Green Tokai Co., Ltd. (GTC) — R&D Department, and Kick-Ass Innovations (KAI), an in-house business line incubated by R&D (not yet a separate legal entity — Current State). Built on a SIPOC + Stage-Gate framework, GTC's standard process-map format.
Covers how an idea becomes a GTC R&D project: intake via the R&D Project Proposal form, system-of-record tracking in Airtable, cross-functional ranking, and progression through the 5-gate stage-gate review used to judge concept, prototype, internal development, final development/marketing, and production release.
Any associate or department identifies a cost-savings, quality, automation, new-model, or new-sales opportunity worth evaluating.
Standard intake channel: proposal title, application, value/objective, description, primary objective(s), rankings (new sales potential, cost savings, feasibility, investment requirement), estimated cost, funding source, staff/hours needed, risks & dependencies, strategic alignment, urgency, target timing, and supporting files.
Proposal is logged as a new record in the Airtable "R&D Project" table and issued a Project # (e.g., RD00xx). Alternate entry paths exist for phone, email, or support-ticket-originated ideas, but Jotform → Airtable is the standard, preferred path.
Are application, value/objective, and rankings sufficient to route the idea?
R&D staff, Senior Manager, or Manager, R&D assign Project Category & Sub-Department, designate Champion(s) and Support Team by discipline, and link any applicable Tax Benefit category for future R&D credit substantiation.
How should this project be prioritized?
Gate Judge reviews rankings, feasibility, and concept viability.
Champion and Support Team build tasks and milestones, develop the initial prototype, and document test results before returning to the Judge for a gate decision (Approve / Hold-Revise / Reject).
Findings and prototype are presented internally (Steering Committee / relevant department heads); feedback incorporated; Judge renders gate decision.
Design finalized; marketing/sales collateral prepared where relevant; cost, savings, and tax-benefit figures validated; Judge renders final pre-production decision.
Final gate judgement authorizes hand-off to GTC's owning department (Engineering, Production, Sales, or KAI) for full-scale production or implementation — the same concept → prototype → hand-off arc used across every GTC R&D project.
Concerns are logged with severity/resolution; milestones and tasks are tracked to plan vs. actual; staff notes and history maintain a full audit trail for every project.
ACTION set to COMPLETED; realized cost savings/revenue documented against the original Value/Objective; R&D tax-credit documentation finalized; project archived as a continuous-improvement reference.
How the two maps connect: KAI began as R&D Project RD0012 ("KAI-GTC uniforms in-house mfg / embroidery") — concept → prototype → hand-off from R&D to ongoing operation under GTC, the same arc every R&D project follows through the Gate process above. New product and Business Workflows & Intelligence ideas surfacing inside KAI today still re-enter the R&D pipeline (Step 2, Jotform) for formal evaluation before further investment; KAI's eventual move to full independence (Future State) will follow this same gated process.
KAI began as R&D Project RD0012 and today operates as a business unit inside GTC R&D — not yet a separate legal entity. It runs four customer-facing lines — Shirts, New Products/Services, Media Support/Services, and Business Workflows & Intelligence (consulting/sales of the apps, AI, and workflow systems GTC has built in-house) — plus internal digital signage support, produced in-house (embroidery, 3D printing, wide-format) or coordinated through an outsourced print portal. Current State: all KAI sales transactions are captured in KAI's online ecommerce systems and migrated into GTC's Plex (ERP); all KAI expense transactions are booked directly through Plex. KAI is still staffed and governed through R&D, and financially runs through GTC's books — see the Current/Future State note above; a Future State revision will reflect KAI as a fully independent legal and financial entity.
Four intake channels: the public storefront (Shirts, New Products/Services), the internal outsourced-print/media portal (brochures, signage, personal orders), a direct internal request for digital signage/media content, or a direct engagement request for Business Workflows & Intelligence consulting (apps, AI, workflow automation).
Order/job is triaged against current queue, equipment availability, and KAI's revenue-line targets.
Embroidery, 3D printing, wide-format, and digital signage are KAI's in-house capabilities.
Quote/price is set using KAI's cost-plus model — direct expense ratio by line (Shirts ≈28.25%, New Products ≈33.3%, Media Support ≈75%) — referencing the internal Pricing Strategy and retail-vs-wholesale margin sheets; shipping is added at checkout, not embedded in the item price.
Does the produced or vendor-delivered item meet KAI/brand standards (layout, color, finish, resolution)?
Pick, pack, and label; ship via KAI's own FedEx account or deliver internally for signage/media requests.
Consumable/blank stock levels updated; storefront listings and availability adjusted as needed.
Sales are captured in KAI's ecommerce platform and migrated into GTC's Plex (ERP); all KAI expenses are booked directly in Plex. Current State: KAI is not yet a separately capitalized legal entity — all financial activity flows through GTC's books.
R&D Technician reports storefront traffic, conversion, top sellers, and margin by line to the Senior Manager, R&D (or Manager, R&D), against KAI's business plan targets.
Product or process ideas generated inside KAI (new SKUs, new equipment, new capabilities) are submitted back through the GTC R&D Project Proposal for formal evaluation before further investment — closing the loop with the R&D map above.
Direct links to the systems referenced throughout both process maps. Internal links require standard company sign-in / VPN access.
Jotform used by any associate/department to submit a new R&D idea.
R&D Project Proposal ↗Airtable base tracking every project, gate, task, milestone, and concern.
R&D Project Database ↗Internal-facing ordering portal for outsourced print & media jobs (production, admin, purchasing, sales, marketing, and personal staff orders).
Media / Print Portal ↗Manufacturing ERP referenced across R&D resourcing, engineering, and quality processes.
Plex ERP ↗GTC's growing practice for the consulting & sales side of the apps, AI, and workflow systems built in-house. Every engagement follows the same arc as an R&D project — concept, internal prototyping inside KAI/R&D, then hand-off to GTC for full-scale delivery — with examples already in production today: this process map, the R&D Airtable system, and KAI's ecommerce/production tooling.
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