17 November 2022
The foodservice industry has been greatly characterized by the concept of innovation. The opportunities of IoT and data analytics can be applied to food safety, supply chain management, predictive maintenance, and customer understanding. They assist in monitoring of real-time information, enhancing product information availability and analysing trends, compliance, effectiveness and customer experiences in food industry.
Karthik Hosvaranchi Puttaraju, an MBA student at Georgia Tech and Senior Manager of Innovation Projects at a leading Paper and Forest Manufacturing company, is at the forefront of changing how quick-service restaurants (QSRs) approach operations, cleanliness, and guest experience. The new ideas he is implementing include IoT and data analytics for creating innovative solutions that not only address food safety concerns but also optimization of operations and customer satisfaction.
The future of foodservice is to incorporate real time data to improve hygiene, quality and speed of delivery. He assisted the innovation of the Autosealing machine which ensures that the food industry comes up with better standards of hygiene. This machine helps to reduce contact with people, hence, reducing contamination while enhancing tamper-proofing. It also cuts on the use of plastics by 60% in comparison to the normal lids, in compliance with the rising industry concern with sustainability. His development of the thermal hotbox ensures that fried and crispy food remains hot and fresh during delivery, a factor that QSRs may consider crucial due to the increase in delivery services after the pandemic. It also maintains textural and taste qualities while also reducing the load on in-unit stores during rush hours, thus increasing productivity and customer satisfaction.
Aside from these innovations, Karthik plans of the larger trend in the foodservice industry toward more flexible, data-based operations. He also encourages the industry to shift from conventional profit structures and embrace a new world where subscription and one-profit models are dominant. This approach has assisted his organisation in changing with market needs and bring about disruptive technologies which can cause a shift in revenue streams and customer safety.
He is setting up the company to be at the forefront of the next generation shift in foodservice, covering both the technology and the business model sides of the equation. He has the experience in leading change and creating business solutions that would fit technological initiatives with organizational objectives. He takes charge when it comes to the implementation of IoT based solutions, real time analytical solutions that help in avoiding operational costs. For instance, to address various customer service inquiries with regards to the different equipment, his team was able to cut down the efforts by 30% resulting in major savings. Furthermore, his work has made a projection of the company to earn $5 million more in the next five years through partnering with new companies to produce new products.
He also established an automatic sealing platform with three different automated sealing machines that can be diagnosed remotely and upgraded in terms of firmware. This innovation is a real breakthrough for the food service sector as it increases the equipment’s utility while decreasing the demands for maintenance on-site. Leading a project, he addressed the problem of keeping crispy foods crispy during delivery so that QSRs can accommodate the increasing demand for fast and quality delivery services.
There were certain challenges, but the timely acquisition of electronic components was ensured by monitoring the global market which he had to do to avoid spending over $250,000. This helped in guaranteeing that prototypes were created on time and allowed the company to go into its initial production runs without any problems. The new business model, aiming at the food delivery segment that backs it up with IoT-based diagnostics, has placed the company in the vanguard of innovation.
In conclusion, these technologies will become even more advanced in forecasting demand, improving delivery infrastructure, and keeping machines operating without any staff. Using the IoT, data, and Artificial Intelligence, industry experts like Karthik Hosavaranchi Puttaraju are helping companies in the Foodservice Sector operate effectively and efficiently while enhancing the experience of the customers within the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry.