The F&B industry can be challenging to manoeuvre. Prior to the global pandemic, Enterprise Singapore shared that only around 60 per cent of small F&B businesses make it past the five-year mark. The ever-changing rules and rising business operating costs in recent months mean these challenges are set to continue.
While trying to scale my café business, Crown Coffee, I have personally experienced the key challenges that have plagued F&B businesses for years.
One of the most prominent challenges faced by the industry is the shortage of skilled manpower. F&B jobs are shunned by many and turnover rates are notoriously high. New employees have to be hired and trained frequently, adding to the myriad of costs that F&B owners have to worry about. This comes on top of another challenge that plagues all business owners – rising rental costs, especially in prime locations.
Another key challenge is the fact that, as humans, we simply cannot physically produce something of the exact same standard of quality over and over. Humans tire, and this could inevitably affect the quality of work.
Your favourite barista, despite his/her years of experience and training, could be having a bad day, and the cup of coffee that you look forward to daily might not taste as good as it usually does. The inconsistent quality could result in less-than-ideal consumer experiences, costing owners their customers’ loyalty and making it nearly impossible to scale the business.
Also Read: Why robotics is just entering its prime phase
These challenges are exactly why F&B entrepreneurs need to explore how unmanned retail solutions, which include robotics and artificial intelligence, can be integrated into day-to-day operations.
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence: The unmanned retail solution
Robots are not new to us; they’ve been around for the last 30 years in factories producing cars, laptops and more. By taking the technology a step further and combining robotics with artificial intelligence, F&B owners can solve the aforementioned challenges, significantly improving their chances of maintaining and even scaling their business in the long run.
Through integrating a robot, that is programmed for efficiency and consistency into operations, owners stand to increase the business output, regain control of the quality of F&B served, and resolve the need for physical staff to be present throughout operating hours, all of which contribute towards significantly reducing operational costs.
Take Ella, Singapore’s first robotic barista that was built from scratch by Crown Digital, for example. Ella is meticulously programmed and is unparalleled in her efficiency, consistency and efficacy. She can make 200 cups of coffee per hour and operates for 23 hours daily.
Apart from her stellar ability to create over 300 coffee combinations, Ella is also aided by an artificial intelligence-enabled vision system which monitors operations round-the-clock, looking out for abnormalities, such as spillage.
Ella engages in deep learning and predictive analysis, which helps with supply chain needs, including replenishments at the kiosk, ensuring that stock levels are always sufficient to fulfil orders. She is supported by an Internet of Things (IoT)-connected software that plays a significant role in customer satisfaction.
Customers can order and pay directly from Ella’s mobile app, meaning they do not need to queue and save a vital few moments on their morning commute. The app allows for hyper-personalisation, enabling Ella to serve customers their coffee just as they like it, with no surprises, only consistently good coffee that brings comfort every single day.
Robots like Ella are able to function as a phygital bridge between technology and in-person experiences. Beyond the regular app ordering consumer journey, Ella was recently a part of the tangible experience for the proof of attendance token at the Singapore Fintech Festival.
Attendees were able to mint the token and receive a unique proof of attendance protocol (POAP) NFT from open-source blockchain Tezos, along with a cup of artisan coffee from Ella. All in all, Ella is an unmanned retail solution. She autonomously takes on and executes repetitive tasks perfectly, while allowing us to remotely monitor operations.
She also operates in a predictable manner, which helps to facilitate better planning for the business. While human employees may err, fall ill and have varying levels of productivity, Ella’s maintenance can be scheduled in advance to ensure that she efficiently churns consistently good cups of coffee.
Unmanned retail solutions – Enhancing the human connection
Some business owners may shy away from robotics, thinking that the presence of robots will take away the human element of businesses. I beg to differ, the human experience will always continue to thrive. At the heart of every business is an owner driven by a passion for putting a smile on their customers’ faces by making their day with a sumptuous meal or an excellent, warm cup of coffee.
The goal of Integrating unmanned retail solutions like Ella into businesses is to allow mundane, repetitive tasks to be automated to a high degree of consistency, user experience and quality. In doing so, we enlarge the space for human craftsmanship to be more and do more without compromising on the satisfaction of our customers.
Also Read: Southeast Asia paves the way for new value in robotics
F&B staff can then focus exclusively on other less mundane tasks and invest time into interactions with their customers without distractions. Ella’s also a wonderful conversation starter, it’s not a rare sight to see our customers engaging with employees, expressing their fascination for Ella and asking questions to quell their curiosity.
Ultimately, the technology complements the art of craftsmanship. It serves to enhance and never replace the human touch.
Potential to be unlocked
There is so much more that can be done with robotics and artificial intelligence to create other types of unmanned retail solutions, even beyond robotic baristas.
This is one of the reasons why, at Crown Digital, we are exploring how Ella could be refitted for other sorts of F&B operations beyond coffee, maybe even for the preparation of cocktails or piping hot bowls of ramen.
We are also looking at white labelling to support larger F&B operations with their digitalisation efforts by providing Ella’s hardware and software and assisting with the backend integration.
While the initial cost of integration may be steep, unmanned retail solutions function as a key enabler for the automation of businesses, allowing them to overcome manpower challenges and reduce costs while increasing output, quality and consistency to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty. These unmanned retail solutions give business owners a better shot at longevity in the F&B industry.
It’s time for us to embrace the new normal and welcome robots into our daily lives. The possibilities are endless and unparalleled – robots are here to stay!
–
Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic
Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page
Image credit: 123rf-phonlamaiphoto
The post Why unmanned retail solutions are the turning point for the F&B industry appeared first on e27.
