News Briefs

Boba Tea Company is leveraging the AI-powered UKG Ready suite to drive significant business growth and create a culture where employees are inspired to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Boba Tea Company is a bubble tea restaurant chain employing 175 people at 14 locations across Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Bolstered by UKG Ready, the flexible human capital management (HCM) suite designed specifically for businesses with lean HR and payroll teams, the organization is building an intentional and purposeful workplace culture, fueling its growth and expansion into additional U.S. states.

“We take great pride in our brand and believe that if you’re looking to grow, you need to have technology and a partner that can evolve with you,” said Hoa Luong, chief operating officer at Boba Tea Company. “UKG is that partner for us, and has helped us keep our people informed and engaged which has fueled our business growth.”

• Read more: Implementing the correct technology tools can augment HR’s efforts and provide modern benefits that appeal to employees

Committed to fostering a culture of empowerment and creating a great place to work, Boba Tea partnered with UKG to elevate the role of its frontline workforce through mobile-first technology that allows the organization to communicate with staff across all locations in a more consistent and transparent way, setting everyone up for success.

“One of our biggest improvements since going live on UKG is the ability to communicate with staff through the Ready mobile app,” said Luong. “Everything we need to convey to our people is done through our internal ‘BobaScoops’ announcement, which is the first thing employees see when they login to Ready. So, we can roll out a new policy, a new drink, or a new process and know that all employees across all locations are getting the same information. The app also lifts the burden on HR and managers since employees can easily do things like swap shifts, view schedules or paystubs, and update their address right from their mobile device.”

Shift Swap

The ability for managers to create best-fit schedules and for staff to swap shifts has led to a greater employee experience — as well as higher sales and shorter counter lines — as Boba Tea previously struggled to properly staff stores without an accurate way to forecast how many employees it would need to meet customer demand. That ultimately cost the restaurant chain time and money.

“We were leaving money on the table as we were either understaffed and unable to serve our customers quickly, or overscheduled, which is a drain on our bottom line and on our people,” said Luong. “UKG allowed us to see how many people we needed to schedule at each location based on projected sales. As a result, store and district managers as well as payroll staff have saved a combined 70-hours per pay period in reviewing employee time ahead of payroll processing. With our stores more efficiently staffed, we’ve increased sales by 23% — and were able to serve more than 1.3 million drinks through 974,000 transactions last year — which is a big win for our organization and has led to a better experience for both our customers and employees.”

Ready has additionally led to more consistency and accuracy in hourly employees clocking in and out of shifts, helping Boba Tea remain compliant with federal employment laws.

With Ready, Boba Tea uses integrated facial recognition in every store and doesn’t have missed punches anymore.  Everything is accurately in an easily generated report, Loung explained.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is testing an automated digital makeline in collaboration with Hyphen, a foodservice platform designed to help restaurant owners, operators, and budding chefs move their business forward by automating kitchen operations. Bowls and salads are created by an automated system that moves the entrées through the bottom makeline where ingredients for the order are dispensed automatically. In tandem, a Chipotle team member can leverage the top makeline to create burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and kid's meals for the same digital order.

How It Works

1. Digital orders would be placed via the Chipotle app, Chipotle.com, or third-party platforms.  
2. If the order included a bowl or salad, those entrées would be routed to Hyphen's automated system. The bowl traverses along the bottom makeline and positions itself under the specified ingredient container. The intelligent dispensers dynamically portion each ingredient into the bowl. If the order included burritos, tacos, quesadillas, or kid's meals, a Chipotle team member would use the top of the same makeline to create those entrées.
3. The completed bowl or salad would be raised from the bottom makeline and revealed at the end of the makeline through an opening in the countertop. A Chipotle team member would place a lid on the entrée and add any final items such as chips, side salsas, or guacamole to the order.
4. Completed orders would be placed in their designated pick-up area: in-restaurant pickup shelves, walk-up window, or Chipotlane.

Employee & Guest Experience

Approximately 65% of all Chipotle digital orders are bowls or salads, so the cobotic digital makeline has the potential to free up more time for employees to service the front makeline and deliver exceptional hospitality, while simultaneously increasing capacity for digital orders during peak periods.

The new digital makeline could also help enhance digital order accuracy, improving the guest experience.

• 71% say the ability to integrate with other systems is driving their POS purchase decisions, according to HT’s2 2023 POS Software Trends Report.

"Chipotle's new digital makeline built by Hyphen embodies our commitment to leveraging robotics to unlock the human potential of our workforce, ensuring an elevated dining experience for our guests," said Curt Garner, Chief Customer and Technology Officer. "Our goal is to have the automated digital makeline be the centerpiece of all our restaurants' digital kitchens." 

Chipotle's Investment in Hyphen

Chipotle invested in Hyphen as part of Cultivate Next, the company's $50 million venture fund that intends to make early-stage investments into strategically aligned companies that further its mission to Cultivate a Better World and help accelerate its aggressive growth plans. As a people-first company, Chipotle is seeking opportunities that will elevate the human experience for its teams as well as increase access and convenience for its guests. Investments may include innovations in farming and supply chain, advanced robotics, alternative proteins, and more.

Through Cultivate Next, Chipotle also invested in Vebu, a product development company that works with food industry leaders to co-create intelligent automation and technology solutions. Earlier this year, Chipotle and Vebu unveiled the Autocado, an avocado processing cobotic prototype that cuts, cores, and peels avocados before they are hand mashed to create the restaurant's famous guacamole. 

image courtesy of Chipotle

 Denny’s Corporation announced the hiring of Pankaj Patra as Chief Digital and Technology Officer (CDTO), effective October 30. This is a newly created enterprise role that will include support for Denny’s and Keke’s. Patra will be responsible for accelerating the company’s capabilities across all specialties within the Digital, Technology and Information functions.

