Quick-service and Fast-casual restaurants have spread across the globe, and emerging markets are one of the fastest growing areas in the industry.
Opportunities & Challenges Faced by Restaurant Industry
Tailwinds
- Menu item innovation & diversity
- Explosion in sales channels
- Increased mobile and carryout orders
- Loyalty programs & customer insights
Headwinds
- Rising food costs
- Changing perceptions around health
- Drive-thru queues and operations
- Labor cost & deployment
Quick Service Restaurant Dynamic Modeling and Simulation
The model executes dynamic behavior that is defined for each restaurant processes like order taking, cook calls, menu item production, meal assembly, equipment cooking cycles, crew tasks and more. Orders arrive at restaurant by customers walking in, cars in drive-through lanes, mobile app, or delivery services. Employees in various parts of the restaurant are assigned to job roles and perform various tasks in those areas. Simulation, when used for planning or assessment, can help with:- Predicting behavior of your people, process and systems,
- Improving the efficiency of your operations,
- Validating the business plan for your new product rollout
- Winning credibility for your proposal by visually communicating to a wide range of stakeholders
The model integrates various components of a fast food restaurant, such as cooking, food preparation, front counter, drive through, dining area and ancillary functions like cleaning, closing and maintenance. The modeling environment is a to-scale representation of the building housing the restaurant and the individual areas and dining areas inside.
Simulation Answers Quick Service Restaurant Planning Questions
External Operations
- What is the impact of a drive-thru and its layout?
- What is the best way to manage mobile order pickup versus standard drive thru?
- Where should customers wait if orders get behind?
- Where is the actual bottlenecks?
Internal Operations
- What is the best deployment of these staff members across the restaurant and how should the deployment change throughout the day?
- What is the quantity and utilization of cooking equipment needed to support varying operating levels?
- What are the expected throughput, customer order-to-delivery times, and time spent waiting for food?
Traffic Flow
- Will adjusting entry and exit locations increase customer throughput?
- Does the parking lot handle the expected volume?
- Will simulating existing traffic data help make better operational decisions?