Tasks where Robo Claw can be utilized in major food service companies and how to choose candidates for introduction
Target tasks should be evaluated from perspectives such as workload, frequency, routine nature, number of exceptions, reservation management/POS/CRM connectivity, presence of writing operations, and impact on food safety or allergies. It is recommended to prioritize routine tasks that span multiple systems and have a high load for reservation and inquiry handling.
When large restaurant companies select tasks for the introduction of Robo Claw, they should prioritize tasks that meet the following criteria: ① high frequency of occurrence, ② standardized procedures, ③ involve cross-referencing information from multiple systems such as reservation management, POS, and CRM, ④ have a high load in handling reservations and inquiries, ⑤ have minimal impact on food safety or allergies or can be based on human verification, and ⑥ writing is limited or can be based on prior approval. The more these criteria are met, the easier it is to verify effectiveness in a pilot.
Who This Is For
Who This Is For
This is intended for store operation managers, heads of sales headquarters, DX managers, and others who are considering which tasks to start with for Robo Claw implementation.
What You'll Decide
What You'll Decide in This Step
In this Discover STEP, we will identify candidate tasks for Robo Claw, prioritize them, and decide on the first task to undertake. Detailed design of requirements, permissions, and approvals will be handled in the next Refine STEP.
Fit Check
Suitable/Not Suitable Tasks
Suitable Tasks
- Tasks that occur frequently and have standardized procedures, such as summarizing daily store reports or organizing review trends.
- Tasks like initial classification of reservation inquiries or complaints, where preliminary judgments can be easily verified and corrected by humans.
- Tasks that involve cross-referencing information from multiple systems (POS, reservation management, CRM, menu master, etc.).
- Tasks that involve menu or price updates but can incorporate approval before updates.
- Tasks for which the format of input data is relatively stable (POS data, reservation data, etc.).
Unsuitable tasks
- Tasks that occur very infrequently and for which automation benefits are difficult to anticipate
- Tasks that inherently require human interaction, such as customer service or cooking.
- Tasks that require immediate execution of final decisions regarding allergy safety or food safety without prior approval.
- Tasks involving input data that contains a large amount of sensitive customer and health information and are not well-organized
Industry Challenges
Challenges unique to large restaurant chains
Many companies face the following challenges when selecting target tasks.
Too many candidate tasks to narrow down
There are many candidates such as reservation handling, daily store reports, review management, and customer support, making it difficult to decide where to start.
Unable to formulate hypotheses of effectiveness
The actual workload and man-hours at stores and headquarters are not visualized, making it difficult to estimate the implementation effect in advance.
Uncertainty about the possibility of connecting to reservation management, POS, and CRM
Whether existing reservation management and POS support API integration can be determined only by the information systems department.
Uncertainty about handling tasks related to allergies and food safety
There are no criteria to determine whether tasks related to allergy checks and food safety can be targeted.
Method
Implementation Steps
1. Identify candidate operations
We will inventory tasks related to stores, headquarters, and reservations, such as summarizing daily store reports, categorizing reservation inquiries, analyzing review trends, and searching FAQs.
2. Check workload and frequency
Confirm the occurrence frequency of each operation (constant, daily, weekly, etc.) and the labor required to handle it.
3. Evaluate standardization and frequency of exceptions
Evaluate whether procedures are standardized and how often exceptions occur (e.g., complaints, diverse allergy checks).
4. Confirm the possibility of connecting to reservation management, POS, and CRM
Confirm with the information systems department the location of the data required for the target operations and whether reservation management, POS, and CRM can be integrated.
5. Check the impact on food safety and allergies
Confirm whether the target operations are involved in menu, allergy information, or food safety decisions, and clarify the scope in which AI should not make decisions alone.
6. Confirm whether writing is required and the need for human approval
Organize whether it involves menu or price updates or customer notifications, and the extent to which human approval is needed.
7. Determine priorities
We will compile the evaluation results and decide on the first task to start.
Evaluation Table
Candidate Task Evaluation Sheet
The following is an example of an evaluation table. Please replace it with your company's candidate tasks. The tasks closer to ◎ have a higher priority for Discover.
| Candidate tasks | Frequency | Formality | Food safety / allergy impact | System connection | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summary of store daily reports | Daily | Expensive | None | Store reporting tool | None |
| Initial classification of reservation inquiries | Always | Moderate | Low | Reservation management | Internal only |
| Organizing trends from reviews and surveys | Weekly | Moderate | Low | CRM / surveys | None |
| Presentation of allergy information checkpoints | As needed | Moderate | High (human verification required) | Menu master | None |
Data & Systems
Data and Systems Used
In the Discover STEP, the status of the following data and systems is checked to evaluate candidate tasks.
Human-in-the-loop
Where Human Approval Is Required
At the Discover STEP stage, implementation is not performed, but during the evaluation of candidate tasks, the following judgments are organized based on the assumption that they will always be made by humans.
- Final decision on whether the target task can be selected as an automation candidate
- Decision on whether to include tasks involving menu and price updates as candidates
- Decision on whether to include tasks handling allergy and health information as candidates
Measurement
KPI Candidates
In the Discover STEP, the following are recorded as hypotheses for each candidate task and used as verification material in subsequent steps.
Current work effort
Estimation of the human workload currently required for the candidate task
Effect hypothesis
Hypothesis of the workload and time savings expected if automated
Implementation priority score
Priority calculated based on frequency, routine nature, food safety impact, etc.
Pitfalls
Common Pitfalls
Select only tasks where the effects are easily visible
If you select only the prominent tasks without considering their frequency or the burden of handling exceptions, it becomes difficult to verify the effectiveness of the pilot.
Postpone checking connection with reservation management, POS, and CRM
If you decide on candidate tasks first and then check connectivity, rework may occur in later steps.
Underestimate the impact on allergies and food safety
If you choose tasks without evaluating the magnitude of their impact, you may need to redesign the approval flow in later processes.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tasks are appropriate to start with first?
In most cases, it is recommended to start with one task. Handling multiple tasks simultaneously complicates permission design and pilot evaluation.
Should tasks related to allergies be excluded from the candidates?
It is not always necessary to exclude them. By automating the presentation of check items and information organization, and designing it so that the final decision is made by the store manager or a person with expert knowledge, it can be treated as a candidate.
What should be done if it is unclear whether connection with reservation management, POS, and CRM is possible?
Coordinate with the information systems department to check the possibility of API or data linkage with the relevant reservation management, POS, and CRM. Individual consultations are also possible.
Who should evaluate the candidate tasks?
It is recommended that the store operation manager, head of sales, and the information systems department collaborate. Evaluation based on both operational realities and system constraints is necessary.
Continue
Next Step
Once the target operations are decided, the next step is to concretize the requirements, authorities, and approval design for those operations.
Shall we organize the selection of target operations together?
Based on the current workload, frequency, and reservation management/POS/CRM configuration, you can formally consult on the candidates and priority for Robo Claw in the official LP.