Providing the right guidance to adopt restaurant technology strategy over time into your business with an approach that will improve your operation and profitability.
Strategy is one of those words which is overused and misunderstood. Often when people talk about strategy in actual fact they are referring to tactics. So what’s the difference?
Strategy represents long term or overarching objectives. Tactics are the different methods that you will use to achieve your strategy.
When we consider technology, strategy is key. The reason is that technology, when it comes to your balance sheet, represents an asset. When we purchase assets for a business they are normally intended to have a long life span. Naturally, you would not purchase and replace a technology asset with the regularity of replacing beer kegs in your bar.
Restaurant technology & assets
When we are selecting technology for our restaurant or bar, it is expected to have a meaningful and lasting impact on your business. That is why strategy is such an important element of your technology environment.
The challenge is to neatly fit together the various pieces of the ecosystem ‘puzzle’ over time.
You will have become aware that the marketplace for technology in the food & beverage industry has become increasingly complex. Technology directly affects a broad range of your customer experiences and operational processes. Its impact is extending and expanding every day. Much is being driven by the customer and the type of interaction they want to have with your business. The other is the general pace of technology and the demand for increasing levels of efficiency and connectivity.
When considering all of these business tools together it represents the ‘ecosystem’ that your business operates on with technology.
What that means is that there are lots of moving parts involved and more often that not they do not come from the same company. The challenge is to neatly fit together the various pieces of the ecosystem ‘puzzle’ over time. Doing so with consideration for the other pieces already in the puzzle as well as the pieces that will be applied later in the process to provide a complete puzzle or ecosystem.
A sound technology strategy always applies to your food & beverage business whether you are starting out as a brand new business or you are an existing operation.
This is because very rarely are you in a position to have everything that you want or need right when you want it. That’s because of funding. Even brand new restaurants and bars don’t necessarily have all that they need from day one. Achieving your technology strategy is an ongoing process.
Components of technology strategy
FOODnBEVTECH’s Strategy side is the program we bring to your business to direct the selection of technology. But more importantly, at the right time and in the right order to bring the most value to your business while ensuring that you improve the value of your existing assets.
It’s no small thing. Your restaurant technology strategy or master plan will often have a five year window as you look at the gradual adoption and in some cases replacement of technology as you move toward creating your complete technology puzzle or ecosystem.
There is no set time frame. Your technology strategy is always tightly aligned with your business growth and capital or operational funding as you progress. Also the type of product and service that you want to offer your customers.
The other factor that is always a part of your strategy is the constant and ongoing changes to existing technology and the business landscape. All of these elements are considered together to provide a blueprint that is aligned with the specifics of your business environment and opportunity for improvements to your customer and staff experience. Most importantly the creation of competitive advantage leveraging your technology assets.
Let’s talk about how FOODnBEVTECH can help you develop a long term technology business strategy closely aligned with your investment capability.
I’m looking forward to working with you.
