Research on the development status of self-service terminal equipment in colleges and universities

The development of intelligent technology has deeply affected people's lives and subtly changed people's lifestyles. The emergence of unmanned self-service vending machines, self-service library service machines, unmanned self-service printers and other self-service terminal equipment has gradually become a new development trend. By discussing its application and development in universities, this paper puts forward some effective suggestions based on research and research, and promotes the coordinated and sustainable development of society.

First, the current development status of self-service terminal equipment

(1) Development within colleges and universities

From the dormitory downstairs to the teaching building to the playground, library and other places on campus, self-service vending machines, self-service printers and other self-service terminal equipment began to appear more and more in people's sight, and gradually became an indispensable part of life. These devices are all from different brand merchants, and the competition between different types of equipment is gradually fierce with the development of society.

(2) The development of universities outside universities

Walking into shopping malls or some subway stations and high-speed rail stations, you will find that there are more types of self-service equipment, and the number and specifications will be much larger. According to the "2018-2023 China Self-service Vending Machine Industry Market Prospect Forecast and Investment Strategic Planning Analysis Report" released by the Prospective Industry Research Institute, as of the end of 2016, the stock of self-service vending machines in China was about 190,000 units, and China's self-service vending machine industry has developed rapidly since 2011. As of 2016, the market size of the industry has increased by more than 14 times compared with 2011.

Second, the specific application of self-service terminal equipment in colleges and universities

With the progress of our investigation, the number, variety and competitors of self-service terminal equipment are increasing day by day, showing the current situation of product convergence and fierce competition. The following will explain the specific application of self-service terminal equipment in colleges and universities from the perspectives of use location, frequency of use, user evaluation, development status, and operator status.

(1) Self-service vending machines

(1) Place of use. There are currently about 33 self-service vending machines. Vending machines are used most frequently in dormitories and downstairs in teaching buildings. The distance between each dormitory building and the supermarket is different, so the distance between sales and the supermarket is inversely proportional, and the sales volume of the North 10 boys' dormitory building, which is farthest from the supermarket, is about three times that of other dormitory buildings, and it is often sold out.

At the same time, we also investigated the potential needs of students, mainly in libraries, playgrounds and teaching buildings. However, according to Youbao management, the choice of location of the vending machine involves communication with different management personnel of the school, power connection, etc., which is not decided by the operator.

(2) Frequency of use. The frequency of use is usually 2 to 7 times a week and 1 to 3 times a month.

(3) User evaluation. Advantages: convenient, not limited by time and weather. Disadvantages: less variety, unhealthy, no use of campus cards.

(4) Development status. Most self-service vending machines are equipped with electronic screens, support a variety of payment methods, and there are various preferential activities, such as random discount activities of QQ wallet, free drinking for a penny, etc.

(2) Self-service printers

(1) Place of use. There are about 20 self-service printers in the school. Most of the automatic printer users choose the automatic printer downstairs of the dormitory, and a small number of students never use it.

(2) Frequency of use. The frequency of use of automatic printers is between 1-3 times a month and never used, the frequency of use is relatively not very high, compared with the strong demand for document printing, the popularity and improvement of self-service printing still need to be strengthened, and the development prospects are still great.

(3) Evaluation. User. Advantages: convenient, meet the emergency small number of needs. Disadvantages: more expensive, frequent failures and unsolved. Competitor. Customer churn, currently mainly relying on class collective printing.

(4) Development status. Uploading documents through WeChat only supports WeChat Pay, while there is point printing, and new users print free activities, but the discount range is not as good as self-service vending machines.

(3) Other self-service equipment

(1) Category. Our school also has 19 kinds of self-service terminal equipment, such as unmanned supermarkets, ATMs, enclosure machines, idle cabinets, vertical newspaper readers, number machines, photo self-service printers, doll catching machines, self-service drinkers, water dispensers, code scanning and sign-in machines, self-service borrowing and returning terminal equipment, retrieval terminal equipment, self-service karaoke, self-service charging treasure face automatic recognition, self-service lockers, etc.

(2) Evaluation. Automatic face recognition. Pros: Increased security. Disadvantages: the machine has security vulnerabilities, malfunctions; Self-service lockers. Pros: Added security, free, stop-and-go features. Disadvantages: small number; Unmanned supermarket. Advantages: low operating costs in the later stage, freshness. Disadvantages: inconvenient location, less variety.

(4) Population analysis

Students are the main applicable group of self-service terminal devices. Teachers and staff have less equipment for self-service terminal equipment. The main reasons are: unfamiliar with the operation of self-service terminal equipment, self-service terminal equipment sold items do not meet the needs of life, etc.

Third, the problems existing in self-service terminal equipment and their solutions

Campus self-service terminal equipment will continue to flourish in the future to adapt to the needs of users, but there are also various problems, which need to be solved through joint negotiation between operators, users and schools.

Problem 1: The demand of college students for self-service terminals varies greatly. According to the data and interviews, the sales volume of self-service terminals at different placement points is significantly different, taking the use of self-service vending machines in dormitory stations as an example, affected by consumer demand and geographical location, the sales volume of vending machine drinks in Bei10 Dormitory Station is much larger than that of Beiyi Dormitory Station. Therefore, the number of self-service vending machines at the North 10th Dormitory Station is more than that of the North 10th Dormitory Station.

Solution: Increase the number of deliveries and overhauls at points with large sales volumes, while considering the use of self-service terminal equipment with a larger capacity; Consider using smaller kiosks or pulling out kiosks at points where sales are small.

Problem 2: Different self-service terminal equipment fails at different frequencies, some equipment is easy to break, and some equipment takes longer. Taking self-service printers as an example, paper jams, no ink, or network disconnections often exist, but maintenance personnel do not make self-service printers in a "sick" state for a long time.

Solution: For those equipment that frequently fails, the equipment should be repaired and maintained in time to enhance people's trust in it. For equipment that cannot be repaired, it should be returned to the factory for renewal and maintenance, improve technology, and fundamentally modify the equipment to better meet people's needs and improve consumer satisfaction.

Problem 3: The operating costs of unmanned self-service terminal contractors in colleges and universities are gradually rising. With the popularity of self-service terminal equipment in colleges and universities, more and more operators are pouring into the campus to get a piece of the pie. Taking self-service vending machines as an example, at present, Youbao operators occupy the sales points of self-service vending machines in the dormitory station, and the playground teaching building also has the distribution of self-service vending machines of other operators.

Solution: Increase the cost of technology research and development to increase competitiveness while keeping an eye on where the market is going, even as new kiosks are retreated or introduced.

Fourth, the future development trend of self-service terminal equipment in colleges and universities

In the communication with merchants, we found that under the trend of a wide variety of self-service terminal equipment, the uniqueness of equipment types will be gradually formed in colleges and universities, that is, each type of equipment tends to one. On existing devices, merchants will further pursue convenience and diversification in the use of functions, and meet the needs of students as much as possible to increase competitiveness. With the development of this field, more and more self-service terminal devices will enter the campus, mainly focusing on life convenience and life entertainment.