Catering is a lucrative opportunity for independent restaurants, but it’s also a competitive one. Not only are they competing with other restaurants for customers, but they’re also up against companies that specialize in the service. Restaurants need to stay ahead in this fast-paced world of catering, and they can do that by embracing the latest in technological advancements.

Technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing the catering experience for customers and making it easier and more efficient for restaurants to run their catering business. Here’s a closer look at how various technologies can transform and elevate restaurant catering services.

Inventory management software

Catering requires a different type and quantity of inventory than what restaurants use for daily operations. Technology, specifically inventory management software, can help restaurants maintain consistency and profitability and is crucial to keeping catering services running without a hitch. This type of tech solution can track ingredient quantities, manage stock levels, and automate replenishment processes. By ensuring accurate inventory forecasts, restaurants can minimize waste, control costs, and fulfill catering orders effectively, without sacrificing quality and customer service. 

Delivery software

Offering delivery is a great way for restaurants to keep up with their catering competition. Yet, delivery can be quite an undertaking for many businesses. Not only do you need specific equipment with a large enough vehicle to safely transport the food to the customer, but logistics also play a big role in making catering deliveries successful.

Luckily, there are tech tools available that can help restaurants manage, monitor, track, and fulfill catering delivery orders. This automated technology helps businesses deliver more efficiently, so restaurants can fulfill more orders at a faster pace. Plus, software that improves reliability and quality leads to happier (and hopefully repeat) customers.

Online ordering systems

Consumers have grown accustomed to seamless online ordering from restaurants, so offering it for catering is a great way to make sure you don’t lose any customers to clunky PDF forms. The best online ordering systems allow restaurants to integrate the ordering experience into their website and provide detailed information such as dish photos and reviews—providing customers with all the information they need to make their purchase decision. Plus, many online ordering tools let customers place orders in advance and can put a limit on how many orders are placed within a specific period.

Marketing tools

Marketing is an effective way for restaurant to expand their reach, win new guests, and keep current ones coming back—especially if they’re launching catering services for the first time. To maximize the impact of marketing efforts, restaurants should use tools that automate much of the work that otherwise makes marketing so time-consuming.

For instance, technology that lets you capture customer info such as order history can help operators automatically send personalized messages to their diners. Plus, advancements in AI can help generate unique social media content, ensuring a restaurant’s catering services are always top of mind with guests.

Analytics and reporting  

With all the proper tools and technology in place, the last thing a restaurant needs to do is track their catering performance. Data analytics tools provide valuable insights into peak ordering times, popular menu items, and customer feedback, helping operators optimize their marketing and operations. The best tools connect to a restaurant’s website, online ordering, and marketing tools to provide visibility into how much revenue an email drives or how well a website promotion performs.  With the right analytics tools, you can gain real-time insight which will lead to greater efficiencies and increased revenue.

Tech that caters to you

Using the right technology is crucial to enhancing your catering performance, and to ensure your restaurant succeeds in general. Schedule a demo with Popmenu today to learn how we help make cateirng and restaurant management easier.