Fast food chain McDonalds is reaping the benefits of integrated hardware, including its tills, printers and a buzzer, enabling it to complete orders in under a minute.
The company was forced to adapt its till and labelling technologies following the introduction of its made-to-order Toasted Deli Sandwich range.
The service boasted that sandwiches could be made-to-order, unlike traditional items, and delivered to customers in less than a minute.
‘Traditional burgers can be held in heating trays for up to 10 minutes, but sandwiches are individual, so they can not be held and must be identified quickly,’ said national operations manager Eugene Morris.
Previously, labels identifying the order were generated at the till and manually carried to the kitchen, where a second label was printed to identify the sandwich.
‘This meant there was greater margin for error when labelling the products as there were two pieces of paper,’ Morris said. ‘And if we wanted to introduce new products, we had to go back to the server to change the instructions.’
Zebra Technologies developed an integrated product that automatically generated the required labelling at the till and a buzzer alerted staff when it was ready to be put on the finished product.
Morris says the technology has reduced the margin of error and changes can be made to the software from the head office when new items are introduced.
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