What are 7 trending technologies in the restaurant industry?
Trending technologies in the restaurant industry include point of service kiosks, online ordering portals, and computerized maintenance management systems. Technology in the restaurant industry isn’t front and center. That’s reserved for the food. But how the food gets to people today is much different than it did twenty years ago. Here are a few trending technologies in the restaurant industry today:
- Point of service kiosks
- Food safety
- Online ordering
- Loyalty programs and rewards
- Computerized maintenance management systems
- Employee scheduling software
- Online loyalty programs and rewards
There is a technology solution for each of the above items and many more. Let’s take a look at a few of them and how technology is present.
Image Source: Revel Systems
7 Examples of Trending Restaurant Technologies
1. Point of Service Kiosks
These are perhaps the most commonly observed and experienced form of technology in restaurants today. POS kiosks are the automated ordering stations you might find in various restaurants. Your order is places on a tablet, where it is electronically sent to restaurant workers to prepare your order.
2. Food Safety
While the technology behind food safety is usually not top of mind, it is only continuing to improve and be at the forefront. Smart refrigerators, ovens, and other kitchen devices are all working behind the scenes to keep us all safe.
3. Online Ordering
Most people today have ordered directly from a restaurant's website. However, the interfaces and services are continuously improving, making it an up and coming technology.These portals handle sensitive information, such as location, credit card numbers, and scheduling information. They can either provide a seamless, fun experience or become a major security breach, depending on the total productivity of the system
4. Loyalty Programs and Rewards
These are very similar to the technology that drives online ordering. However, it’s worth remembering just how recent this ability is.
5. Computerized Maintenance Management Systems
Finally, computerized maintenance management systems or CMMS software keeps track of all the restaurant activity. A top CMMS software can keep track of restaurant inventory, as well as inform maintenance management when equipment needs scheduled repair.
6. Employee scheduling software
Whether this task is slightly or fully automated, computers can make mistakes if they are not given the right data set. Add in the unpredictability of people into the equation and you may get a failure. Add the right data and everything goes smoothly.
7. Online loyalty programs and rewards
Similarly to online ordering, loyalty programs and rewards need to tread a fine line between productive and spammy. Too many offers are just as bad as not enough and your program or software needs to take this into account.
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The Difference Between Success and Failure
What makes the difference between success and failure with these treads? First, quality technology must be used. This is true for all industries. However, it’s much more noticeable in the restaurant industry. Companies also need to be strategic about the solutions that they use in order to prevent chaos and to create order. Here is an overview of four places where quality technology must be used:
Online ordering portals
These portals handle sensitive information, such as location, credit card numbers, and scheduling information. They can either provide a seamless, fun experience or become a major security breach, depending on the total productivity of the system
Employee scheduling software
Whether this task is slightly or fully automated, computers can make mistakes if they are not given the right data set. Add in the unpredictability of people into the equation and you may get a failure. Add the right data and everything goes smoothly.
Online loyalty programs and rewards
Similarly to online ordering, loyalty programs and rewards need to tread a fine line between productive and spammy. Too many offers are just as bad as not enough and your program or software needs to take this into account.
Computerized maintenance management systems
Finally, the maintenance of the technology solution used plays a much bigger part than most people give it credit for. A well run computerized maintenance management system takes the guesswork out of maintenance and replaces it with data-driven ideas and solutions.
The Final Scoop
Trends come and go, but one thing remains the same: a great customer experience carries the day. Good food, good customer service, great locations...the list goes on and on.
And technology is here to help the restaurant industry to do just that.