Innovation Lab to Help Restaurateurs with the Challenges of On-Demand Dining, Delivery
Changes in the marketplace don't have to signify doom and gloom. On Thursday, October 18, MURTEC Executive Summit offers attendees the opportunity to participate in an innovation lab hosted by Jim Collins, CEO of Kitchen United, titled "Rethinking Service: Turning Barriers into Opportunity." This session will help restaurants understand how to solve for the problem of evolving service structure. As an executive who has addressed the needs and challenges of on-demand dining and delivery, Collins will offer advice on how to look at problems in new ways and address them in manageable, effective methods. Attendees will learn how to overcome barriers and how to make delivery a success technically, operationally and locationally.
While the companies in Collins' background are varied, the common thread is on deploying technologies to help small and medium sized businesses succeed. From his early days in tech, driving companies like Apex Voice Communications, Signius Corporation and Affinity Internet, to his current capacity in building restaurant industry start up, Kitchen United, Collins' blunt but thoughtful management style and focus on relentless evolution build strong, energized teams. Whether in highly distributed enterprises like Signius, Affinity or Pictage or in smaller technology startups like Apex or Bizmago, Collins' direct connection with his customers is a hallmark of his career. Dynamic change in the restaurant industry and the opportunity to combine his technical and enterprise background with his knowledge of restaurant operations connected Jim to Kitchen United as CEO in December of 2017.
A love of food and hospitality drove Collins to take the plunge and buy a restaurant four years ago and Town Kitchen and Grill has become a fixture in its home community, Montrose, Calif. Collins is actively involved in managing "Town," and works with his chef on dish and menu design. (If pressed, he's even capable of jumping in to help on the hot line!)
A sister event to MURTEC (Multi-Unit Restaurant Technology Conference), the MURTEC Executive Summit will be an intimate gathering of senior-level executives, unique from other technology events in the industry. The format and content is designed to draw in technology thought leaders and influencers in a program that prioritizes group discussions, two-way dialogue, and collaboration amongst both peers and sponsors.
The audience of senior-level technology decision makers and influencers from the nation’s leading and emerging restaurant brands will consist of C-suite, VP and director-level titles and is invitation only. Technology leaders will be joined by line-of-business executives who influence IT decisions – marketing, analytics, finance, customer experience and more.
The unique agenda includes collaboration exercises, with the intent to spark both peer-to-peer and peer-to-sponsor discussion. Sessions are designed to generate new ideas and conversations between attendees and technology experts. The strategic and relevant content focuses on driving innovation in today’s restaurant environment.
The MURTEC Executive Summit offers a low pressure environment for building relationships with potential partners. The 2018 MURTEC Executive Summit will take place October 17-19, 2018 in Nashville, Tenn.