Catering 4.0

Five ways that technology is transforming the catering industry

By Stewart Mcluskey, executive director – Education, Civica

In early 2011, the German government embarked on a high-tech new growth strategy centred on introducing more digitalization in manufacturing. It meant combining technologies such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, robotics and AI to bring new levels of efficiency and automation to advanced manufacturing. The term ‘Industrie 4.0’ was coined and the Fourth Industrial Revolution had begun.

Over 14 years on and manufacturing is still one of the most high-tech sectors out there, benefitting from streamlined processes and Big Data-led decision making. The adoption of advanced process improvement technologies, however, is now a familiar story across many other sectors too, not least in the public sector catering industry. With the pace of change so rapid, there is really no other option than to keep up.

Introducing Catering 4.0

Transformation through technology is manifesting in a number of different ways as the catering sector goes through its very own revolution. A divide is growing between digitally mature organisations and those that are slow to change. This is Catering 4.0, where technology is now the key to succeeding in delivering nutritious and compliant meals in public sector settings.

In today’s climate, support from technology is not just a nice-to-have, but an essential way to stay competitive and grow business. This is especially important at a time when contract caterers are facing cost management pressures at every juncture, from procurement to menu design to productivity.

No longer is the battleground centred on finding good margins in the food supply chain, it's about taking advantage of cloud technology and data analytics to drive process optimisation and better decision-making from end-to-end.

Here we take a look at five ways that Catering 4.0 is transforming the industry:

1. Improving procurement control and visibility

Sourcing materials and working with suppliers has become increasingly challenging as the global food supply chain has faced significant disruptions in recent years. The surging costs of energy, fertilizer, wheat, corn, sunflower oil and animal feed to name a few have all hit operational costs hard, while international geo-political events continue to disrupt trade. This all makes it much more challenging to plan ahead.

For the contract caterer, more than ever, procurement has become a moving feast that requires constant monitoring and the agility to pivot between different suppliers so that budgets, deadlines and commitments are all met.

Availability of ingredients, price comparisons, traceability and supplier performance are some of the variables that procurement teams need to navigate. These can change on a regular basis, as well as between different locations within a portfolio. With Catering 4.0, procurement is now centralised and aided by smart technology that integrates supplier data from across all operations through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

E-procurement systems are giving caterers greater ability to automate purchasing, compare supplier prices and manage orders in real time by feeding supplier data directly into their own intelligence. They will know when supplies are running low or delayed, any changes in the cost of goods, how a supplier partner is performing, and where the best prices can be found. It provides the caterer with far greater visibility, control and timely data that can better inform purchasing decisions.

2. Reducing waste in stock management

Food wastage has always been one of the biggest challenges in catering, not just from a cost management perspective but also an ethical one as caterers work towards greater sustainability. Whether it occurs via spoilage, during the food preparation stage, or if food is being left at the service counter or unfinished on plates, knowledge of how well different lines are performing is essential in cutting waste. In Catering 4.0 this also becomes a centralised, data-led practice.

Digitised stock management means that caterers can now safely operate with much leaner supplies, knowing exactly how much of each stock line is needed, its shelf life and when it needs to be reordered. This is all accessible from a simple dashboard that removes the administrative burden and risk of human error that occurs when keeping stock information up to date manually.

Again, having a tighter grip on the data aids better decision making, which can apply to things like portion control or menu refinement. Caterers can also track the food miles and carbon impact across all stock lines to gain a full picture of their inventory and push towards their net zero goals. As the adage goes, what can be measured, can be improved. Without Catering 4.0, achieving decarbonisation goals just wouldn’t be possible.

3. Agile menu engineering

Evolving menus to meet new regulations, cater for a change of season, or to adapt according to popular choices from site to site can be supported by a variety of technologies in Catering 4.0.

In addition to the stock management and sustainability tracking systems mentioned above, data collection is also improved with modern Point-of-Sale systems that capture insights on customer ordering preferences. Effective CRM further fills the data pool with information on customer behaviours and feedback. This can be especially important when considering appropriate choices for either hospital patients or school meals. All data is collated into a single pane of glass view where it can be analysed and turned into actionable intelligence.

Since these data collection systems are all living alongside real world operations, the information feeding menu engineering is based on the most up-to-date view. Intelligent analytics then allow caterers to accurately forecast future states and the impact of any changes to their menu choices. In this system, operators can keep menus under constant and close watch so that any opportunities for improvements, or possible challenges coming down the track, can be quickly identified and dealt with in the most cost-effective way.

With this level of visibility, caterers are now able to better understand demand and, importantly, what drives profitability.

4. Compliance

A critical element of any menu update is that it remains compliant and up to date with allergen information. There simply isn’t any room for failure here, since the alternative can be fatal. Managing an allergen update across every menu and on every site used to be a challenge, but with Catering 4.0 it is now possible to deliver these updates easily from a single, centralised record. Data management practices have matured so that records are now consistent and interoperable across the full tech stack, meaning that changes only need to be made once to be replicated in every applicable instance.

There are also great uses of technology to assist in identifying those with allergies at the point of service. Biometric identifiers such fingerprints will immediately flag those with specific dietary requirements so that they are never given the wrong meal – something that is especially valuable in settings where recipients may not be in the best situation to communicate their allergies. The fingerprints are stored abstractly, meaning that no further personal data is included in the record, which makes it an extremely secure, reliable and compliant way to keep customers safe.

5. Workforce management

Public sector caterers have an essential and meaningful service to provide in terms of giving school children or hospital patients nutritious meals that can really impact their outcomes. In some cases, it may be the only hot, nutritious meal that they get in a day. Making sure that staff feel valued and want to stay in the job is extremely important, but high staff turnover does continue to be a challenge across the catering sector.

Where technology solutions are moving the dial in terms of operational enhancements, there is still room for more employers to adopt the same approach in their staff retention programmes. Smarter caterers and now introducing digital workforce management strategies that include a variety of tools aimed at delivering consistent and positive experiences throughout the entire employee lifecycle. These can include learning and development programmes, but also financial wellbeing and occupational health support, or simply ways to demonstrate that you are a tech-first employer through every HR touchpoint. Afterall, Catering 4.0 is about business transformation, which applies equally to internal processes as it does to customer-facing operations.

To find out how Civica can set your organisation up for Catering 4.0, get in touch today.