Taco Bell is actively using edge computing to support different digital ways customers can order, said the fast-food chain’s technology chief.
Taco Bell, part of Yum Brands Inc., uses a combination of central cloud services and connected devices and software at local restaurants to process customer requests and account data. This edge computing setup has not been easy to implement, but being able to give consumers the technology option is a business advantage, said his vice president of technology, Vadim Parizher, on Thursday. He spoke at his WSJ Pro Enterprise Technology virtual event.
At Taco Bell, computer servers at each location ingest data from in-person and digital orders, customer loyalty accounts, and kitchen operations, using custom algorithms to tell fryer employees when to sink, and more. make a decision. According to Pariser, Nacho warms the potatoes when he orders his fries so that the delivery driver can warm them up when they arrive for pickup.
“we took [on] Order processing and menu data are the most important workloads,” says Parizher. “If even a small percentage of Fortune 500 companies can operate more efficiently than before, the result is significant.”
The so-called edge is a computing model, not a location, says Linda Stadtmueller, senior vice president of research, information and communication technology at market research firm Frost & Sullivan.
Key aspects are sensored devices, connectivity, analytics and responsiveness, Stadtmueller said at the same event.
The goal is to improve application performance by processing data where it is generated, such as in your local Taco Bell, and applying it at lightning speed. Energy companies, retailers, and industrial manufacturers are using edge computing to take advantage of faster internet speeds, such as 5G networks, and an ever-growing variety of connected devices.general electric Ltd.
and Siemens AG
For example, we use edge computing to optimize factory machinery in real time.
“John Deere tractors have an advantage when they are equipped with sensors that monitor their components. It can be an edge in the future,” says Stadtmueller.
Pariser said Taco Bell has spent about five years implementing edge computing capabilities. Each location has a replica device that acts as a backup in case of an outage.
In addition to walking into the store and using the drive-thru, Taco Bell consumers can shop for Mexican Pizza and Chalupa Supreme through the company’s website, mobile app, food delivery service and, in some regions, text messages. can be ordered. In January, the chain rolled out a nationwide subscription service: For $10, customers can purchase his Taco Lover’s Pass to get tacos every day for 30 days. The menu is customized by location.
The Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Rosenbush (left) speaks with Vadim Palliser, VP of Technology at Taco Bell, during an online event Thursday.
Photo:
wall street journal
When a repeat customer places an order, the local restaurant’s system retrieves relevant information from the cloud. Understanding frequent purchases, typical order sizes, and a propensity to experiment with specialty items can help determine whether to offer customized deals, according to Pariser.
In addition to processing and analyzing orders from multiple platforms, restaurants need to fine-tune menus, assemble food, change staff, and process data from multiple channels at once, according to Pariser. I have. “We process these events and try to optimize. In some ways, we are no different from manufacturing,” he said.
The team needed to figure out how to protect personal data about customers in Taco Bell’s loyalty program. “For security reasons, I don’t want that information in the store,” he said, so it’s stored in the cloud. “We don’t keep data on the edge longer than necessary.”
Taco Bell struck a deal with a third party to provide a platform for monitoring all edge computing activity, and Parizher’s team built software to route order data to various connected devices in the kitchen. , he said.
Once the edge computing foundation is in place, Taco Bell could experiment with connected robotic devices that can fry food, heat tortillas and pour drinks, he said. “It’s a little more exciting now,” he said.
write destination Kim S. Nash kim.nash@wsj.com
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