News Briefs

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.  

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.

Mews, a hospitality cloud provider, announced its automated space management feature within its PMS to help hotels diversify their revenue streams and increase profit. Hoteliers can now utilize every square meter of their property by selling additional spaces and managing the inventory through Mews PMS to let guests – and non-guests – book.

Thinking beyond rooms and overnight stays, Mews has helped over 800 customers so far to optimize their properties by utilizing every square meter to offer guests a well-rounded stay. The biggest increase in revenue has come from selling parking spaces and meeting rooms, which guests can upgrade during booking or check-in.

Currently, almost 2,900 parking spaces in 189 hotels are managed with Mews, and there have been 9,796 reservations. 1,200 meeting rooms across 312 hotels are also managed with Mews PMS, where hotel staff can track digital bookings and manage dynamic pricing all within one platform. Hotels can also sell these spaces to non-guests, who might be travelling with work or living locally.

This announcement comes as the industry keeps pace with ever-changing guest needs. With the growing demand for members clubs and the increase of blended work and leisure requiring longer stays, some hoteliers are moving further away from traditional overnight stays. Mews has started to see an increase in this approach, with 90 of its hotel customers today offering hourly services to guests and 55 offering monthly stays.

Josef Lapka, VP Product Management at Mews, commented, “Many hoteliers sit on real estate that could be a real revenue generator for them. By selling spaces outside of the traditional room and offering guests much more, hoteliers are seeing a much larger impact on their bottom line. Guests also benefit from Initially, we’ve seen the focus on parking spaces and meeting rooms, but this can be extended to all areas of a property, be it a spa, gym or event space.”

The Julius, which has 168 residences based in Prague, has generated €107,000 revenue from its 29 parking spaces this year alone.

Julius Meinhl, CEO of Julius, commented, “One of the big benefits of Mews is that it’s really easy to use. Parking spaces can be managed in the same way as a room or apartment. Guests can reserve their spot in the booking engine, and it automatically update.”