How AI is transforming the way restaurant operations are managed

May is recognized as Small Business Month, so on today’s Small Business show, we’re learning more about how AI powers business operations in ways we’ve never seen before. From automating routine tasks to providing insights into the needs of restaurant managers, ClearCOGS is a clear answer to many in the restaurant industry. On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome the CEO and Co-Founder of ClearCOGS, Matt Wampler. 

By translating between sophisticated machine learning and the demands of restaurant management, ClearCOGS offers immediate solutions to the problems that restaurants encounter daily. Co-Founders, Wampler and Osa Osarenkhoe, are committed to assisting restaurants in streamlining their operations, lowering their expenses, and raising their profitability.

According to Wampler, ClearCOGS’s primary focus is on How to empower operations to be more efficient and save more money. Since running a restaurant is incredibly hard, it is the sum of many small decisions; Wampler spent much time managing food costs. Furthermore, food waste in the U.S. is a huge issue; Wampler notes 40% of all food gets wasted daily. “The carbon emissions from the food waste is greater than the entire airline industry,” asserts Wampler. 

Roadblocks

As an emerging company, getting multiple restaurant businesses to believe in ClearCOGS’ AI technology has been challenging. By creating the first AI operations manager for the restaurant industry, the digital, fractional, COO, and CEO, it’s there to provide the numbers. Wampler emphasizes, “We live in a world where restaurant operations that master the cold analytics of the business are winning. So, we imagine where the people that bring the magic to create those experiences and great food can win too through the cold analytics of it all.” 

"If you can save a restaurant $10 a day, thats saving them $3,600 a year."

To Illustrate, “Through AI technology data, we tell bagel makers how many they need to make so they don’t waste any they make or produce too much. It’s a step managers can take, but we look at how many everything bagels were sold last year, how weather conditions, holidays, trends, can affect the numbers.” Wampler adds, “Once we found a company to implement the technology in a test store, we were able to cut its waste by 54%.”

Advice

The AI technology was intended to be a three to five-year plan, but with the rapid advancements, it took the company what would’ve been an 18-month cycle to 18 weeks. Wampler encourages other future entrepreneurs to know it is a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun. “There’s going to be a lot of ups and downs, but you have to enjoy the ride,” exclaims Wampler.