Blog

date

May 23, 2024

category

Blog

reading time

8min

5 Restaurant Technology Tools to Overcome 2024’s Challenges

Restaurant technology often reflects the level of development in a city or region. In more developed countries or regions, people have higher expectations for their dining experience at restaurants. Today, restaurant technology is evolving from merely enhancing the dining experience to actively addressing a range of issues from front-of-house to back-of-house operations, becoming a key driver of progress in the restaurant industry.

An increasing number of small and medium-sized restaurants are realizing that running a successful restaurant goes beyond serving delicious food; it also involves effectively leveraging restaurant technology solutions to address external environmental factors and internal challenges.

Integration of Restaurant technology Tools

The restaurant and foodservice industry is projected to experience growth in 2024. However, restaurant operators will face ongoing challenges, including:

 

Restaurant Workforce Shortages:

The restaurant industry is anticipated to expand by 200,000 jobs, reaching a total employment of 15.7 million by the end of 2024. However, 45% of restaurant operators are facing challenges due to insufficient staffing, hindering their ability to meet increasing customer demand.

 

Costs are on the rise:

98% of restaurant operations report that increased labor costs are a significant concern for their establishment. Additionally, 97% are grappling with higher food costs. Furthermore, 38% indicate that their restaurants did not achieve profitability last year.

 

Competition is strong:

In 2024, 45% of restaurant operators expect competition to be more intense than last year. Restaurants must go above and beyond—delivering outstanding customer service, creating innovative experiences, and showcasing dedication to sustainability—to boost traffic, increase sales, and differentiate themselves in a fiercely competitive market.

 

Raise higher demands for restaurant management process:

In the past, restaurants used manual pen-and-paper checklists to oversee their safety and quality efforts. However, these outdated methods were inaccurate, inefficient, and unable to provide comprehensive, real-time, integrated data across an enterprise. Fortunately, restaurant management systems continually emerging in the market address this issue. However, a new issue has come up: with all the complex restaurant technology available, restaurant operators are most concerned about finding the best solution that works well for their specific restaurant. Most restaurant owners realize the need to use technology to improve management efficiency, but the majority of small and medium-sized restaurants are still struggling to protect their margins amid rising food costs, increased wages, and a lack of federal support.

 

In 2024, the field of restaurant technology is witnessing a surge of cutting-edge trends and innovations. These remarkable advancements not only help restaurants effortlessly solve various challenges but also open up new avenues for profitability and significantly enhance their ability to attract and retain customers.

Let's delve into these innovative restaurant technology that are shaping the future of the restaurant industry!

 

5 Restaurant Technology Tools in 2024

Kitchen Robot are Replacing Kitchen Staff 

After the pandemic, many individuals who previously worked diligently in restaurants have opted for alternative career paths, leading to a common challenge faced by numerous restaurants today—labor shortages. Both kitchen chefs and front-of-house staff have experienced varying degrees of resignations and career changes. Consequently, nearly every restaurant is striving to find suitable individuals to fill these vacancies to ensure smooth operations.

Recently, a tireless kitchen assistant has arrived in New York's restaurants—the automatic stir-frying robot, Hestia. This miraculous helper not only automatically fetches ingredients, stir-fries dishes, plates them, and cleans up but also operates continuously 24/7. No more worries about labor shortages—Hestia completely frees up your hands, enabling you to handle the busy restaurant operations effortlessly.

Hestia Multicooker

The introduction of the Hestia robot not only significantly improves stir-frying efficiency but also brings order to the restaurant kitchen. It strictly follows preset cooking procedures, ensuring precision and heightened safety standards. Simultaneously, with standardized quality across dishes, customers' dining experiences are significantly enhanced, ensuring customer satisfaction.

 

Comprehensive POS Systems

The perfect restaurant POS system is not just a simple cash register tool; it's the intelligent brain behind restaurant operations. It integrates functions such as order management, inventory control, customer loyalty programs, and data analytics, making restaurant management more efficient and convenient.

Imagine when a customer places an order, with just a tap, the dish details swiftly transmit to the kitchen, enabling chefs to start cooking immediately to ensure freshly prepared dishes. Simultaneously, inventory details update in real-time, allowing restaurant managers to monitor ingredient usage and replenishment needs, minimizing waste and shortages.

What's even more impressive is the robust data analytics capability of an intelligent POS system. It provides operational insights and strategic recommendations based on sales data, empowering managers to make informed decisions regarding menu offerings, pricing adjustments, and marketing campaigns.

