Technology has completely transformed the operational success of the foodservice industry. Digital tools are easy to integrate and user-friendly. Rolling out digital platforms offers significant benefits. Tech tools and platforms collate data from all sources, including audits, assessments, checklists, and completed training, so you can track critical information from all locations, providing a real-time accurate view on compliance across your enterprise. When you go digital, you can more easily solve the challenges presented by paper processes.
Pitfalls of Pen and Paper Management
Using manual paper processes can be risky, whether you’re managing quality, safety, and compliance systems for one or multiple store locations. Pen and paper management systems fall short when it comes to updating safety and compliance policies across all locations.
Hard copy records are easily misfiled and lost, as well as being time-consuming and error-prone. Paper methods are reactive in action rather than proactive. When you are constantly responding to issues as they happen it becomes difficult to be strategic about your operations. Adopting a more proactive approach will save you time, money, and ultimately, your business’ reputation.
Manual systems will never be able to provide you with the visibility you need to gain critical insights for effective decision-making. With the correct digital quality management system in place, you have immediate visibility that helps you take instant corrective action.
The Advantages of Going Digital
- Reduced Business Expenses: Managers can spend hours going through paperwork to find information, mailing documents, scanning files, and searching for incomplete records. When switching to digital, companies immediately experience notable material and labor cost savings. On a mobile solution, many pain-staking paper trails are eliminated and management gains valuable time to focus on other important tasks. The recording and processing of data are significantly simplified, with efficient data capturing and easy retrieval in a matter of seconds.
- Improved Efficiency: Mobile technology enables automated alerts for unhygienic facilities, maintenance, or food safety issues. These matters can negatively impact a brand if not dealt with immediately. With mobile food safety technology, convenience store operations information can be gathered and accessed at store and field-level. There is no longer an excuse for problems to take days or weeks to be resolved. Communication can now be automated and instantly relayed to the appropriate team, thereby enhancing operational success.
- Improved Customer Satisfaction: Being able to respond quickly to issues affects customer satisfaction. Customers notice cleaner facilities, better food offerings, and smoother business processes. As a result, customer complaints decrease, and customer loyalty and advocacy increase. These short-term gains translate into long-term success by improving brand standards, enhancing proficiency, and increasing accountability.
- Improved Brand Standards: With or without tech, brand standards exist within C-store chains. However, maintaining these standards is significantly improved when hundreds of locations have instant access to the same software. This makes it possible to maintain a consistent brand image while easily flagging inconsistencies.
- Enhanced Proficiency: Mobile technology provides instant and easily accessible analytics and trend analysis. This allows managers to identify signs of a struggling store and attend to problems before the store and company’s performance is affected. Identifying issues before they become full-blown crises saves time, money, and labor costs.
- Increased Accountability: Mobile technology allows managers to assign, track, and analyze critical in-store and field tasks. Ensuring employees complete tasks on time and to standard is possible through geolocation, timestamps, and photo-capturing features.
Contrary to prevailing perceptions percolating among skeptical operators, implementing tech tools and platforms (especially mobile) need not be a complicated process. Identifying and analyzing the benefits of tech for c-store entities, Zenput has successfully rolled an entire office of paper trails into one simple application, serving up the critical technologies crucial for more streamlined operations. Partnering with Zenput allows for a smooth transition from paper to tech, easing the anxieties of those operators still unsure of how to fully embrace the boundless benefits technology has to offer.
To learn more, visit