Visitors to the two new coffee shops Happy Hawkers in Tampines and FoodTastic at Choa Chu Kang can look forward to some differences in their food ordering and service experience, thanks to innovative and productive improvements under the Food Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM).
These productivity improvements are the result of technology and automation, offsite central kitchens and onsite shared kitchens.
According to SPRING Singapore and the Housing & Development Board (HDB), coffee shops and food courts employ nearly 13 per cent of the total food services workforce.
The agencies added that with the tightening of the labour market, there is a need to improve the operating model.
FoodTastic Experience
FoodTastic is operated by the Chang Cheng Group Pte Ltd, a U SME partner.
On arrival, customers head to display panels which list the menu and the prices of the various dishes in English and Chinese.
Volunteers are on hand to help those unfamiliar with the system.
After choosing the food items, customers make the payment online at the e-payment kiosks. Customers can choose different payment modes including NETS, NETS FlashPay and EZ-Link.
A display number is then given to the customer to head to the collection counter.
All these processes do away with the cashier who needs to key in the order and collect the payment.
If the coffeeshop is closed, vending machines provide food options and drinks.
Within the coffee shop, robot tray collectors move around tables for customers to return their trays. The smart tray return machine can store up to 400 trays.
Besides cleaners, there is also an automated machine to keep the floors spic and span.
The result- the Chang Cheng Group has cut down its manpower at FoodTastic by about 20 people. These have been redeployed to its other food outlets.
FoodTastic was launched on 21 May 2017 by Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Sim Ann.
Also present at the event was Advisor to the Chang Cheng Group and NTUC’s U SME Director Yeo Guat Kwang.
“This is really teamwork. We hope that with this new showcase, more coffee shops will come on board to adopt new technology and go digital to help reduce the reliance on foreign workers,” said Mr Yeo.
Source: NTUC This Week
