Freedom of Choice: Grow with Innovative POS Solutions and Integration Partners

Freedom of Choice: Grow
                                 with Innovative POS Solutions
                                 and Integration Partners
                                 Nothing in recent memory has jolted the restaurant business quite like
                                 the explosive growth of third-party delivery. It’s been yet another
                                 wake-up call for operators, reminding them of the game-changing
                                 impact technology – especially mobile devices – can have on business
                                 and consumer behavior.

Oracle Food and Beverage         Most importantly, it highlights the critical need for restaurateurs to be able
is committed to helping
restaurateurs deliver            to respond to such volatile marketplace shifts with innovative technology
exceptional guest experiences,
drive dynamic growth and         of their own: a cloud-based, point-of-sale platform that brings best-of-
achieve greater profitability.
                                 breed solutions together via integrations.
We hope our whitepaper
aids in this pursuit.
                                 This whitepaper is designed to help restaurant operators with their POS
                                 selection process, explaining the urgent need for – and the benefits of –
                                 integration as well as a diverse ecosystem of solution partners. It provides
                                 industry research and third-party validation documenting such a platform
                                 as the best means to deliver experiences that meet guests’ escalating
                                 demands. It also offers a comparison with so-called “all-in-one” POS
                                 solutions, which might promise simplicity but often deliver it at the cost
                                 of stifling innovation.

                                 AMONG THE KEY TAKEAWAYS:
                                 • N
                                    othing is driving the demand for integration more than the explosive growth of third-party
                                   delivery – a market that’s expected to reach nearly $162 billion globally by 2023. It’s been
                                   fueled greatly by mobile devices: 77% of the U.S. population own smartphones. These
                                   two factors now mandate the continuous improvement of the automated delivery process,
                                   making integrations essential.

• A POS platform must be supported by an ecosystem of          There’s only
   diverse solution partners. By teaming with partners who      one way for
                                                              restaurateurs to
   relentlessly pioneer their respective specialties – from
                                                                stay ahead:
  front-of-house to back-of-house to customer-journey
   applications – Oracle Food and Beverage can deliver
  their “best-of-breed” innovations and a steady stream            Build a
                                                                restaurant
   of new opportunities to restaurateurs.                       technology
                                                                  solution
• Integration is the antithesis of “all-in-one” solutions,   that captivates
  which often have significant shortcomings: They restrict      new guests
   choice, increase costs over the long term, and hinder      and encourages
   innovation. Especially for growing restaurants, which           repeat
                                                                 business.
   inevitably will face new business challenges requiring
   specific best-of-breed solutions, using an all-in-one
   solution means hurdling obstacles to take advantage of
   better options.

Introduction
With the restaurant marketplace changing at blurring
speed, it’s more important than ever to be nimble
and capable to satisfy guests’ rising expectations and
deliver experiences that net rave Yelp reviews and create
Instagram-worthy moments. Guests today are seeking
the best experience based on life “rn” (right now);
they’re not necessarily looking to become a “regular” at
any establishment. Posing even greater challenges for
operators, such encounters likely will be deliveries where
chef and staff can’t influence the guest experience.

In such a state, there’s only one way for restaurateurs
to stay ahead:

Build a restaurant technology solution that captivates
new guests and encourages repeat business. It’s
centerpiece? A cloud-based, point-of-sale platform that           A combination of
provides operators options to innovate without restraint.     partners’ technologies and
That critical capability is what separates Oracle MICROS           Oracle MICROS
Cloud from so-called “all-in-one” solutions that can mire        Cloud product offers
businesses in mediocrity.                                            yet another

Oracle Food and Beverage’s flexibility allows                  pathway to innovation.

integrations with partners offering focused solutions
in an array of key areas, including labor and inventory         The inability to deliver

management, loyalty and analytics. The Oracle                       this degree of
MICROS Transaction Service is the data highway between            flexibility is where
restaurant data and the dozens of partners in the Oracle         ‘all-in-one’ solutions
Partner Network. This integration approach works best                  fall short.
when the platform manages billions of cloud transactions
from restaurant operators, covering the spectrum of single
operators to internationally franchised brands. Such data
volume and customer breadth drives Oracle MICROS
innovation and enables partners to not only process
batched data but interact with POS users in real time.
These direct integrations appear as natural extensions
of the POS experience. By contrast, some vendors don’t
allow partners to integrate with POS in real time.

