Technology = The Tool of F&B and the Future
Technology is now more integrated in F&B and hospitality, especially with the rise of manpower issues that has plagued F&B and hospitality during the time of Covid-19. In fact, the recent two years has proven that technology has to be integrated into the operations and daily processes of any business. Change, thus, must be implemented.
This can be seen in hotels such as M Hotel Singapore, located in the outskirts of the CBD in Tanjong Pagar. In the last few years, the hotel has taken charge of some issues that has ensued as a result of the manpower crunch, especially in their restaurant, Café 2000. In the past, hotels would take months to launch menus and promotions, which would need things such as heavy marketing and time. Now though, with user-friendly applications, programmes and smart phones, applying new menus is easy. Where in the past the restaurants might take months to plan a new, physical menu which will be implemented only after many months and cost 10K, now, something as simple as changing the menu might take only a matter of hours, thanks to the menus becoming virtual and easily accessible through any digital device . This also includes chefs and staff learning to take their own photos, style food, change mistakes, and get it served to guests at minimal fuss. Mistakes, as well, can be changed in a matter of seconds, and thus will not have to cost money to make changes to physical menus, marketing information and other collaterals.
Thanks to the rise of user-friendly applications and digital menus, what might cost time and resources now takes much less time and effort. It's one of the reasons why the Welbilt team has helped to introduce the concept of "Breaking The 30 Minute Barrier," one where the kitchen can, from beginning to end, get the food product cooked, prepped and delivered to the customer to any desired location they would need, at the consistent, quality level that customers are used to at the restaurant level. "We believe that the customer experience can be maintained through very established disciplines, which we call FITkitchens," explains Mr Lam. The disciplines, encompassing the matter of People, Food and Beverage, Equipment, Packaging and Dispatch, and Place and Infrastructure, all work towards Experience, and cannot work without one element missing. "These are not new concepts, but getting them right, and in the right balance, is important."
By designing the kitchen of the future to drive continuous improvements in performance for customers, partners will be pleased to hear that Welbilt is looking to leverage data to optimize their processes and bottom line, improve the guest experience they deliver, and over time provide a platform that will enable them to continually adapt to our changing world. Known as the Welbilt’s KitchenConnect®, the company’s digital service offers numerous ways to harness this power to take operations from average to great, realizing benefits like never before.
