Overview
Kitchen production used to be a ticket stuck to a grabber and the chef shouting orders. We can now use software to improve the flow of information into the kitchen to enable time and resources to be optimised. This can just be the use of screens in kitchens (or at barista stations and the like) to reduce paper and enable richer data to be sent and captured. It can also involve using AI and machine learning to tell the kitchen what to prepare.
Critical functions
Kitchen production software is at the cutting edge of hospitality tech, so use cases and functions will vary significantly. Large operators are working with providers of other systems (particularly POS) to commission highly specialised, bespoke systems to improve their operations.
Here are some ideas of how you could use kitchen production systems:
In a coffee-centric operation, barista screens can be used to display coffee orders to baristas. This can prevent ‘coffee calling,’ and so the potential for orders to be misheard, or not heard at all. Or, the screen can replace the traditional barista ticket printer, reducing paperwork but also ensuring drinks are prepared in order and not lost, improving customer satisfaction. Taken one step further, baristas can tap the screen to indicate when the order has been produced, enabling high volume operators to understand and optimise staff deployment, training and so on.
In the grab-and-go setting, a kitchen production system could gather sales data from the POS system, and send instructions to the kitchen to produce batches of products to proactively maintain minimum display levels while optimising kitchen resources (making three egg sandwiches, then three ham sandwiches, then three prawn salads is much more efficient than producing one of each at a time).
In the order-ahead context, a kitchen production system connected to an ordering website, app or kiosk could allow customers to place a highly customised order, routing it to the appropriate part(s) of the kitchen. So a customer could order a very specific, off-menu salad bowl based on their allergens or dietary preferences, without needing to ‘explain’ it to a member of staff and have them validate it can be done.
For delivery-oriented businesses, it could ‘hold’ an order until the optimum time to cook them, based on driver availability - for example, it might delay a pizza being put into the oven so it doesn’t sit waiting for a driver who is far away and getting cold.
Important integrations
As described above, a kitchen production system could have all manner of innovative applications, so the integrations it needs will vary. However, to get maximum value from deploying this type of system, the integrations will need to be real-time and robust.
POS, and/or a website or other order-ahead system will almost certainly be needed, and probably some sort of integration with the food database will also be required. Much like other applications, kitchen production might be incorporated into, or at least created by, your POS provider. This means it should be a seamless integration, but may be limited to the scope of their imagination.
Users
The kitchen production system will be mainly used by back of house staff. Their capabilities and ways of working will need to be carefully considered; while a new system may promise major productivity improvements, it could result in confusion or ill-feeling among staff who may not wish to be ‘optimised’!
