At present, all walks of life are transforming towards digital, so is the finance and taxation industry, especially the catering industry. Many large enterprises are promoting digital transformation, chain enterprises are laying out digital transformation, and many catering practitioners do not know what digital is. Today we will talk about what is digitalization in the restaurant industry, why it should be implemented, and explain how large enterprises do it.

1. What is digitalization of the catering industry?

The State Information Center gives the clear meaning of "digitalization of the catering industry" in the Report on the Development of digitalization of China's Catering Industry: Digitization of the catering industry is the specific application of industrial digitization in the catering industry. Digitization of the catering industry takes digital information and knowledge, that is, data, as the key production factors, combined with the integration of modern information infrastructure and information and communication technology, and ultimately promotes the transformation and upgrading of the production, distribution, exchange and consumption of the catering industry.

Digital catering is defined in the Statistical Classification of Digital Economy and Its Core Industries (2021) of the National Bureau of Statistics: digital catering refers to efficient, accurate and convenient modern catering activities carried out by information technology.

2. How to understand the digitalization of the catering industry?

In recent years, with the continuous development, iteration and application promotion of digital technology, sit-down food in the catering industry has rapidly evolved from human ordering to scanning code ordering. Take-out food delivery is not only an instant delivery of online ordering, but also a combination of short video and online live broadcast. This form of short video marketing and online live broadcast marketing is the most intuitive experience for consumers in the digital transformation.

For large catering enterprises, catering digitization covers many links: supply chain digitization, production and processing digitization, management digitization, transaction digitization, and marketing digitization.

3. Why do large catering companies seek digital transformation?

The domestic catering industry has changed from an incremental market to a stock market, in the case of a limited total market, in the era of rapid development of the Internet, big data and other new generation of information technology, digitalization has become an important tool to help catering enterprises increase income, reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Increase revenue: Food and beverage merchants obtain more orders and increase business flow through digital online platforms;

Cost reduction: Reduce customer acquisition and service costs in information search, pre-sales matching, performance distribution, and after-sales service;

Efficiency: Digital order delivery system, food treasure printer, online invoice issuing platform and other pre-middle and post-service systems have greatly improved the efficiency of stores.

4. Digital transformation case -- Starbucks

As a world-renowned coffee chain with more than 30,000 stores, Starbucks accelerates its digital transformation and improves its service level by building a digital dining environment and enhancing consumer stickiness.

Starbucks' digital catering includes five aspects: First, it is the first to open mobile payment, and the second is to open free Internet service, which will share digital to consumers. The third is the online take-out order - "special star delivery" service, which improves the number of customers in the store market through takeaway services.

The fourth is to realize the control of logistics and information flow through information system. The use of radio frequency identification technology (RFID), the use of electronic tags to replace bar codes for commodity identification, real-time access to inventory information. Using RFID tags, the temperature inside the truck is measured and recorded, and the quality of raw materials and transportation and distribution are timely controlled.

5. Empower product value through digital publicity means, position itself as the third space outside of home and office, attract consumers to stay in Starbucks stores, and turn product consumption into value provision.

Starbucks brand is a typical digital catering application case, at present, most of the first three digital applications of Starbucks have been realized, but the digital management means, publicity means and service means, still need enterprises to continue to promote, practice and optimize adjustment, to help industrial upgrading!