In the digital era, it has become crucial for every industry to adopt the modern trend for business growth. The restaurant and food industry is also practicing technology to reduce the work bundle and save time.
Many robotics technologies help restaurants to scale up their kitchens and streamline their operations. You can perform many tasks with efficiency and boost the speed of your work. In this guide, learn about essential things for your restaurant automation to improve your restaurant business.
What it Means Restaurant Automation?
Restaurant automation is the process of changing work from manual to machine process. The process of slicing, cooking, serving, and dicing can become quicker and easier. It can improve the customer experience through fast and streamlined operations and enhance restaurant sales and growth. What these automation technologies do:
- Robotic chef cooking
- Online Orders and deliveries
- Inventory management
- Online payment systems and more
Essential Things for Your Restaurant Automation
If you want to improve your old restaurant into a modern one, adopt these restaurant automation technologies to reduce your costs and improve customer experience.
1. Inventory Management Software
For instance, you can use restaurant inventory management software to digitally keep track of your supplies, which helps avoid running out of items. When your inventory is running low, the software will send you a notification. These automatic processes can reduce waste and boost your restaurant’s profits.
You can also use inventory management software to monitor sales, making it easier to see which items are popular and which might not be making enough money to keep on the menu. Nowadays, food businesses are using automated methods to balance the cost of ingredients with their earnings, manage supplier information, and handle various other tasks.
2. Robotic Chefs
Robotic kitchens are an innovative way to automate your kitchen. A robot chef can prepare food quickly, precisely, and consistently. While the idea of a robot cooking your meal may sound like something from the future, the technology is already here.
Restaurants are starting to embrace this technology as a cutting-edge development in the food service industry. In the coming years, it’s likely that robotic chefs and kitchens will become even more capable.
A robotic chef allows you to save time and offer personalized options, such as low-fat plant-based burgers, high-protein versions, or lighter consistency burgers. With a robot chef, you can serve a meal tailored to each customer’s preferences.
3. Kitchen Display Systems (KDS)
A kitchen display system (KDS) is a simple method for the indoor and backdoor staff to talk to each other. This technology is designed to show incoming orders, making it easier to prepare them promptly. In the past, before KDS technology, orders had to be physically carried from the front of the house to the kitchen.
Now, this kitchen automation tool streamlines communication and consolidates all incoming orders in one place, whether they come in via phone, online orders, or in-person orders.
4. Labor Scheduling
You’re not alone if creating staff schedules for the kitchen manually is eating up too much of your time. Many kitchen managers are turning to automation with software that understands how your kitchen works.
This labor scheduling software considers your busiest hours, past schedules, and other collected data to help you save time and create the most efficient kitchen schedule. You won’t have to spend hours making a schedule based on each team member’s availability anymore.
5. QR Code Menu
QR code menu helps the customer to view restaurant menus on their mobile phone or tablet. When a customer scans the QR, he/she will have access to your digital menu. This not only makes it simpler for customers to look at the menu wherever they are but it can also help your restaurant save money.
Your staff member can perform other tasks instead of bringing the menu to the customer for the order. In this way, it can reduce overall costs and improve customer satisfaction.
6. Automated Kitchen Safety
One of the key responsibilities of a Kitchen Manager is to ensure the safety of both the kitchen staff and the food. Today’s latest innovations can be utilized to reduce risks and enhance staff safety. For example, automated cleaning systems like hood-cleaning systems can eliminate fire hazards caused by grease build-up.
These systems can also minimize the chances of unexpected kitchen closures. Another example of restaurant technology automation to enhance safety is oil management systems, which remove the need for employees to handle hot oil manually.
7. Online Payment System
Guests can not only place their food orders right from their tables, but online payments can also save time for both your servers and guests. Utilizing an online payment system enables guests to settle their bills independently, eliminating the need to wait for the wait staff to handle payments. This means your restaurant can employ fewer servers and make more efficient use of their time.
There are various methods your food service business can use to introduce an online payment system. Some restaurants provide tablet devices at the tables, enabling guests to pay directly from their tables. Others allow guests to pay their bills using their mobile phones.
8. Online Ordering and Deliveries
Is your restaurant getting a lot of delivery orders? Many restaurants these days have embraced online ordering platforms, which let customers place orders with a simple click. Online ordering platforms improve order accuracy when compared to phone orders.
When it comes to deliveries, utilizing a third-party food delivery app like DoorDash can handle the ordering and deliveries for you, freeing up your staff for other important duties. Plus, a significant number of customers (some studies suggest as high as 70%) prefer online ordering.
The Verdicts
Restaurant automation is essential to adopt digital trends and save time. Most restaurants are using robotic technology, like a robotic chef, for cooking, dicing, and slicing. Using machines instead of working manually is the best practice to monitor what you need in the kitchens and don’t compromise on the quality.
You can also schedule the labor timing. QR code helps the customer to pay bills and access the digital menu. Install a kitchen display system for team collaboration in preparing orders.
