In the bustling world of cloud kitchens, where every order holds significance, operational efficiency is the cornerstone of success. Speed is not just a luxury but a necessity in the food delivery business. Delays in order fulfilment not only leads to frustration but also result in unhappy customers.
According to Beambox, delayed orders account for 50 percent of calls to customer service. However, the significance of speed cannot be overstated, as 30 pecent of customers are willing to pay more for fast delivery. Amidst these demands, cloud kitchens face a myriad of challenges that threaten to disrupt operations and compromise customer satisfaction.
Operators face a multitude of challenges that threaten to disrupt operations and compromise customer satisfaction. Leading online food delivery platforms in the country work with over 1000 kitchens, serving over a million orders a week, requiring operational teams to optimise every service and maintenance need with minimal impact on operations. From equipment failures to maintenance complexities, these hurdles demand innovative solutions to ensure smooth functioning and optimal performance.
Navigating challenges in cloud kitchens
Cloud kitchens operate in an extremely fast-paced and demanding environment, placing a high degree of strain on every piece of equipment in use. With high availability of a variety of equipment and services being mandatory, every minute of downtime may impact customer orders and overall client satisfaction scores. However, with space constraints, equipment backups are not always feasible, and due to highly specialised and optimal staffing, self-maintenance is not a viable option. Cloud kitchens operate 18×7, and each kitchen utilises over 100 devices across HVAC, Electrical, electronic, and cookware categories.
Maintenance requests range from simple tasks like replacing a light bulb to more complex needs like servicing an HVAC unit. Given the high emphasis on safety, quality, and hygiene, specialised technicians are required to resolve different types of issues, while maintaining proper audit logs for every request and resolution. With kitchens spread out over multiple locations in a city, and 18×7 operations in most cases, coordinating technicians with varying skills, base locations, and shift schedules is crucial. Routing a service request to the right technician based on location intelligence and other business rules is paramount to resolving issues as quickly as possible. Many pieces of equipment have regular maintenance needs that can be scheduled in advance, while others may require maintenance based on predictive failure, incorrect usage, end-of-life issues, or inherent reliability concerns. However, with an offline process to manage this complex and critical part of operations, many gaps exist. Resolution times are often unpredictable, and they routinely exceed guidelines. Improper fixes can lead to repeat issues and reduced equipment life. The lack of digitised data prevents the use of analytics to identify bottlenecks and necessary process changes. An AI-powered, real-time, mobile-based, intelligent field service management solution tailored to the specific environment would essentially improve overall operational efficiency.
Innovative solutions: Leveraging AI and LCNC technology
With the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) alongside Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC) platforms, simple solutions can be created to achieve the goal of an average issue Turnaround Time (TAT) of under 10 minutes, saving significant hours of potential kitchen downtime and mitigating loss of orders and poor customer feedback. Cloud kitchens are poised to transform challenges into opportunities and usher in a new era of seamless operations.
Adopting AI alongside LCNC offers a pathway to streamlining operations and enhancing efficiency in cloud kitchens. A user-friendly mobile application, empowered by AI capabilities can enable kitchen operators and technicians to report issues in real-time, facilitating prompt resolution and seamless communication. It helps kitchen operators and field technicians with a real-time ticketing and unified communication channel. The application aids in reporting equipment issues as soon as they are identified, with relevant data to ensure proper routing to the appropriate technician. An intelligent routing algorithm utilises technician skills, base locations, and the current roster to identify the closest available technician for the reported issue. The application also includes real-time notifications and technician acknowledgment processes, with re-assignment logic in case of unavailability or delays. Additionally, it predicts the arrival times for technicians based on locational intelligence to plan kitchen downtime if necessary. The application offers a request mechanism for specialised help from other resources, spare parts, or backup equipment. It also documents evidence of issue resolution with Geofencing and provides an approval mechanism for successful issue closure and technician rating.
A contextual dashboard solution for regional leaders and the back-office provides a real-time view into the status of different categories of issues, with drill-down options by country, region, distributor, etc. It monitors the efficiency of technical support teams and quality parameters based on reported issues and resolutions. Furthermore, it identifies bottlenecks in operations, such as delayed resolutions or replacements, and assesses the frequency of different types of issues indicative of training needs or changing equipment brands.
A web portal for the back-office and field technical teams facilitates tracking tasks and communications. The portal supports staff on-boarding and rostering, maps technician skills and base locations, and tracks efficiency at individual, team, and city levels.
The AI-based mobile app can be utilised by thousands of kitchen staff, technicians, and administrators to manage access and master data. Central and regional managers can leverage the app to analyse data, handle exceptions, and drive process change based on analytics.
As cloud kitchens embrace AI and LCNC technology, they are poised to pioneer a new era of efficiency and excellence. By streamlining processes, reducing downtime, and enhancing customer satisfaction, these solutions hold the key to unlocking the full potential of cloud kitchens in the food delivery ecosystem. With the tools and capabilities at their disposal, cloud kitchens have the opportunity to transform challenges into opportunities and set new standards of operational excellence in the dynamic and competitive landscape of the food delivery industry.
Case study – A prominent player in the on-demand food delivery, quick commerce, and cloud kitchen industry confronted numerous challenges across its network of 900 cloud kitchens. These challenges included operational downtime, equipment strain, maintenance complexity, manual processes, and technician management. To address these issues, the company implemented an AI-based solution comprising a self-help mobile application, intelligent routing algorithm, predictive maintenance, contextual dashboards, and more. This solution empowered its workforce of over 2000 users, enabling them to achieve an average turn-around time for issue resolution of under 10 minutes. By leveraging intelligent rule-based routing of tickets to the closest available and qualified technicians, the solution ensured swift and efficient resolution of issues. Additionally, it facilitated auto re-routing of requests based on technician availability and tracked successful issue resolution through geo-fencing and documentary evidence. Furthermore, the solution facilitated process improvements by analysing data related to equipment health, failure rates, technician capabilities, and staff training needs.
The author, Akilan Vajravelu, is director-projects, at Zvolv. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of hoteldealers.in.