“It’s not just an order-taking system – it can also make your
FULLY INTEGRATED Crucial to the success of mobile apps is bring- ing them in as part of a holistic technology strategy. “A joined-up solution will bring every aspect of a customer’s interaction together, allowing for advance ordering, payment with mobile devices and the instant distribution of loyalty rewards,” Taylor says. “A piecemeal approach, on the other hand, where an oper- ator relies on a mixed grill of old and new technologies, will mean customers enjoy only some benefits, with operators unable to achieve all the potential gains in efficiency, improved cashflow or increased customer loyalty and engagement.”
Integration needs to extend not only to the till, but also to the stock system, which, with the most advanced technologies, will in turn be linked to procurement. So if an outlet has run out of a pasta dish, then it will no longer appear on the app. Similarly, time-sensitive promotions should also marry up with the prices that are displayed on the app. “Integration is absolutely key,” Consterdine says. “You should not invest in any system that cannot integrate with all the elements of the total solution you need to run your outlet – and that includes how you run your loyalty programmes, how you take your bookings,
30 | Technology Prospectus 2018
operation run more smoothly” Daniel Spinath
revenue streams, businesses are then faced with deciding whether to take on four, five, six, even 10 extra staff, or invest in a piece of soft- ware that is affordable, supported properly and can do it all for them.”
your stock system, procurement, payments – and if you have an app, that needs to be inte- grated as well.” Even for smaller independent businesses, technology integration is without doubt the most important Epos trend of the past 12 months, according to Green, largely because of how much more complicated hos- pitality operations have become. “An independent hotel 10 years ago wouldn’t have been much more than a glo- rified bed and breakfast, but people’s drink- ing and recreational behaviours have changed significantly,” he explains. “Today, a hotel not only has to offers rooms, but also have a decent restaurant and probably some kind of leisure facility. With all these different
An integrated system that links to a hotel’s property management software (PMS) as well as online booking platforms like OpenTable and loyalty programmes can pull all the infor- mation into a single place, making it easier to run the business. Green says that these systems must be backed up with excellent support: “Larger Epos providers have always looked after their customers very well, but you also pay a lot of money for it. The software as a service model – the model Newbridge uses – is becoming more prominent and desirable in the indepen- dent market too. People want a piece of soft- ware that won’t break down often, but when it does go wrong or they do need extra staff train- ing, all it takes is a phone call.”
PICKING THE RIGHT OPTION The range of Epos systems available on the market is commensurate with the variety of hospitality businesses operating across the UK. The big change that Green anticipates for 2018 will be that the providers of those systems
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