Additionally, the system supports customer loyalty programs through points accumulation and discount coupons, enticing customers to return and boosting loyalty and satisfaction.

Moreover, best-in-class POS terminals today seamlessly handle credit card and mobile payments, directly integrated within the POS system.

Remote Technology Application - Virtual Cashier

The virtual cashiers (Happy Cashier) with advanced remote technology and their relatively low labor costs, has successfully boosted efficiency and reduced labor needs by two-thirds. This innovative initiative not only makes restaurant operations more intelligent and efficient but also saves a significant amount of labor costs, truly a win-win situation!

Imagine during busy dining peak hours, instead of crowded and chaotic cashier counters, the scene is orderly and efficiently managed. Virtual cashiers remain enthusiastic and perform with precision using their accurate speech recognition and intelligent processing capabilities, swiftly completing orders and payments, providing customers with a smoother and more convenient dining experience.

Moreover, for restaurant owners, the emergence of virtual cashiers solves many challenges such as difficulty in hiring staff and high labor costs. There's no longer a need to worry about recruiting and training cashiers or concerns about operational disruptions due to staff shortages. Virtual cashiers, with their stable and reliable performance, bring tangible economic benefits to restaurants.

                                                                                                                                          Picture Source : South China Morning Post

In conclusion, the introduction of virtual cashiers in restaurants marks an important step towards intelligence and efficiency in the restaurant industry. It not only enhances operational efficiency and service quality but also brings substantial cost savings to restaurants. It is believed that in the future, more and more restaurants will adopt this advanced cashiering method to provide customers with an even better dining experience.

 

Digital Transformation -Self-Service Kiosks

Self-service ordering kiosks are gradually becoming the new favorite for small and medium-sized restaurants and beverage shops. The digital kiosks not only enhance the customer experience but also ensure order accuracy, boost sales, and promote the modernization and digitization of restaurants.

MenuSifu Kiosks

For diners, self-serve kiosks provide a more flexible and convenient way to place orders. They can easily select their favorite dishes or beverages through simple touch operations without waiting for extended periods for server assistance. This self-service ordering method not only saves time for diners but also allows them to personalize their orders according to their dining preferences, thus increasing overall satisfaction with the dining experience.

For restaurant owners, the introduction of self-serve kiosks also brings numerous advantages. Firstly, it reduces the workload of servers, enabling the restaurant to process orders more efficiently. Since orders are input directly by diners, it ensures order accuracy and eliminates issues caused by misunderstandings or unclear recordings by servers.

Moreover, self-serve kiosks can provide detailed data analysis for the restaurant, helping to better understand diners' ordering habits and preferences, thereby enabling the development of more precise marketing strategies.

Most importantly, the introduction of self-serve kiosks helps increase restaurant sales. Because diners can choose dishes and quantities independently, they have more control over their spending budget, thereby increasing their willingness and likelihood to order.

Additionally, self-service kiosks can recommend similar dishes or meal combinations based on diners' preferences and ordering history, further stimulating their desire to spend.

 

Handheld Point of Sale Systems

In modern restaurant service, handheld ordering and payment POS devices play an increasingly vital role. With their convenience and efficiency, they greatly enhance overall restaurant operations and provide customers with a superior dining experience.

This MenuSifu POS PAD, a sophisticated handheld ordering and payment POS device, is designed for easy portability, allowing servers to provide prompt and attentive service anywhere, anytime. When customers place orders, servers can simply tap to quickly input restaurant menu items into the system, avoiding errors and delays common with traditional paper-based ordering methods.

MenuSifu Pos Pad

During tableside payment, the handheld POS device offers significant advantages. Servers no longer need to guide customers to the cash register; instead, they can complete payment transactions directly at the dining table. This not only saves customers' time but also provides a more personalized service experience. Moreover, the streamlined checkout process helps the restaurant manage customer flow more efficiently, reducing congestion during peak hours.

Furthermore, the handheld POS device provides real-time updates on menu items and inventory, enabling restaurant managers to better understand business operations. By analyzing and organizing data, restaurants can adjust menus and optimize inventory to reduce costs and increase profitability.

In the restaurant industry,  Innovative technology is essential for successful operations. MenuSifu is committed to providing a comprehensive range of technology and digital solutions for restaurants, covering everything from order processing and inventory management to marketing and customer relationship management. We offer customized technical support and services tailored to your needs, whether you're looking to enhance efficiency, optimize services, or expand market reach. MenuSifu is here to create tailored solutions that help you stand out in the competitive market landscape.