How to successfully implement automation and self-service in a restaurant

Thanks in part to the Covid pandemic consumer habits have changed, including how they make purchases in restaurants. Customers are ordering far more for home and takeaway and when they do go to restaurants they want to order safely and conveniently - for example through self-service kiosks that are easy to use and keep clean.

Ordering Stack​​ has been in business since before Covid-19 struck, but the pandemic has shifted demand for our software into overdrive. We provide proven solutions that address the full range of problems customers face in ordering and eating, and restaurateurs must solve in providing food to their satisfaction.

A holistic ecosystem that always works​
Because Ordering Stack is a SaaS solution, it is accessible, always up-to-date and secure. It requires no infrastructure on the client's side. The system is built on years of experience in developing ordering and order-processing systems for the world's biggest players. Nonstop availability, safety and security are at the heart of our company's DNA. This appeals to KFC Bulgaria, the latest large player to implement our software, as well as those catering for more individual customer needs. The system allows infinite expansion of functionality and full customisation of the product at every stage.

Thanks to its ability to scale across multiple restaurants and countries, Ordering Stack is tailor-made for restaurant chains, owners of several restaurants and local franchisees. It dovetails perfectly with the Quick Service Restaurant's strategy of focusing on fast customer service and serving food. Ordering Stack's customers usually have between a few and a few dozen restaurants, and they’re looking for software that can tie it all together so their operations function as seamlessly as possible.

There are two crucial factors at work in our system: it is delivered with the full support of experts and programmers, and it is a ready-made holistic solution combining a ready-made product with a service. Thanks to this, restaurateurs can implement it themselves, free of the need to consult the IT department (though our own customer service remains on stand-by). It's like building a turnkey flat. And this comes from the vast experience of the software house behind Ordering Stack, which has implemented complex order-taking and order-processing platforms and fully autonomous self-service ordering kiosks for clients including Burger King, Pizza Hut and KFC.

“From the first presentation of the capabilities and operation of Ordering Stack, and the self-service kiosks, we knew this was the partner for us. This is exactly the solution and approach we were looking for! The professionalism and understanding of the client’s needs by the Ordering Stack team are of a very high standard, as are their efficiency and response,” says Svetlozar Minev of KFC Bulgaria.

Self-service - just as the customer wants it​
Customers today are grateful for safe, convenient self-service. The Ordering Stack system enables this across multiple channels. Off-premises, customers can place an order through the PWA app, the website or an online food ordering app. On premises, they can still use the app, menu and ordering system available by scanning QR codes, but self-service kiosks is what really sets us apart.

Self-service kiosks - sell more without the queues​
With its self-service kiosks, Ordering Stack provides a complete 'self-ordering' solution that appeals to customers and restaurants alike. It presents the menu, allows customers to select dishes and ingredients, and supports payment and full fiscalisation. This A-to-Z solution reduces queues, shortens the ordering process, graphically displays menus and up-sells additional products. The kiosks come in freestanding and countertop versions (that are accepted in all shopping centres). Ordering Stack software is featured at nearly 1,000 kiosks in a dozen European countries.

The system provides options for configuring even the most complex dishes, including half-and-half pizzas or combo meals drawing together any combination of different ingredients.

Automate to cut costs and increase profits​
Thanks to the multi-channel ordering option, restaurant managers can organise their services in a number of innovative ways. Far fewer people are required to focus on direct customer service, so the focus can shift more to ensuring quality food preparation. This cuts costs and boosts profitability across all premises.

Up-selling and promotions​
The Ordering Stack system allows for the creation of promotions that support sales and facilitate purchasing decisions by customers. It also enables cross and up-selling, thus increasing the average bill value, known from restaurant chains such as KFC or Burger King. Customers upsize their meals or get their favourite condiment to splash on their fries. Even a single euro more on each bill makes a huge difference in scale.

Loyalty and retention​
There is nothing more valuable in restaurant marketing and sales than building loyalty and ensuring repeat visits. That’s why the Ordering Stack system comes with a full module for building and managing loyalty. You can create promotions for selected users, code and voucher promotions, virtual wallets and member-get-member systems.

Enough rewriting, full integration instead​
The Ordering Stack system communicates bi-directionally and directly with numerous POS systems, including Oracle Simphony, Micros 3700 and LS Retail. This greatly simplifies the work inside the restaurant, helps avoid transcription errors, and helps you manage menus and orders in a single place. Employees like it too, as they no longer have to manually rewrite orders and data between systems. This increases employee productivity and enables further potential cost optimisation.

Food ordering apps - forget the tablet hell​
The problem of rewriting orders between online food ordering apps like Uber Eats, Take Away, Glowo, Bolt Food and others has now been addressed once and for all. Ordering Stack enables bi-directional integration, so orders from all applications are collected in one place. It also allows you to manage the menus available in your applications, and send information about order and delivery status. This is yet another milestone in restaurant management and staffing efficiency and proficiency. It is also an opportunity for the restaurant to control aggregator commissions and to develop its own channel share.

Data, data, analysis​
Ordering Stack gives you access to all of your data. Gone are the days of collecting and combining them yourself, and gone are the errors that once accompanied manual systems. Having data in one place means it is secure and can be easily and continuously analysed. After all, is this not a key job managers and CEOs do – analysing data, drawing conclusions and optimising sales? Ordering Stack gives them the keys to do it better.

To find out more about Ordering Stack, click here​.​​