Bamidele Ojo

Seven Benefits of Automation Technology for Food and Business Owners The impact of technology is at its peak and the Food and Beverage industry is not excluded in the technological advancements. Very soon, you will walk into a restaurant and you would not need to look for waiters to take your orders. You will just need to tap your order on a touch screen and you will “Create Your Taste” and receive a burger served according to your specifications. The comfort that comes with automation technology and self service-kiosk is highly impressive. It is crystal clear that self-service kiosk will change lot of things in the Food and Beverage Industry which include food retailers like restaurants, eatery, Coffee house, Cafes, Snack Bars, Food Caterers with central kitchens as well as the suppliers. The impact it would make cannot be left to the imagination because the automation of manpower in FnB is already here. It is no longer news that technology potentially increases the business profits and more companies are utilizing technology to solve their business problems and increase revenue. It turns out that automation technologies such as vending machines, paging system, POS system, self-service kiosk etc can pretty dramatically change what people do and how they act and may happen to be the best option for many companies in the food and beverage industry. So embrace the robots for now — they may be making your business experience easier. Each FnB owner should take the stride to be ahead of the competition and automation is set to cause some waves. According to a recent report by Technavio, Market size of the global self-service kiosk market is predicted to reach close to USD 18 billion in revenue by 2020. What impacts would automation have in Food and Beverage Industry? This is a question that many business owners tend ask in order to clear their doubts about the Return on Investment on automation technology. The reality is setting on the global leaders in the Food and Beverage Industry that automation technology is the future. The automation technology is gradually growing up and many companies are already taking the bull by the horn by taking leads in leveraging these new technologies for increased profit. The benefits that come various automation technologies are enormous among which are: Reduction in Manpower and Utilization of Labor Customer self-order kiosks, mobile order, and mobile pay would result in greater efficiencies on labor across the restaurant. The fight for a higher minimum wage is on the rise across the globe and there is no iota of doubt that higher labor costs will force fast-food companies to cut staff. The automation is an escape route for business owners to cut down labor cost and still increase revenue. With development of automation and self-service kiosks, the management and Utilization of labor will change drastically. Some researchers at the Rotman School of Management, Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, and the National University of Singapore which revealed that, when a liquor store changed from face-to-face to self-service, the market share of difficult-topronounce items increased by 8.4%. The research underscores the fact that consumers may be afraid of being misunderstood or appearing unsophisticated in front of the clerks. Automation technlogy removed the social friction that may arise and increases freedom. The consumer-facing technology results in labor savings and the resources can be channeled in marketing and promotions of your business. Freedom from Negative Judgement The same research by Rotman School of Management also looked at pizza chain that recently rolled out fantastic opportunity for customers to place order online. The customers who placed online request ordered food with 3% more calories, and 14% more specific instructions were given compared with the average purchase over the phone. Many customers desire to avoid negative judgment of their eating and tend to be cautious when ordering over the phone. The automation gives the customers the desired wisdom. If your business is not considering incorporating automation into your business, you are leaving a lot of money on the table. If you want to increase your business revenue, you should learn to give your customers what they want and deliver it when, how and where they want. Once you understand your customer’s behavior, you would be positioned to satisfy their needs. Easier upsell with Automation Technology The McDonald’s have also been experimenting with self-service kiosks for a while. At one store, they discovered that the average check size was a dollar higher — a 30% increase as at about a decade ago. And they also noticed 20% of customers who didn’t initially order a drink would buy one when it was offered via self-service. The truth is that kiosks never forget to upsell. Easy upselling with automation technology is a goldmine that you would want to tap into. More upsell will result in increased business revenue. And you are bound to get better ROI. Reduction in Service Time A 2011 research also showed that just a seven second reduction in service times in fast food restaurants can increase the company’s market share by 1% to 3%. The power of automation technology cannot be underestimated in this digital age when everyone wants their service at the press of a button. Increase your delivery efficiency by 50 per cent with self service automation technology. Meet customer’s demand as fast as you can and you would continue to smile to the bank. Improved Order Accuracy The automation technology are incredibly convenient and improve order accuracy in no small measure. Self- serving technologies are void of human errors of misplacement of orders. They are designed to serve customers according to the specifications. Eradicate human errors completely by taking advantage that automation technology offers. You will win loyal customers when you deliver order accurately and according to the tastes and preferences of your clients. Customized Experience for Customers Beyond shorter lines and improved accuracy, customers love the fact that they can save those modifications as favorites or order from their history. While human clerks may not be able to memorize each customer’s favorite and history, automation makes this feat possible. In fact, you tend to have more returning customers by embracing automation technology such as vending machines, paging system, POS system and self-service kiosk in the Food and Beverage Industry. Small things matters to your customers and one of ways to retain customers is to know and identify their preferences. While human clerks may be limited in this regard, automation technology takes your business to the next level and helps you to win clients over easily. Increased Business Revenue and ROI When customers make use of self-service apps and kiosks, findings have shown that they tend to spend more money. Automation positions your business for more conversions and revenue. Customers feel more power and freedom are placed within their reach and responds accordingly. Whatever it takes you to advance your business to the next level should be given a chance. All hands should be on deck to ensure that your business stands out and is position for the automation age. Customers have more control over their orders using technology and the opportunities that come with this development are enormous. It is a winwin, both for companies that desires to make more money and for customers who feel more comfortable without that social friction. Automation will play an important role in interactions that can afford to be transactional especially for interactions optimized around speed and efficiency. These automation technologies are fast gaining ground across the globe and widely adopted in many European countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Poland, and Lithuania. Self-service kiosks and technologies are expected to boost growth in the global self-service kiosk market over the next few years. It is high time you positioned your business for exponential growth that that self-service technologies are bound to attract. Retail giants like Wal-Mart, Carrefour, and Tesco are making substantial progress with their self-checkout rollouts that are expected to boost growth in the global self-service kiosk market over the next three years. Modern restaurant owners harness automation technologies to their advantage. In fact, incorporating vending machines, paging system and POS system can give your business an edge over competitors. Many retail outlets are offering self-checkout kiosks to customers for faster processing of their in-store purchases. These kiosks help customers do their payment-check-out quickly, thereby eliminating long queues at retail stores. These are particularly advantageous for small outlets that have space constraints. Retailers can install six self-checkout kiosks, while utilizing the space required for just a single traditional checkout system,” said Sunil Kumar Singh, one of Technavio’s lead analysts for display and devices research. As a restaurant owner, you can drive your revenue with appropriate automation technology. Leverage the technology automation such as vending machines, paging system, POS system, self-service kiosk to make it easier for customers to access your services effortlessly. When you identify the problems that clients encounter and proffer solutions to these, you would win loyal customers. If you continue to do thing the way it has always been done, you would continue to get the same result. Automation technology is the order of the day. Maximize every opportunity at your disposal to increase your business revenue and you would continue to increase your business and drive your business to exponential growth. Do you want to incorporate automation technologies such as vending machines, paging system, POS system, self-service kiosk etc. to increase profitability in your business? Reach out to us today!