How to manage the expansion of digital services in F&B
According to Restaurant Insider, in 2020, digital ordering and home delivery increased 3 times faster than table service since 2014 and it continues to expand.
New opportunities
One of the simplest ways to integrate technology into a restaurant is to make it easier for guests to order and pay via their mobile phones. You can make it easier for restaurant staff as well by providing digital tools that streamline and help them to perform their job. For example, there are solutions such as digital kitchen screens, mobile device applications, or responsive web for table ordering.
Technical solutions, such as online ordering and mobile payment systems, are becoming much more common and obvious. According to a study by Deloitte, 40% of customers prefer to order online or via an app, and they spend more as well. This study also showed that guests return 6% more often and spend 20% more each if they are allowed to use technology. Apps and online solutions also allow restaurants to bring in new customers and increase sales through personalized offers.
Modern POS systems, such as Simphony Cloud, are geared toward the use of mobile devices. Simphony is easy to integrate with any device by using special technology to do so. It is not just about making reservations and selecting menu items while at a restaurant, it is also about delivering food from the restaurant to your room, office, or home. This has become of relevance during the pandemic, prompting the question, will my guests go back to queuing and waiting in line, or will they want to continue down the path of interacting directly with a restaurant?
Fast ordering
The restaurant industry, as well as many other segments of hospitality, is undergoing a major change. It is no longer acceptable to force customers to stand in long queues to get their food or goods. Additionally, guests should not have to leave their table to order more. The interest and demand for a self-service option are increasing enormously amongst consumers.
Gone are the days when restaurant guests would patiently wait their turn; queues and delays prompt them to go somewhere else. Today, several restaurant chains offer the opportunity to order and pay on their mobile phones, but not all have adapted to this new consumer behavior.
Simphony Cloud gives you more opportunities to use and integrate with third-party systems and devices. These can be either mobile phone, tablet, electronic menus, even kiosks, this allows the system to meet all the requirements of restaurant owners and their guests.
Customers must be able to order and pay in the way that best suits their needs. By digitizing the traditional shopping experience and making self-service more accessible, friction can be either reduced or eliminated. For example, restaurants that allow their customers to order on their mobile device get increased visits, more purchases, and a higher-order value. Therefore, restaurants need to digitize their channels and be ready to meet their customers via this environment.
Welcome to the Cloud
Cloud systems are used everywhere, in applications, email, social media servers, and much more; this technology is also available for POS systems in restaurants. For example, Simphony Cloud allows the main server to be located remotely, or somewhere in a data center, whilst the restaurant or hotel hosts only the client part, POS-terminals with touch screens, on which orders are filled, and peripherals, that provide the rest of the functionality (fiscal registrars, receipt and kitchen printers, etc). The architecture of the Simphony Cloud system itself is built on the principle of working in the cloud.
The cloud solution is centralized, this makes life much easier for management because it is very simple to make changes to menus, prices, and create promotions on certain dishes. It is enough to make these changes just once on the central server, after which they will be distributed to all the client stations. As a result, the time needed for introducing new dishes, price updates, or targeted campaigns to the local workstations is significantly reduced, something which is of great importance for chain restaurants.
Operating without the Internet
One of the main requirements of cloud system operation is the availability of a reliable Internet channel for data transfer. Simphony Cloud is built to allow work in the system to continue even if there is an interrupted connection. At this point the system continues to work autonomously, using the data caching technology which automatically transmits the data to the central server after the Internet connection is restored. As a result, no information is lost, allowing your business to work without limitations or interruption.
Author: Niclas Tjäder
Area Manager HRS Sweden