Patra comes to Denny’s from Brinker International, Inc., where he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, responsible for overseeing information technology and data security for the company and its restaurants brands. Patra brings 25 years of experience as an innovative enterprise technology architect, digital strategist and information technology leader.

“Denny’s is an iconic restaurant company that understands and values the connection between great people and smart technology. I am looking forward to working collaboratively across the company to identify opportunities for improvement and implement exciting, innovative, transformative solutions,” said Patra.

Patra earned his undergraduate degree from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela and went on to attain his MBA from Southern Methodist University. He is a member of the Dallas chapter of the International Food and Beverage Technology Association.

Patra is based in Dallas. Michael Furlow, Denny’s Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, will remain on staff through the end of the year to support the transition. For more information, please visit dennys.com.

NCR Voyix Corp., a global provider of digital commerce solutions for the retail, restaurant and banking industries, announced its debut following the spin-off of its ATM-focused businesses.

Back in July, NCR Unveiled new names for its businesses. The ATM business is named NCR Atleos.

NCR Voyix offers comprehensive platform-driven technology and solutions that serve a diversified customer base, ranging from small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to large multinational organizations, around the world. The debut of the streamlined organization will enable NCR Voyix to accelerate its platform conversions, expand its services and deepen customer relationships, while also capturing additional market share.

“NCR Voyix launches from a position of strength as the market-leading provider of mission-critical digital commerce solutions for retailers, restaurants and financial institutions,” said NCR Voyix CEO David Wilkinson. “Our strong base of blue-chip customers will continue to benefit from our end-to-end solutions, which will be further enhanced by the strategic focus and operational agility of our new organization. As we enter this next phase and execute on our strategy, we will be able to deliver solid growth, profitability and value creation for our shareholders.”

NCR Voyix begins from a position of strength.

 NCR Voyix is the market leader in its core segments

• #1 position in self-checkout for 20 years running
• #1 provider of point-of-sale software in retail and restaurants
• #1 provider of digital banking applications

• NCR Voyix generates strong recurring and diversified revenue
  • Nearly $4 billion in total revenue
  • Recurring revenue of $2.1 billion, approximately 55% of total revenue
  • Software and services generate approximately $2.5 billion, or nearly 2/3, of total revenue
• NCR Voyix is a global company with a presence in 35 countries
  • 16,000 employees, including 2,200 field service personnel

To learn more about NCR Voyix, visit the company’s new website, https://www.ncrvoyix.com.

Shiji, a global hospitality technology innovator, has partnered with IPORT, an award-winning manufacturer known for enhancing the usability of iPads and iPhones, to introduce an all-in-one software solution for hotel restaurants. This collaboration will provide hoteliers with a seamless combination of a tablet and payment device to maximize their F&B operations.

The integrated iOS and payment device solution simplifies guest service for hotel restaurant servers, providing them with an effortless tool to cater to their guests' needs. As a certified Apple partner, Shiji and IPORT guarantee exceptional performance and reliability. Hoteliers can choose from multiple device options, including iPad Pro, iPad Mini, and iPhone, ensuring flexibility and compatibility with their operations.

“IPORT products are built around modularity and flexibility that empower our hospitality customers to do more with the iOS platform. We are thrilled to partner with a leading iPad and iPhone cloud PMS and POS platform provider like Shiji,” said Chris Lawson, Head of Partnerships, IPORT. “We look forward to innovating with Shiji in disrupting legacy, monolithic providers who have limited the industry from harnessing the power of iOS and mobility. The future is bright, and the possibilities are endless with IPORT, iOS, and Shiji.”

"The partnership with IPORT is a significant milestone for Shiji in our commitment to provide innovative technology solutions for the hospitality industry," said Ryan King, Senior Vice President of Shiji in the Americas. "By combining our expertise with IPORT’s hardware solutions, we empower hoteliers to streamline restaurant operations and deliver exceptional guest experiences. This collaboration represents another step forward in our dedication to driving success in the Americas, and globally."

The tablet and payment device solution seamlessly integrates with multiple payment gateways, allowing hoteliers to choose the system that best suits their needs. By simplifying the payment process, it reduces operational complexities, minimizes errors, and saves valuable time and resources for hoteliers.

With Oracle NetSuite, TGI Fridays  has been able to take advantage of an integrated business suite to consolidate financial processes, increase efficiency, enhance cash flow, and improve decision-making across its global chain of restaurants.   

Fridays is also using Oracle CrowdTwist, a loyalty and engagement offering from Oracle Food and Beverage, to power its new Fridays Rewards program for customers in the United States.

TGI Fridays has more than 700 restaurants in 50+ countries. As Fridays grew and its operations evolved to include corporate-owned restaurants, local and international franchisees, third-party delivery partnerships, and virtual restaurants, its internal operations and financial processes became increasingly complex and costly to manage. To simplify processes and improve decision-making, Fridays chose NetSuite as its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

“The restaurant industry is highly competitive. That’s why we need real-time data on our business performance to respond to changing customer behaviors,” said Jeff Moran, vice president of accounting, TGI Fridays. “With NetSuite, we have consolidated financial processes and embraced automation to improve the speed and accuracy of business insights as we grow – with product offerings and locations around the globe.” 

With NetSuite, Fridays has been able to gain real-time insights into its operations, enhance cash flow, and improve decision-making by centralizing its financial processes on a single cloud business suite. To further optimize its financial processes, Fridays has taken advantage of NetSuite to automate and improve the efficiency of its accounting functions including accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger reporting. In addition, NetSuite has helped Fridays manage its global network of franchisees by providing support for local languages and currencies everywhere the company operates.