As witness to the refurbishment of practically 200 Pizza Hut Eating places within the UK through the previous three years, Keith Frimley, the chain’s IT director, is intimately conversant in the relentless tempo of modernisation.
Teaming with an IT companion who drives innovation to satisfy ever-changing wants is crucial in at this time’s market, in accordance with Frimley. That criterion explains Pizza Hut Eating places enduring 12-year partnership with Oracle and MICROS Methods, which was acquired by the previous in 2014 to determine the business’s most popular options supplier, Oracle Hospitality.
Right here Frimley discusses Pizza Hut Eating places partnership with Oracle while offering his prime ideas for selecting know-how at this time that’s prepared for tomorrow’s challenges.
Select software program and {hardware} that’s engineered to work collectively:
“Basically, we want a strong, efficient restaurant enterprise system that allows us to take prospects’ orders and course of them to the kitchen to make sure that meals will get to our prospects on time and enhances the client expertise. A easy restaurant system allows our crew members to concentrate on service somewhat than fear about logistics or how the restaurant system is performing.”
The proper IT can create efficiencies throughout the enterprise, from growing workers productiveness to enhancing course of efficiency:
“If we didn’t have an excellent restaurant enterprise system, then we might be manning the restaurant with a better variety of crew members. For instance, with the pill know-how that we’re now introducing to our restaurant, it allows our crew members to serve prospects quicker and extra precisely, and so they can cope with extra prospects at one time. From the order processing viewpoint, sending the order from the point-of-sale terminal to the kitchen and having KDS screens allow kitchen workers to see what they should make – it’s far more practical than having items of paper flying throughout the restaurant.”
Constantly spend money on know-how not simply to supply new providers however to bolster model relevance:
“The subsequent work we’re in early levels of planning with Oracle is to implement Oracle commerce platform
– giving our company the power to order and pay the
method they need to pay. Think about should you’re a visitor in our restaurant and also you’ve already been served as soon as, however you need to prime off an order with one other drink. Wouldn’t it’s nice should you might simply order that drink in your cellular app? That will get fired to the bar, and it’s delivered to you. And when you’re able to pay your invoice, you’ll be able to really pay your invoice from the cellular app, too. That’s one thing we’re going to implement in 2017. It’s fairly an thrilling aspect not just for our company, however for our crew members to point out that we’re investing on this know-how.”
Choose POS programs with the power to seamlessly combine third-party improvements to satisfy evolving calls for:
“We’re consistently attempting to raise the restaurant expertise. Within the close to future that could be by way of focused, personalised coupons. As an illustration, whenever you final got here into the restaurant you ordered a margarita pizza and a Lengthy Island iced tea. So we might then really push a notification to you with presents for that order. Or we might transfer ahead with beacon know-how, so if we all know that you just’re wandering previous our restaurant we will push a notification to you, saying, “Are available in at this time – we’ve received these particular presents.” It’s all about growing buyer engagement so that they really feel that they’re actually valued. And I’m certain there might be integration with social media. In case you’re on Fb, and also you fancy ordering a product, you’ll be able to simply press an icon – and it’ll order your (favourite) pizza.”
Plan for Cloud now – it’s adoption is inevitable:
Business specialists say the on-premise mannequin is unsustainable, contemplating that 75% of bills are drained by routine upkeep and integration efforts, leaving solely 25% obtainable for precise innovation. “With cloud, the general administration and velocity of change might be a lot more practical. However that’s only one factor. There’s additionally the price of possession and monetary impacts. The profit is definitely to not have to exchange server know-how, which is kind of pricey. Every of our eating places has a back-of-house server; a cloud-based answer will take away it. It’ll even have central configuration in order that’ll result in nice omni-channel enablement. Proper now, once we create a menu in a restaurant, we then have to duplicate that menu on an online interface after which on a cellular interface. What I actually need is one system that may feed all of these channels. In the end, with cloud, we’ll get pleasure from an excellent return on funding. As but we’re a way from making the transfer to cloud however that is definitely in our long run technique”