Another approach delivers innovation to customers by
continuously deploying powerful features to the Oracle
MICROS Cloud platform. We understand that data drives
all decisions in the restaurant business. The Oracle
MICROS platform leverages data from POS and KDS
(Kitchen Display Systems) devices for a ‘single view of the
business’ across all complementary Oracle MICROS Cloud
products. For many enterprise customers, these solutions
– developed based on years of experience working with
restaurants in QSR, TSR and hotel – are the foundation
for success.

Capitalizing on the third-party
                    delivery boom

Nothing, arguably, is driving the demand for integration more than
the explosive growth of third-party delivery. Globally, this market is
expected to reach nearly $162 billion by 2023, fueled in great part by
the influence of Generation Z consumers, who now represent about
32% of the worldwide population.

Their use of mobile devices – among the 77% of the U.S. population
that owns smartphones – reflects a phenomenon in which almost
anyone can trigger an innovation explosion at their fingertips. And it
has given rise to companies such as UberEats, GrubHub, DoorDash,
Postmates and others, which are disrupting the restaurant business
in ways that were unimaginable even just a few years ago. But this
industry-shifting trend also represents a rich, new revenue stream for
restaurant operators. Cashing in on this opportunity means serving
customers on demand, delivering meals to them wherever they want
it, whenever they want it. Achieving that mandatory goal now requires
continuously improving the automated delivery process. In a recent
article, industry publication QSR underscored its importance:

                    “Successful restaurant operators must address this industry
                  evolution if they not only want to survive but thrive in this new
                       on-demand world; integration is the key to that success.
                  Figuring out how to automate that delivery process and make it
                       more efficient for the restaurant, and informative for the
                   customer, will create even more operator impetus to integrate
                      these disparate channels into a restaurant’s POS system.”

According to QSR, a well-integrated POS can fine-tune the delivery
operation, evaluating “what’s happening in the back-of-house
operations, evaluate all orders in process, calculate the time of pick
up, then push that information to the third-party delivery partners” –
as opposed to providing questionable “guesstimates” that lead to
frustrating guest experiences and jeopardizing customer loyalty.

Integration is the cornerstone of
             technology adoption

But the focus on integration isn’t just to capitalize on
third-party delivery.

Its value only will become more magnified for restaurant
operators who already are using technology solutions for
nearly every aspect of their business – including evaluating
real-time operational data, managing labor, tracking
inventory and booking reservations. At Oracle Food and
Beverage, we recognize, however, that the mushrooming
reliance on technology also has led to new headaches
– “siloed” solutions that often can’t communicate with
each other, creating redundant work for staff and across-
the-board inefficiency. In today’s world, that status quo is
no longer acceptable. That’s why we’ve made integration
a top priority and made it simple. It’s the key to improving
operations, delivering exceptional experiences to
customers, and, ultimately, netting the greatest return
on technology investments.

Beware the hype of “all-in-one” solutions

Simply put, integration is the antithesis of “all-in-one”
solutions that some technology vendors pitch as a quick fix.
Though they may sound advantageous, their shortcomings
are many. All-in-one solutions restrict choice, increase costs
over the long term and, most significantly, stifle innovation.
For example, an entrepreneurial restaurant growing from
2 to 10 locations is bound to face new challenges requiring
best-of-breed solutions. Using an all-in-one solution means
having to hurdle obstacles to take advantage of better
options. And if different technology solutions are brought
in, they’ll require middleware solutions, adding cost and
complexity to the equation.

