Top 3 Technology Innovations to Future-Ready Your QSR Brand

Rick Stanbridge, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Marco’s Pizza

The QSR space has experienced vast technological and digital change to adapt to the ever-evolving needs of consumers while streamlining operations for maximum efficiency. Companies must invest in relevant technologies to grow business to keep up with the rapidly changing world.

But where does one start? While new technology offers endless opportunities in scope and results, it can be overwhelming for companies to even know where to begin and where to invest. Technology projects should be completed in an order that provides the best ROI to franchisees, employees, and consumers. It is a holistic approach that, in turn, will propel brands ahead of their competition. 

At Marco’s Pizza, we’ve recently announced the investment of millions of dollars in technology innovations throughout the next few years. This is only the beginning. With new digital capabilities driving growth, we’re equipping the brand with a solid, ever-evolving technology platform built to meet both current and future business and consumer needs.

Below are three technology innovations to future-ready your QSR brand:

100% Cloud-Based Platforms

Many QSR brands use legacy systems with on-premise hardware and software vs. migrating to 100% cloud-based platforms to support the POS and other functionality. 

While a large investment – whether it be with a third-party vendor or creating a proprietary platform – a cloud-based system supports greater flexibility, access, and more robust multi-unit and enterprise-level data dashboards. This allows QSR brands to leverage technology to increase operational efficiency and utilize data to create a more personalized customer experience. 

Right now, Marco’s is working on building our own inhouse fully cloud-based technology platform called Marco’s Order Management System (MOMS). The fully integrated enterprise technology infrastructure supports payment processing, the point-of-sale (POS) system, including features such as conversational ordering, labor scheduling, inventory management, and real-time reporting dashboards with centralized data management capabilities. 

"By prioritizing and investing in cloud-based technology, QSR brands can be very nimble as they continue to implement new technologies while saving owner-operators money and providing a best-in-class customer experience.”

This is a truly remarkable project and we see immense value in the ROI of this endeavor, which many QSR brands have not pursued due to its massive undertaking. We’ve been building upon strong platforms while making exceptional additions and functionality that will be a benefit to franchisees, team members, and customers as we prepare for the future.

By prioritizing and investing in cloud-based technology, QSR brands can be very nimble as they continue to implement new technologies while saving owner-operators money and providing a best-in-class customer experience. 

Third-Party Delivery Platforms

Delivery is not only here to stay – it’s growing and becoming integral to many QSR business models.

Not only does the use of third-party delivery platforms create the obvious additional revenue stream, but it also provides grossly undervalued benefits: brand awareness and another source for new customer acquisition.

Marco’s was an early adopter of third-party delivery and has seen the impact of the rising trend. For example, we have national agreements with the three major third-party delivery platforms – UberEats/Postmates, GrubHub, and Door Dash. Over 1,000 of our locations use one or more of the third-party delivery services. From 2019 to 2022 we’ve seen a 900% increase in sales and we remain very bullish on the segment.

This complements Marco’s delivery and carryout business while expanding the store’s customer footprint. By not embracing third-party delivery services, it’s a missed opportunity for QSR brands to meet customers where they want to engage, order, and buy, plus build your brand.

AI & Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence is the future – it will become a mainstream element of enterprise-level and cloud technology platforms along with machine learning.

We will find ourselves using AI in our everyday duties such as delivery and ordering. Smart QSR brands will integrate AI into a multitude of business functions for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

An example of this is Marco’s Automated Promise time program which uses AI to calculate and predict the time it will take to make and deliver a completed customer order, considering the store product capacity, oven time, number of drivers, weather, and traffic conditions.

Technology for technology’s sake is over. Smart investments in relevant technology that can deliver immediate results will be the winning strategy in the years ahead. With new technology capabilities driving growth, QSR brands that properly invest and execute will be equipped with a roadmap to challenge their competition, fuel long-term growth and performance, and maximize store profitability.