Franchise Automation

Fast food restaurants are getting very fast indeed. Recently fast food leader McDonald’s has been rolling out automated kiosks in their restaurants, replacing the human ordering clerk, to help people place their orders and get served more quickly and accurately. Rather than stand in line waiting to order, the customer is presented with a series of touch screens where a person can order exactly what they want. McDonald’s stresses that their intention is not to replace the human ordering clerk, but merely to add another option for consumers to choose from. And since ordering clerks and cashiers are no longer needed at all, as the customer can merely swipe their credit or debit card directly on the kiosk much like an atm, why not offer banking and cash services and compete with ATMs while they’re at it? People don’t just order, they can open personal accounts that save their eating preferences on the company computer.

But fast food industry analysts are not so kind in their opinions as to the consequences for workers. Many feel that the advent of kiosks is the end of fast food workers as we know them. Consumer groups and minimum wage advocates fear lower demand for low-wage employees could put negative pressure on minimum wage. But the news from analysts is not all negative for workers. Some see the need for two people to be hired in the kitchen for every one lost at the checkout line.

In addition to in store ordering kiosks, people may soon be able to order their food from home via their smart phone and pay for it online as well. McDonald’s is partnering with UberEats, a food delivery service that will deliver your McDonald’s order directly to your door. In the not so distant future, UberEats could be replaced with a inexpensive drone delivery service. Just print out the ordering diagram and put it outside for the drone sensors to read and drop off your food.

Now mega-large companies like McDonalds, Dominos, Subway, and the like can afford to roll out proprietary software to its tens of thousands of franchisees, but smaller companies will need to hire automation experts to implement the online ordering, payment, and drone delivery systems of their products.

Managing and reducing labor costs are a critical element of turning a profit for a small business. In the years to come, franchise opportunities are sure to abound in the ordering, payment, and drone delivery market for companies from oil change franchises to fast food restaurants. If you have a background in a particular market segment, you may want to consider an IT business that incorporates your expertise with the new online purchase, payment, and delivery paradigm sweeping the globe and purchase a business automation franchise to capitalize on the online purchasing trend.