Panera Bread, a “fast casual” U.S.-based bakery
and sandwich chain, sponsored one of the industry’s most high-pro;le recent tech projects: Panera
2.0, a US$42 million, ;ve-year initiative scheduled
for completion in 2016. After years of testing, the
company developed and installed a digital platform
that allows customers to order in advance via a
mobile app or a tablet kiosk in a restaurant. ;e
project’s primary goals were to provide a more customized customer experience, reduce wait times
and increase order accuracy.
;e company began rolling out the Panera 2.0
system last year to all of its 1,800 North American
locations. It expects robust same-store revenue
growth in ;scal year 2015, in part due to the implementation of this project.
BETTER, SMARTER, QUICKER
;e restaurant industry’s adoption of state-of-the-art
technology isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon. “Everywhere
from Turkey to Taiwan we are seeing a boom in res-
taurant technology innovation projects,” says Aaron
Allen, a Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based restau-
rant industry consultant. “;ese projects are touching
every aspect of the global restaurant industry.”
;e global Jamie’s Italian restaurant chain, for
example, is rolling out new technology at its ;rst
Brazil location this year, in São Paulo. Handheld
devices will enable servers to place orders and
accept payment at the table, while new software
will automatically synchronize item changes on
menus to back-of-the-house inventory needs. A
cloud-based mobile app will allow managers to
track analytics covering sales, speed of service and
overall store performance. And this data will help
drive stronger decision making.
“Being able to track operational data is key to
growing a franchise business and improving e;-
ciency,” Mr. Smylie says.
Indeed, most restaurant IT projects include ana-
lytics features that let owners track business trends
in real time in order to improve service while cut-
ting costs. ;irty-six percent of U.S. restaurant
operators already consider their operations to be
data-driven, according to food industry research
company Datassential.
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