Digitize Your Catering Company with Catering Management Software

Today,  the catering company is a growing sector where consumers spend more than twice as much as they did a few years ago. This growth has been greatly influenced by the impact that technology has had on the different areas of these companies. The whole sector, and especially the fast-food chains, has been very receptive to incorporating innovations into their activity. On the other hand, consumers seek in every interaction with the business unit. It goes through the different channels, a high-quality experience, both in the final product of food and drink. In other related aspects, that are also part of the purchase, such as comfort, attention, speed, personalization, etc.

It is therefore not surprising that the leading restaurants and catering chains are undertaking digital transformation processes by using catering management software to increase the market shares in a highly competitive environment. The winners in this competition are those restaurants and catering that invest intelligently in technology. Not only from an operational point of view but as a real revolution in their strategy and business model.

Digital Transformation of Catering Company Inwards and Outwards

First of all, a catering company must bear in mind that the digital transformation has no limit to the acquisition of technology both hardware and software. The digital transformation implies a change of paradigm based on the opportunities offered by technological advances to produce a profound change in organizations and even in business models. In this sense, the restaurant and catering sector has known how to adapt perfectly to this philosophy and has incorporated the digital mentality into its organizations. That is all to the point where we find ourselves with authentic new business models, such as the appearance of home food distribution companies such as Just Eat or Uber Eats, for example.

For all catering company, by taking time to review your current processes and procedures, understanding where you’re spending excess hours, losing sales opportunities, or initiatives because of the amount of manual required, you can begin to understand the types of software and technology that could help digitally transform your business. For example, if you’re finding your customer orders over the phone are becoming prone to errors. Launching a catering-specific eCommerce website could alleviate that strain. To make it easier, there is catering software as a solution for all your business problems. If you’re using basic spreadsheet software to manage your accounts, invoices, and payroll, you may want to consider accounting software to automate those tasks. Regardless of the type of software and technology you decide to implement, we’ve put together straightforward ways to get you started on the digital transformation of your catering business.

Straightforward Ways to Make Your Catering Company More Digital 

There are a few ways to make a catering business more digital.  HashMicro will let you know about 5 straightforward ways to make your catering business more digital without a big wait.

Increased flexibility and employee satisfaction through digital staff planning

Several activities such as staffing – planning and time-intensive – place high demands should be on management. Catering software support personnel planning and management, duty roster creation and controlling. This benefits both the company and its employees, who can easily enter their preferred working hours, days off, etc.

Digital accounting for more commercial control

After a certain company size, many administrative tasks arise in the back office. Switching to a digital accounting system makes work easier: significantly less effort, but more transparency and control, including mobile working.

Intelligent reservation systems place guests and offer data sovereignty

Many catering company uses reservation systems that don’t suit them. Catering software from HashMicro takes a different approach. HashMicro automates the process from food orders to guest evaluation. Here, the placement of customers is done with the help of artificial intelligence without having to program the system. Variable capacity or overbooking can also be automated in HashMicro’s catering software.

Simplify the payment process for guest groups

Taking orders and collecting the bill are time-consuming processes – especially under pressure like during busy periods. Digitization measures mean relief, but they want to be well thought out. Order taking is the best opportunity to generate additional sales and turnover through consultation, to build a bond with the guest and thus leave a positive impression.

Lower operating costs, consistent quality and greater efficiency 

Catering and restaurateurs looking to launch a new business unit or remodel their kitchen should consider using a system kitchen. The initial investment is comparable to that of a traditional kitchen, but the system kitchen offers several advantages. Digital control of operations simplifies processes, ensures consistent food quality, and allows for quick turnaround. A system kitchen can get by with fewer and less-skilled cooks and still achieve high efficiency. 

Easy Steps to Digitize Your Catering Company with Catering Management Software

There are several steps to digitize your catering business with catering management software. These digitized processes will help your business grow faster, run easier and make more profits. Let’s take a look at the 5 steps in digitizing your catering business with catering management software.

Review your operations for manual, cumbersome or error-prone processes

This step will take time, as you may have done things the same way for so long. You’ve developed shortcuts that make certain activities feel efficient. In another point, you may just be starting out so you’re unsure where your operational roadblocks could lie. 

If you’re an established caterer, start documenting:

• • • Complaints you hear from your staff or customers
    • Hours spent on manual processes, such as ordering taking, payroll, marketing, updating your menu online
    • Errors that occur in your services, staffing, production, deliveries, etc.

From this list, break down the themes you see to better understand where technology could help. For example, you may receive complaints from staff. Whenever there are changes to staffing for your catering events, they don’t receive timely notifications or have a singular source of truth for the current schedule. Or maybe you realize you’ve been spending 10 hours every week manually typing your customer information into spreadsheets to keep track of their profiles. 

If you’re a new caterer, answer the questions:

• • • What kind of catering will you be offering?
    • How will your customers place orders?
    • What types of payment will you receive?
    • Will you hire staff?
    • What kind of marketing will you participate in?

When you have these answers, you can more clearly see how your full operations will play out and thus the type of technology you may want to implement. For example, if you want to have a quality eCommerce website for ease of online ordering, you will want to find an eCommerce platform fit to your needs. Or if you will be doing drop-off catering, then finding transportation or delivery software could be beneficial.

Research commonly used technology in your industry

Spend time connecting with colleagues or your industry network, learning what software and technology and any feedback they may have. Additionally, using comparison and rating websites is a good way to learn what actual users of specific systems have to say, as well as easily compare prices and feature suites. Additionally, be sure you’ve forecasted your budget to have a clear view of how much you’re able to spend on your desired software, so you can be realistic during your research.

Ensure your file storage and communications are digitally-based

In today’s work world, having secure, accessible file storage has moved from a filing cabinet in the boss’s office to a cloud-based server, allowing entire teams located anywhere in the world to work from a central repository. Similarly, having dispersed communication channels that are prone to issues, such as writing things down, texting or calling, can complicate your business operations by not having a single source of truth or history of communication you can refer back to.

Explore software suites to your needs

It’s easy to get caught up in “the hot, new thing” when it comes to technology, but when you’re deciding for your business that can’t be the case. It is imperative to keep yourself focused on your actual business needs, budget and goals so you don’t overextend yourself or end up with a complicated technology setup that you barely use or don’t understand.

Create documentation and team training on new technology

Lastly, after you’ve completed your business analysis, researched common catering technology, established a baseline for digital file storage and communication, and decided on the software you’ll implement, you can finally set up your chosen systems. This is an exciting and important step because you have finally reached the actualization of your business digitalization. 

After you’ve got your systems set up, create process documentation,troubleshooting, and even make a “cheat sheet” with important details or contacts for each software. When it’s done, schedule training with your appropriate team members and empower them. It helps them to practice and own systems they’ll be using frequently.

Conclusion 

There is no stopping the trend of digitalization, automation and AI will increasingly find their way into the catering industry. Cost and personnel pressures are forcing the development but can change the expectations from the customers side.  Digitalization is not only positive in terms of profitability and customer satisfaction but also contributes to employer branding. Employees appreciate employers who provide them with a modern work environment so they can perform at their best without disruption or discomfort. Digitization is therefore a win-win situation for everyone. 

Move to the best catering management software from HashMicro to automate your production management business. Most importantly, you can increase the productivity and profitability of your catering business with the most comprehensive catering software in South East Asia. Find out more about the best manufacturing software pricing scheme calculation by downloading the pricing scheme calculations beforehand. To experience the benefits of the software yourself, you can request a free demo here.