【📢 FOODIVAL Blog ✏️ 】AI Applications in the F&B Industry: Four Major Trends to Enhance Operational Efficiency! 💡

As consumers have become increasingly receptive to AI technologies and applications, the Food & Beverage Industry is gradually keeping up with the trend to apply different kinds of AI technologies in various workflows in order to accelerate operational efficiency and boost customer experience. Yet, with a wide variety of AI technologies growing and thriving, which ones in particular are suitable for the F&B industry? How can these technologies be effectively implemented and sustained in the industry? Meanwhile, what factors should F&B owners pay attention to when undergoing digital transformation in their businesses?  Let’s delve into the latest AI trends and explore how these AI-empowered systems are leading the F&B industry to a new digital era! 

Four Major AI Trends in the F&B Industry

1. AI-Empowered Kiosk 

   Last year, a research company in Taiwan partnered with a F&B group to develop the world’s first "AI Kiosk" that integrates three types of AI applications. In addition to standard ordering functions, this AI Kiosk features a wider range of capabilities such as AI-driven personalized marketing, multilingual menu translation and voice ordering. For instance, in personalized marketing, the AI Kiosk utilizes image recognition technology to categorize customers by gender before they place their orders via the kiosk. A virtual assistant within the kiosk then provides personalized menu recommendations based on their gender. For example, if the kiosk detects that the customer is male, the virtual assistant will be transformed to a female in the interface to provide recommendations, and vice versa. The analysis conducted by the AI Kiosk is based on a vast database that includes not only the F&B group's own customer dining preferences and consumption habits, but also data collected from consumers around the globe to ensure a relatively precise prediction and personalized marketing.

2. AI-Empowered Food Delivery Robot  

   

   Delivery robots are becoming increasingly common and popular among the F&B industry worldwide, with many local and international restaurants introducing the robots in the hope of reducing the workload of frontline staff and enhancing workplace safety. In Taiwan, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)  has developed the first delivery robot integrating with a POS system. This robot, the "Cubot ONE", combines C-V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) technology, 3D positioning system and navigation technology with 5G connectivity and a patented vehicle design. Users can easily manage takeout orders and assign delivery tasks to the robot through the existing POS system, significantly reducing manpower demands and frontline workload as frontline staff can focus on in-store tasks and customer services. This automated process also helps prevent situations where restaurants become understaffed during peak hours, such as lunch and dinner period.

   
   

3. AI-Empowered Restaurant Operation System

   Apart from developing various machines and systems integrated with AI technology, A Chinese telecommunications company has partnered with a restaurant chain to jointly launch "AI Smart Restaurant”. The project aims to create a restaurant with integrated operational capabilities by combining "5G + AI" technology with Cloud technology and new intelligent terminals. For instance, the restaurant owner can monitor customer service quality by using AI cameras to recognize customer locations and behaviors. These cameras can detect if a customer is waving or seeking assistance, significantly reducing their waiting times and enhancing customer experience. Meanwhile, the AI cameras can also check whether employees are dressed according to employee handbooks so as to monitor hygiene conditions, for example to check whether kitchen staff are wearing masks and disposable caps or whether there are any pests like mice. Through the AI management system, restaurants can hence strengthen hygiene monitoring, creating a safer, cleaner and more comfortable dining environment for customers for a better dining experience. 
   

4. AI-Empowered Procurement & Inventory Management System 

   

   Noteworthily, there is a procurement and inventory management system designated for the F&B industry which recently incorporated AI technology to enhance the efficiency of procurement departments. With the system, frontline staff can simply take photos of invoices and upload them upon receipt of goods, allowing the procurement team to verify the information in real time. The system automatically cross-checks the invoice details with the relevant orders within the system, helping the procurement team to identify discrepancies. This feature helps prevent wrong orders and strengthens cost control even further. What’s more, this AI feature significantly reduces data entry and improves accuracy and efficiency of invoice reconciliation process, saving up to 70% of the time spent on such "matching" tasks. In addition, the system also offers a "Scan & Track” feature to streamline the stock take process. This feature enables frontline staff to directly scan product labels with barcode scanners to record product information, greatly reducing data entry and accelerating the entire process. When choosing a procurement and inventory management system for your restaurants, owners should not only consider whether the system's features are up-to-date or include AI capabilities, but also ensure that the system is comprehensive and suitable for your daily procurement and inventory management needs. For readers interested in learning more about the specialized features of procurement and inventory management systems designed for the restaurant industry, feel free to read FOODIVAL's blog (only Chinese available). 

   
   

Digital Transformation in the F&B Industry: Restaurant Resources, System Usability & Security？

As AI technology becomes increasingly prevalent across various industries, restaurant owners have to carefully consider different factors when choosing and adopting different types of AI systems. Digital transformation should be implemented only within your budget and resources available.  Many solution vendors offer various modules with Cloud subscription plans, allowing flexibility and system scalability for F&B clients to choose the most suitable options based on their operational needs and capabilities.

Furthermore, the F&B industry should also pay special attention to the design of the system interface and the usability before implementing the systems. This ensures that the system is user-friendly enough for employees to easily be familiar with, facilitating a smoother implementation and transition to digitalization.

Last but not least, the security of the systems is crucial. When utilizing AI functionalities to implement retail and marketing campaigns, F&B owners must ensure that customers are fully informed of how their personal data or preferences will be accessed, used and analyzed. It is important to obtain customer consent before engaging in personalized marketing to protect consumer data and privacy as well as to reduce any sense of insecurity regarding AI among customers.

If you wish to improve the procurement and inventory management of your restaurants while strengthening cost control and boosting competitiveness, don’t hesitate to contact our system consultants for a free system consultation and demo session here!