Imagine this scenario: It’s a busy Saturday night, and the restaurant is packed with customers. Everything’s hopping, and everybody in the house is happy and eating. Suddenly, there’s a catastrophe in the kitchen area.
The tickets are all misplaced. The traditional way of getting orders from the Point of Sale (POS) to the kitchen has broken down, everything is a mess now, and everyone is unhappy.
Whether you are a quick-service restaurant or a large kitchen team, disasters, as mentioned above, can topple your restaurant’s business.
Now imagine a system that allowed you to track the customers’ order right from the kitchen without having to come to the counter every time. The kitchen staff will be able to work more efficiently. Also, as there is no involvement of the traditional pen and paper, there are no chances of the customer’s orders getting misplaced.
With technology being the main drive force of innovation, such a system does exist in real life, and it is called the Kitchen Display System (KDS).
KDS is typically a kitchen display for orders that integrate with the Point of Sales software. It displays orders that have been placed using the POS and acts as an intermediary between the wait staff and the kitchen staff.
Three Reasons Why You Should Invest in a Kitchen Display System
Now that you understand how a Kitchen Display System works, it’s also essential to understand why it is crucial to invest in one. Though it is primarily a new-age technology, it also offers multiple benefits that will positively impact your restaurant operations.
1] Simplified Cooking Processes
The majority of the chefs would prefer to know that they have to prepare 48 wings in total than eight servings of six chicken wings. Providing your chef with this simplified value rather than mental math helps them with more time to prepare and cook food while avoiding costly mistakes.
Some restaurants also install kitchen display systems that feature an all-day display. This provides the chef with exact value as to how many pizzas need to be in the oven, how many patties need to be on the grill, and how many servings of fries need to be in the fryers.
Paper tickets cause disorganization. They are often a cause of confusion to the chefs and interrupt the whole operation. For instance, with paper tickets, it’s easy for two chefs to see an order of grilled chicken and start preparing it.
KDS helps layout the assignments and responsibilities and can lessen confusion resulting in faster delivery.
2] Reduced Waste
A secondary benefit of installing a KDS in your restaurant is that they aid you in reducing food wastage. Also, they cut down your paper roll costs.
The average cost of a case of paper roll ranges between $50–$60. This means that a restaurant using a case per week spends $2600–$3120 per year on paper rolls. Thus, by eliminating paper tickets, you can cut a drastic amount of money on your paper roll costs.
In the U.S., over 12.4 million trees and 13 billion gallons of water are used every year to create paper receipts, resulting in 1.5 billion pounds of waste and 4 billion pounds of Co2. Thus, eliminating paper tickets also leave a positive impact on the environment.
Furthermore, installing a KDS results in more focused and efficient restaurant operations by cutting down food wastage that happens due to miscommunication between the front and backend of the house.
3] Integrated Online Ordering Processes
Surveys have found that around 60 percent of U.S. consumers order delivery or takeout once a week.
Kitchen Display Systems directly routes orders from the restaurant’s online ordering systems to the kitchen display screens. This cuts down the requirement of staff members to manually re-enter the order into the POS system.
On the other hand, if you prefer reviewing and approving the online orders before sending them to the kitchen, the POS system will allow for that as well. You can set permissions in the POS system where a manager should approve the online order before they get sent to the kitchen.
Thanks to this full integration, the restaurant operations now don’t require extra manual effort from your staff.
Kitchen Display Systems – The Need of the Hour
Kitchen Display Systems aren’t just for big cafes and multi-kitchen restaurants; they are for restaurants of shapes and sizes. KDS results in smoother operation and increases efficiency, which are two essential factors in offering excellent customer experience. Only when you leave your customers satisfied will they keep coming for more.
So, set your kitchen up with a KDS and enjoy efficiency, revenue, and productivity. With this simple addition, you will soon witness notable changes.
