Its head of business development will talk about it at the upcoming QSR Media UK Conference & Awards 2023.
Foodservice inflation may have dropped to 18.9% in March 2023 according to a report by CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index, however, the cost of living crunch continues to have a significant impact on the fast-food industry’s profitability.
These issues and more will be the topics of different panel discussions at the QSR Media UK Conference & Awards 2023, powered by Redbull.
One of the key speakers will be Gareth Bakewell, head of Business Development UK at DTiQ.
In a quick interview with QSR Media, Gareth shares some of his thoughts on the economic developments in the UK and how it is affecting QSRs.
How do you see the increased cost of living affecting fast-food brands?
Costs have increased for QSR businesses across the board, and this is likely to become the new normal, while consumers are spending less due to concerns over the cost-of-living crisis. This presents challenges and puts QSR businesses under real pressure.
On the plus side, now is a good time to act to impress potential new customers who have traditionally used full-service restaurants and may now be looking at QSR due to limited budgets. The challenge is that there is so much choice in the market, QSRs need to stand out with service and quality.
Being smart and looking at ways to do things differently, can offer solutions. Technology and data analysis for example, can help operators trying to reduce cost bases, protect eroding margins and maximise profitability.
In what ways can QSRs manage increasing costs effectively?
QSR businesses need to look at how they can make improvements to their operations on every level. On the one hand, they need to be proactive to enhance customer journeys to keep people coming back and spending more to keep revenue coming into the business. This may be through heightened store cleanliness, improved speed of service or increased staff engagement with customers.
They also need to examine how they can minimise loss prevention through internal and external theft or fraudulent third-party chargebacks, but can also look at other processes which may include things like improving order accuracy.
We say ‘if you can see it we can measure it’ so even down to preventing excessive food waste, processes can be better monitored and adjusted to help QSR businesses face increasing costs head-on. With increased energy costs hitting hard, if we tie into the organisation’s data, our video surveillance and analysis can identify and flag issues for example if a fridge door is left open, or the oven or lights are left on by mistake.
What value does video analytics have that most fast-food businesses do not leverage?
At DTiQ we work with multi-unit operators to help them utilise their existing CCTV & Infrastructure to lower costs and increase profits. Our advanced server technology records video surveillance of stores and software maps this to EPOS data. Integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) automatically picks out and alerts operators to any anomalies which need highlighting so there is no need to view hours of video footage. Overall, we aim to add approximately 2% to an average customer’s bottom line through savings in wastage, loss prevention and an increase in speed of service/ turnover.
What sets DTiQ’s solutions apart, is our expert analysis and reporting. For example, our SmartAuditTM services include a reporting structure where clients provide us with a checklist of questions of their choice such as ‘are staff always wearing gloves’ or ‘was the store opened on time’ or any other question that is relevant to them. DTiQ’s remote team in combination with the AI will analyse surveillance recordings and report back as regularly as the client needs and any issues addressed proactively. Stores can then be scored and compared to ensure consistency across the estate.
The DTiQ solution is also incredibly cost-effective as we can often integrate with existing CCTV and EPOS systems. In many cases, operators have already invested in the technology but aren’t using it to the fullest extent. We can help them realise and leverage its full value. By checking every transaction with 24/7 location coverage, we can help QSRs spot trends to ensure the restaurant is always as efficient as possible.
What would be the focus of your speaking session at the upcoming QSR Media UK Conference & Awards 2023 powered by Redbull?
I am delighted to be presenting at the forthcoming QSR Media UK Conference & Awards 2023 powered by Redbull. I will be speaking at a session about Using Video Analytics to Increase Profitability. Times are tough right now for QSR businesses and tech can offer solutions to help reduce cost bases, protect eroding margins and maximise profitability. I will talk about how to utilise existing CCTV and Infrastructure to lower costs and increase profits; how we observe, measure and present the data for effective use and analysis; and discuss staff training and retention and ways to incentivise best practices.
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Hear more from Gareth and DTiQ at the QSR Media UK Conference & Awards 2023 powered by Redbull. For more information about the event, please visit this link or contact Rose Ruiz at rose@charltonmediamail.com.
Read more at https://qsrmedia.co.uk/
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