Automation Tools That Your Restaurant Needs Now

Restaurant customer expectations are very high. Diners want easy ordering options, accurate service, and quick food delivery. Restaurants of all sizes need to adapt to meet these customer needs, and one way to do that is by using restaurant automation tools.  

What Is Restaurant Automation? 

Restaurant automation is the use of software to simplify and automate repetitive operational tasks. Restaurants can use automation tools to streamline tasks and be less dependent on employees, which can lead to more efficient, fast, and accurate operations.

Why Now Is The Time For Restaurant Automation?

Restaurant automation adoption is growing as restaurants look for more ways to improve the customer experience while relying less on employees. Hiring challenges and staffing shortages have forced many restaurants to do more with less. The state of the restaurant industry in 2022 reveals that 70% of operators do not have enough staff to meet customer demand.

Automation is one of the ways restaurants can meet customer needs with a smaller team. 

Now it's easier than before to bring automation tools to restaurants. The modern restaurant point-of-sale system now offers a variety of automation tools that make operations more efficient and productive.

4 Restaurant Automation Tools 

If your restaurant wants to accelerate the service and streamline operations without adding staff, here are four restaurant automation tools you should adopt today. These automation tools do not require complex tools or systems. You can easily access these features with the right epos system. 

1) Self-Order Kiosk 

Most fast and casual restaurants have customers to order with people at the counter. But this process can be automated through the use of self-ordering kiosks. With self-ordering kiosks, customers can order without having to talk to the staff. They can go to the easy-to-use touchscreen and press a few buttons to place an order. 

When self-ordering kiosks are set up on software that customers already know and recognize, ordering becomes easy for them. Additionally, allowing customers to order themselves will provide customers with more information about the ingredients in their order and increase order accuracy.

2) Kitchen Display  

There's no reason the waiter or the order taker needs to write down the customer's orders and bring them back to the kitchen. Instead of writing orders by hand and presenting them in the back of the house, you can use a kitchen display to share orders instantly with the kitchen.

The display is part of the point-of-sale system. Employees enter orders through the point of sale and the information is automatically displayed on screens throughout the restaurant. The display isn't just limited to kitchen use. You can easily set up automation to send tickets to stations around your restaurant, whether you want drink orders sent to the bar or specific menu items sent to designated stations in your kitchen.

3) Inventory Management System 

Keeping track of your restaurant's inventory can be tedious. Continuously measuring and managing usage takes time and attention to detail. But you can also automate inventory tracking. With your restaurant's inventory management system, you can automatically deduct inventory when the inventory is used up. You can connect your epos system to your warehouse so that every time you place an order, your inventory will be updated. You can also avoid running out of stock by automatically ordering when stocks are low, and avoid overbuying by using an accurate system to see how many items you have at any given time.

4) Digital Menus

It's not uncommon for your restaurant's menu to change during the week or even throughout the day. Menu items can be sold out, or you can offer specials that change daily. Any change requires your team to communicate and update the menu, but you can also automate the changes using a digital menu.

With digital menus, you can program special dishes so that menu options match everyday dishes. You can also sync your inventory with your menu items so those items quickly stop displaying when they're no longer available. Changes may show up on the server on the digital tablet they use to take orders, or changes may show up on a customer-facing kiosk, tabletop tablet, or menu online.

Bring Automation Into Your Restaurant Operations

Restaurant automation tools deliver what your customers and employees need. They provide easier and more affordable ways to serve customers quickly and efficiently. Adding automation to your restaurant may seem complicated, but adopting these tools is easy with a partner like Epos Direct.