finding the solution
Activity 2: Solution Brainstorming
11.45 am – 1.00pm Pitching your solution
Activity 3: Elevator Pitch
 Question and Answer
Plastics Expert

ASSOC. PROF. DR ROSHAFIMA RASIT

ALI

Malaysia-Japan International
Institute of Technology (MJIIT)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Question and Answer
Lotus’s Malaysia

MR SANJAY MENON
Sustainability Manager
Lotuss Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
What is innovation?
Innovation
Innovation is the systematic practice of developing
and marketing breakthrough products and services
for adoption by customers.

Innovation is the creation and delivery of new customer

value in the marketplace with a sustainable business
model for the enterprise producing it.
 What is Value?
A product or service is always has a value to the company
Benefits
Costs = Value Factor
However, the real value of the product is defined as perceived by the customer,
not you.

Perceived Customer Benefits = Value Factor

Perceived Customer Costs
No matter how interesting is your product/solution, if customer think it is not
valuable, then you can’t sell your product.
Your Customer?
Understanding
the Problem
Why not jump into the solution
directly?

“Work on what’s important, not

just what’s interesting – there’s
an infinite supply of both”

Frank Guarniei
Root-Cause Analysis
Five Why? - Root Cause Analysis
 Brainstorming: Pain points for the
fresh area in Lotus’s
Activity 1 (15mins)
Step 1 (10mins): Use sticky notes, to write down the pain points (problems) that fall in the
boundary provided (1 sticky note for 1 point).

Step 2 (5mins): Group the connected pain points based on the topic/theme

Side Note: Do not kill any idea.

Finding the
Solution
 Waste Management Hierarchy
Strategies

Herefordshire, 2023, Waste Hierarchy, <www.herefordshire.gov.uk/reduce-reuse-recycle/waste-hierarchy>, assessed on 23.05.2023

 Circular Economy Strategies

Többen, J.; Opdenakker, R. Developing a Framework to Integrate Circularity into Construction Projects. Sustainability 2022, 14,
5136. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095136
 Brainstorming: Solution Ideation
Pain Points
Strategy Solutions
(Root Causes)
Plastic bags Reduce Do not provide plastic bags
used in the
counters Replace Provide biodegradable plastic
Provide woven bags
Provide cloth bags

Reuse Customer reuse it as rubbish bag

Recycle Built Plastic bags collection counter

ACTIVITY 2 (15mins):
Pick a pain point (root cause) in activity 1, to lift out all solutions available based on the waste management or
circular economy strategies.
Pitching
Solution
Value Proposition (Pitching)
• Value Proposition = Self-statement on the value of your product/solution

= packaging of your product/solution

• A pitching session is normally presenting the value proposition of your product/solution

• The proposition is an easy-to-understand reason why a customer should buy a product or service
from your business (team).

• A value proposition pitching should clearly explain how a product fills a need, communicate the
specifics of its added benefit, and state the reason why it's better than similar products on the
market.
NABC in daily life
I understand that you need fresh
vegetables for cooking today (NEED).
Lets go to Lotus’s store (APPROACH).
The price offered in Lotus’s store is
more reasonable so that you save
more money (BENEFITS) compared to
Pasar Pagi (COMPETITION),
NABC: Value Proposition
Example
What’s the important customer There are a lot of plastic bags provided at the checkout counters at
and market NEEDs (pain points)? Lotus’s. Plastic bags are commonly of reasonable quality. The
customers misunderstood that they are very sustainable as they
are reusing it to collect rubbish at home.

What’s the specific APPROACH
(product/solution) to satisfy the
need (to solve the root
cause/pain points)?
Lotus’s should stop providing plastic bags.
Royalty points could be provided to customers who bring their own
bags, which the points could turn into shopping vouchers.
For customers who need bags, reusable bags should be sold at a
higher price.
NABC: Value Proposition
What are the BENEFIT per
cost from this approach?
Who is the COMPETITION or
what are the other alternative
solutions? Why the proposed
solution is better?
Example
Lotus’s Malaysia should be determined to be the first retail chain
store to totally eliminate the bags to be provided, which can build a
sustainable corporate image. The royalty points provided not only
educate the customers, it could also make sure the customers would
visit Lotus’s stores again. The cost of the shopping vouchers could be
compensated by more returning customers
biodegradable plastic bags can replace the plastic bag provided at
the checkout counter, however, the bag is not able to hold heavy
items.
Paper bags can be provided to customers, but the bags could not hold
heavy and wet items. In addition, the bags are now overly collected by
most families and will end up being thrown away without reusing
them.
Structure of your Pitching
HOOK Attention grabber
N
A
Try to balance them
B *Can shuffle

C
CLOSE What should be remembered?
Conclusion
Identify pain points: Root Cause Analysis

Tabulate solutions available according to strategies for each pain point

Select or merge solutions

NABC Model: Value Proposition
Acceptable?
Yes
Prepare pitching slides and script
A lot of iterations are
No/
needed to improve the
can be
value proposition of your
better
solution
*Advisable to have just 6 slides for your
10 mins pitching session
 Good Luck
and
See You
on 17 June 2023
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