Self-Service Order Interface

NOTE: OLO under Noah Glass has turned this into a 25 Billion dollar company.

Chair:

Noah Glass - OLO

Members:

Noah Glass - OLO

Richard Halter - ARTS

Zerrick Pearson - Five Guys Enterprises

Kaustubh Jagtap - Yum! Brands

H. Paul Gay - Epson America, Inc.

Andrew Murray - OLO

Charlie Sourhada - NAFEM

Leonid Rubakhin - Epicor

Jim Melvin - Self

Chris Droz - PAR

Robert Kantor - PAR

Martyn Holland - HMS Host

Ron Kjelden - Cisco Systems

?Contributors:

?Dave Hoffman - MICROS

Liz Daitch - NCR (Radiant)

Flavio Diomende - Xpient

Jeff Riley - RSPA (Dinerware)

Overview

When one talks about a self-service interface one must first understand the business value associated with online ordering.? Once this is understood the value of a standard interface can be addressed.

Self Service Ordering

?Mobile Ordering:

Whether a customer is off-premise or on-premise, mobile ordering can allow the customer to access the store’s real-time menu, so that he can order and pay from his mobile phone to save time. The customer can avoid having to repeat “the usual” order, avoid exposing credit card details to the store or its employees, and skip ahead of other customers who are waiting in line to order with the cashier. Mobile ordering can also allow the customer to “check-in” to indicate that he is on-premise at the store or at another relevant location, or place an order for delivery by specifying delivery details (e.g. delivery address, time requested, etc.).

?Web Ordering:

When a customer is visiting the restaurant website or another website that lists nearby restaurants, online ordering can allow the customer to access the store’s real-time menu, so that he can order from a desktop computer to save time. The customer can avoid having to repeat “the usual” order, avoid exposing credit card details to the store or its employees, and skip ahead of other customers who are waiting in line to order with the cashier. Online ordering can also allow the customer to place an order for delivery by specifying delivery details (e.g. delivery address, time requested, etc.).

?Kiosk for Line-Busting:

When a customer has to wait for a cashier to take an order and ring up a transaction at the point of sale terminal, that customer may have to wait in a line of other customers until the cashier is ready to take the order. Furthermore, that customer may have to repeat “the usual” order each time, spending extra time to communicate their order and any special instructions. This situation leads to both frustration for the customer and suboptimal throughput capacity for the restaurant. All forms of self service ordering, especially kiosks for in-store customers, allow the customer to order on his own by effectively making multiple simultaneous sessions constantly available.

?Kiosk for Table-Based Ordering:

When a customer has to wait for a server to take an order or process payment (bringing bill, collecting payment, making change), that customer may have to wait for a server who has other responsibilities (e.g. other customer’s orders and bills). This situation leads to both frustration for the customer and suboptimal throughput capacity (table turns) for the restaurant. All forms of self-service ordering, especially kiosks for in-store table service customers, allow the customer to order on his own by effectively making multiple simultaneous sessions constantly available.

?Call Center and Phone Calls:

When a customer calls the store directly, he runs the risk of getting a busy line.? With the clerk on the line attending to another shopper, the customer can be put on hold or worse not get through at all.? It is not uncommon for a frustrated customer to take their business elsewhere.? All forms of self-service ordering, especially call-center ordering for phone customers, allow the customer to order on his own by effectively making multiple simultaneous sessions constantly available.

?With all forms of self-service ordering, during the session with the customer, the retailer can help the customer by displaying what is currently in stock and available for purchase.? They can even guide the customer with suggestive selling to help the customer get a better experience.? This is very important if the customer does not know the alternatives available to support their purchase.

?When a customer can make his own selections through a clear user interface, the restaurant can improve order accuracy.? Think: how many times have you gone through the drive thru lane and struggled trying to communicate with the clerk only to arrive at the pickup window and find out you have the wrong things in your bag?

?While the customer is involved in the self-service ordering experience, the retailer has an excellent opportunity to enroll the customer in the retailer’s loyalty program.? This can potentially turn an unknown shopper into a loyal customer who will return regularly.

?Once the customer has finished the self-service order, payment is easy through a number of different alternatives from in-store credit to credit cards to service like PayPal.? This payment capability benefits the retailer as the order is pre-paid.? That helps reduce the customer’s wait time when they arrive at the store to pick up their order and avoid the risk of a “no-show” or “walk-off” customer that could lead to wastage and increased food costs (increased cost of goods sold).? From a delivery point of view, it reduces the amount of cash the driver needs to carry and therefore reducing the potential for robbery.

?What happens if there is a rush on the ordered items?? By having communication back to the customer the retailer can cancel the order or direct the customer to a different store.? It does not bode well for customer relations if the customer arrives at the store only to find out the store has run out of their item(s).

?Once a customer has established a presence with the retailer, it is possible for the retailer to make it easier for the customer to repeat their order process.? For example in foodservice the customer may like their hamburger with a particular selection of condiments or in retail the customer prefers a particular brand of shirts.? This simplifies the purchasing process and builds customer loyalty.? On top of that if the retailer knows the customer is within the store, they can deliver the purchase directly to the customer.

?An interesting new model is to allow a group of people to create one order to take advantage of group pricing.? One can send out an e-mail to their friends/group.? From there everyone can order off the same order.? To trigger a discount that order can be submitted as one order.

?Why SSO

One of the most important characteristic of a standardized interface is the ability to integrate with multiple different applications on different platforms.? The retailers can now add/upgrade/change a variety of systems without the enormous cost of re-engineering all the interfaces.? The cost doesn’t necessarily go away but is dramatically reduced.? This further extends to having the ability to support multi-concept stores or stores with multiple lease departments under one umbrella.?

?It also allows multiple vendors to play together in the same store.? That gives the retailer the ability to choose vendors who specialize in particular domains.? The retailer gets the best of breed products in each domain.

?Another important value is the use of an ARTS standardized dictionary of retail terms.? When two companies try to integrate, one of the major problems is the use of the terms, i.e. I call it a cancel, and you call it void.? A standardized dictionary reduces errors caused by misinterpretation of terms.? Reducing errors saves money.

?For most store operations, the processes are well known and well established; everybody sells things.? By having the common processes clearly defined in a standard allows the vendor to focus on what makes them unique.? Starting with a well-defined target reduces the time to market and therefore the development costs provide a real ROI to the vendor.

?A side benefit is the market share.? When one has a proprietary interface, they own a particular retailer.? The downside is the retailer will not upgrade because of the cost of any changes.? The end result is sales cycles are elongated.? Being able to upgrade pieces with little impact on the whole, gives the retailer the option of upgrading on a more frequent basis.?

?It also gives them the flexibility to change directions on a dime.? When some new application comes along, i.e. mobile, they can dynamically upgrade their environment without a significant impact on the entire enterprise.

?That makes the entire market larger giving the vendor a smaller piece of a much larger pie.? For the retailer it helps increases sales by exposing more channels to which the retailer can sell.