it's hard to imagine many aspects of life without artificial intelligence. On Google, we get answers to our questions in seconds. With DeepL, we can generate precise translations without having to hire expensive translation agencies. With its Alexa product, the Internet giant Amazon has shown us that artificial intelligence can take over various tasks in everyday life, such as switching on the light, playing your favorite song, or turning off the TV.
The software behind AI is still in its infancy, but offers enormous growth and development potential for the future.
In particular, company restaurants and canteens can work more efficiently with the help of AI, evaluate existing data and use it for business growth. The use of AI supports the minimization of resource consumption. Detailed data analytics can be used to measure exactly how much food needs to be purchased to avoid waste.
Large foodservice operations such as McDonalds and Starbucks are pioneering the use of AI in the foodservice sector. In some cases, robots are used for cooking and baking operations. Even the packaging of food and beverages is already automated in many cases.
Due to demographic changes, companies are facing a challenge related to staff recruitment. During the pandemic, the restaurant industry lost 23.4% of its staff. Recruiting and training new professionals costs not only time but also money. For example, an annual average of 18 sick days are taken by cashiers, in part due to heavy workloads. In addition, the number of sick days is driven up by vacation entitlements. The process of billing at the conventional cash register is time-consuming and prone to errors, as work has to be done under high time pressure.
Efficient AI solutions offer the advantage that they usually enable simple and fast scaling of the offering. A technically high-quality digital solution can be easily implemented in a single restaurant as well as in an expansion with 20 stores. Self-service terminals are already common in many restaurants.
Digital solutions such as the Blink app from VisioLab speed up the payment process. Food and drinks are automatically recognized by a camera. Within seconds, the order is booked into the POS system and contactless payment can be made.
Overall, the entire checkout process is significantly accelerated, resulting in the minimization of time and costs. The costs saved can be invested elsewhere, thus significantly driving business growth.
This blog post critically examines the efficacy of self-checkout systems in the retail industry, drawing insights from Amanda Mull's article in "The Atlantic" and Nathaniel Meyersohn's piece in CNN Business. Initially hailed for their potential to reduce labor costs and streamline customer experiences, these systems have faced significant challenges, including high setup costs, maintenance issues, and mixed customer reactions. The post further explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence in redefining self-checkouts. VisioLab's innovative AI-based solution, which leverages visual object detection technology, is highlighted as a game-changer that overcomes the limitations of traditional self-checkout systems, offering an efficient, cost-effective, and user-friendly alternative that promises immediate return on investment and enhanced customer satisfaction.
VisioLab shares the success story of their collaboration with Sodexo Live!, highlighting how their AI-powered self-checkout solution transformed the customer experience at live events. The technology, featuring a proprietary visual self-checkout and automated food recognition system, was piloted across several Sodexo Live! venues, leading to significantly reduced wait times, increased transaction accuracy, and a notable boost in revenue. The post details the efficiency of the VisioLab system, the positive impact on both staff and customers, and looks forward to further innovations in enhancing live event experiences.
Since the Corona crisis, there has been a real shortage of staff in catering establishments. Due to numerous lockdowns, they have been reorienting themselves professionally.
Self-service checkouts are the trend. According to an EHI study, self-service checkouts were already in use in more than 1,200 retail stores in August - in the restaurant trade, the checkout without cashier is still new.
The classic cash register with a drawer for cash has faithfully accompanied us for more than a century. Yet in just a few years, it could be a relic of the past.
