QSR January 2023

S P ON S O R E D B Y L OOM I S U S

HowRestaurantsareSolving 3BigChallenges in2023 High-interest rates add financial and labor strain, but restaurants can reduce the impact.

Rising interest rates, bank branch closures, and increased labor costs are cre ating a slew of problems for restaurants in the year to come. Here’s how technology can keep restaurantsmore productive and reduce the overall impact of the below challenges:

HIGH-INTEREST RATES Rates are higher than ever and are pre dicted to increase until 2025. This has caused higher costs associatedwith the supply chain, including the food, equipment, and funding restaurants need to operate. These higher interest rates have also slowed mergers and acquisitions andmade business investments more costly. Lastly, businesses try to make cash deposits daily so they can access 100 percent of their sales. This is where a solu tion like SafePoint, which offers provisional credit, is more valuable to restaurants than ever. They’ll receive daily provisional credit from their bank without having a manager leave the store premise and lose valuable time and productivity—which is already a strained resource. LABOR Restaurants will be facingmore challenges when it comes to labor in 2023. Yes, wages will rise. Yes, turnover will continue, and yes, replacing employees will only get more difficult and expensive. Rewards Network reports that the hospitality industry’s turnover rate is 73 percent, and the average cost associated with replac ing an employee is $5,864 per person, not including salary. When looking at the numbers, it is no wonder restaurants are turning to automation for repetitive, low-value tasks to reduce costs and boost efficiency with the knowledge that not all employees will be replaced. Automating cash management with a solution like Loomis’ line of Titan smart safes, which automatically counts cash and keeps it secure until an armored truck picks it up, sav ing managers 45 minutes to an hour and a half daily.

BANK CONSOLIDATION Banks continue to close branches especially in rural and suburban areas. Managers are nowdriving further tomake deposits and get change which means they are out of the store for longer periods when labor is tight and in-store operations must take precedence. Reducing bank trips leaves more cash in the store, increasing risk of loss and decreasing cash liquidity for the business. In addition, banks are raising fees to help streamline their operations, and commercial businesses are being heavily impacted. Many res taurants have reported the fees associated with over-the-coun ter deposits rising as much as 50–200 percent. While not all these problems can be easily solved, restaurants can alleviate some of the impact of these challenges by investing in the right automation technology that reduces the need and cost of labor, eliminates bank trips, and subdues the higher costs asso ciated with high-interest rates. RET

To learn more, visit loomis.us .

ADOBE STOCK / GESREY

60

JANUARY 2023 | RESTAURANT EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator