Restaurant brands continuously face obstacles that challenge their operational success. Issues like labor shortages, supply chain woes, food waste, and inflation have all negatively affected the industry, ultimately forcing restaurant owners and operators to scramble for possible remedies. Fortunately, we are in the age of advanced restaurant technology, and recent major technological advancements, primarily with restaurant management and POS systems, have alleviated some of the pressure restaurants experience from these obstacles. Recent improvements to restaurant management and POS systems have not only addressed current industry challenges but also ensure operators have the tools needed to wade through future uncertainty and facilitate long-term success.
In fact, restaurant brands that upgrade to next-generation restaurant management and POS systems have experienced dramatic improvements in operations, overall performance, financial results, and KPIs. According to our latest eBook, The 2023 Smart Guide™ to Restaurant Management and POS Systems, 77% of quick-service and fast-casual restaurant operators and 87% of full-service restaurant operators saw “significant” or “dramatic” improvements to overall performance and financial results when upgrading their POS system. Moreover, 86% of full-service restaurants, and 73% of quick-service and fast-casual restaurants, saw “significant” or “dramatic” improvements in revenue performance after deploying the next-generation restaurant solutions.
Clearly, upgrading to these next-generation systems is proven to achieve amazing results. However, there are many things restaurant owners and operators must consider and evaluate when upgrading restaurant management and POS systems. The 2023 Smart Guide™ dives deep into key benefits, crucial questions, and insightful recommendations that help restaurant operators understand what to expect when implementing these next-generation solutions. Here are the key takeaways from the guide:
POS Mobility and Mobile Ordering Increases Efficiency
According to the 2023 Smart Guide™, 97% of restaurant operators view driving efficiency, including staff productivity, and reducing food waste as “important” or “very important”. An incredible way to achieve these goals is by leveraging mobile ordering capabilities and handheld POS tablets. Mobile ordering at the table has recently increased in popularity and has been a game changer for table-service restaurant brands. This form of ordering meals not only eliminates common barriers between restaurant staff and guests but also increases employee efficiency as well as elevates customer satisfaction and loyalty. No longer do servers need to wait behind a POS terminal to take orders as they can now effortlessly send them to the kitchen or bar via tablets, ultimately saving valuable time and ensuring operations are streamlined. By embracing mobile ordering and POS tablets, servers can devote their focus to creating memorable and exceptional guest experiences rather than running back and forth from table to terminal to place orders. Restaurant brands that take advantage of mobile ordering and POS tablets have been able to reduce wait times, improve order accuracy, and empower servers to enhance the overall quality of service.
Tom’s Watch Bar, a table-service brand with 8 locations across the United States, recently started leveraging hand-held POS tablets to better serve customers and increase employee efficiency. POS tablets have allowed the brand to eliminate the process of servers taking guests’ orders and walking to a stationary terminal to enter it. Now, Tom’s Watch Bar servers can take orders table-side and send them directly to the kitchen or bar prep screen. According to Dan Doyle, Director of Technology at Tom’s Watch Bar, “servers can instantly see menu changes, and orders are routed to the proper make-prep station. From taking an order to accepting payments, they are far more efficient using the tablet and are free to move from one table to the next in their section.”
Technology and Data Integration Ensures Restaurants Can Unlock Numerous Benefits
One of the key POS capabilities restaurant owners and operators have come to love is its ability to integrate with various systems, like loyalty platforms and enterprise restaurant management systems. POS integrability provides restaurant brands with incredible benefits, such as streamlined operations, improved operational performance, enhanced guest experiences, and the ability to deliver personalized services and communications. Additionally, a POS that can seamlessly integrate with a variety of solutions is one that can scale across a business without any special configurations, no matter the number of locations. It is crucial for restaurant brands to find a cloud-based POS system that not only has an open API and incredible integration ecosystem but is also constantly looking towards the future and is always at the forefront of integrations.
Fresh Kitchen, a modern fast-casual dining concept with 12 locations across the United States, previously leveraged an obsolete POS system that only limited its operational success. They decided to implement PAR Brink POS for its proven ability to scale and play well with third-party solutions. According to Daniel Meretsky, Vice President and Head of Technology at Fresh Kitchen, the brand “wanted to ensure that the [new] system, was always on the forefront of integrations with loyalty solutions and third parties.” With PAR Brink POS, Fresh Kitchen was empowered to build a tech stack tailored to suit their needs with the solutions they desired.
Performance Reporting and Data Analysis Provide a Comprehensive View of Operations
Having a comprehensive view of operations is crucial to any brand’s success. Per the 2023 Smart Guide, 79% of restaurant operators view capturing, integrating, and analyzing POS and other sources of data to generate actionable insights as “important” or “very important”. Since POS systems can integrate with a variety of solutions, it enables owners and operators to collect data from multiple sources and analyze it on a single platform. This includes receiving generated reports on POS transactions, loyalty program performance, and guest-facing applications, ultimately providing operators with a clear view of customer behavior and preferences at the individual and aggregate levels. A clear and comprehensive view of guests enables effective interactions between the brand and guests as well as the ability to identify potential opportunities for business improvement. With actionable insights specific to operations and guest behavior and preferences, restaurant operators can make more informed decisions across every aspect of their business. These tools are key for staying ahead of customer demands and help drive continuous business performance improvement.
Restaurant management and POS systems have become two of the most crucial solutions restaurant brands can leverage throughout daily operations. By implementing and utilizing these next-generation solutions, owners and operators can take operations and the customer experience to new heights, enhance overall performance, and achieve KPIs like never before.
Interested in learning more about next-generation restaurant management and POS systems? Download the eBook now!