Oracle’s integration approach: Create                             We’ve embraced this

    an ecosystem of diverse partners                               model to ensure that our
                                                                    customers have freedom
                                                                   in selecting solutions that
We are committed to developing market-leading products             best meet their needs. And
that drive value to our customers. Our innovation experts           we’re always enhancing
always are exploring new technological frontiers, but they         our Simphony integration
can’t possibly pursue them all. That’s why we fervently             program by conducting
believe in creating a diverse ecosystem filled with unique            what is essentially a
partners who “eat, sleep and breathe” their respective              continuous casting call
specialities, ranging from front-of-house to back-of-house            for new partners: By
to customer-journey applications. Their singular focus
                                                                    providing direct access
enables them to not only to be the best in their field but
                                                                    to Oracle APIs, Oracle is
constantly extend development boundaries to create
                                                                     “open for innovation,”
better solutions. By partnering with them, Oracle Food
                                                                    enabling partners to join
and Beverage can deliver their innovations – and a steady
                                                                    our Food and Beverage
stream of new opportunities – to restaurateurs. (Such
a free flow of ideas travels both ways: When partners                Cloud Marketplace to

discover means to improve Oracle hardware or software               showcase their products

platforms, we can integrate such enhancements into                 before a global audience.

our offerings.)

Ultimately, taking advantage of an integrated technology
platform such as Oracle Simphony point of sale enables
restaurateurs to orchestrate revenue and customer growth.
Case in point: Za Pizza Bistro, which is “all about creating
your own pizza the way you like it,” used cloud-based
Simphony to quickly open new stores and expand into the
food truck business with mobile solutions. Manly Cheung,
Za Pizza’s CEO and founder, now operates six locations in
Winnipeg and two in Toronto and credits Simphony’s ability
to track real-time data – from revenue to gift redemptions
to labor – for optimizing operations and improving the
bottom line. And he emphasizes Simphony’s integration
capabilities as vital to Za Pizza’s mission of creating
customized orders. Says Cheung: “Simphony is important
because of the integration; when we punch in the order it
tracks all the different pizzas, and it’s also integrated to our
online ordering system.”

How to make integration
                     work for you

Every restaurant’s needs are different and the path to success
varies for each. By ensuring that their technology platform has
integration capabilities, operators have the flexibility to go their own
way. According to QSR, integration delivers these benefits:

• C
   onnects front of house and back of house: By fully integrating
  point-of-sale systems, loyalty programs, scheduling software,
  kitchen display systems and guest management systems,
  operators can increase efficiencies while improving the dining
  experience for guests.

• D
   elivers better customer service: Integrated technology tools
  keep diners happy. For example, better controlled inventory means
  a favorite dish is less likely to be unavailable. And correct meal
  timing increases guest satisfaction.

• O
   ptimizes restaurant operations: Friction between front-of-house
  staff and the kitchen is lessened during busy dining times, table
  turn time is decreased, and food waste is curtailed with technology
  that provides detailed metrics about performance in both areas.

• Improves employee satisfaction: Technology that makes work
   simpler and efficient and leads to greater collaboration creates a
   happy work environment.

• P
   rovides accurate, real-time and historical data reporting:
  With proper integration, restaurants can reduce or eliminate manual
  data entry and minimize reporting errors. With the ability to review
  performance data in real time, operators can fix problems quickly
  and readily identify new opportunities.

CONCLUSION

With more than 40 years of industry experience combined with Oracle’s vast R&D resources,
Oracle Food and Beverage understands the importance of innovation and can deliver it via solutions
committed to integration. Count on Oracle Food and Beverage and its partners to reimagine your
business. It’s the best way to make sure it doesn’t become toast.

                            To learn more about
                     Oracle Food & Beverage solutions,
                         please contact us or visit:

                                           oracle-foodandbev_ww@oracle.com
                                           www.oracle.com/food-beverage
                                           @OracleFoodBev
                                           www.facebook.com/OracleFoodBev

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