The Indian restaurant industry is going through a new era of digitization, and firms are transitioning from using just basic billing software to using advanced AI solutions that can analyze data, automate processes and aid in decision making.
In the latest episode of Analytics Insight Podcast, host Priya Dialani has an interesting conversation with Parthiv Patel, co-founder, and CEO of Petpooja, on the role that artificial intelligence can play in enhancing the operations of restaurants and SMEs in competing with their big corporate rivals.
Parthiv talks about the journey of Petpooja, how artificial intelligence agents can handle marketing and procurement processes and why inexpensive technology will prove to be very important for SMEs.
Here are the key excerpts:
My co-founder, Apoorva and I understood the difficulties of running a restaurant when we were studying computer engineering. I was working with my uncle who owned a restaurant and was responsible for all activities like billing, cleaning, and delivering food. I could see how difficult it is to manage things manually and when we began looking into the food and beverages sector circa 2013, I knew that existing software would not be able to meet our needs in the future. Restaurant owners need solutions that will help them integrate their operations with delivery platforms, websites and customer management. This is what we did with Petpooja.
Traditional restaurant software helped businesses manage orders and improve operational efficiency. We integrated platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy into the point-of-sale system, so restaurants could process orders without adding hardware or staff. Today, we are moving towards intelligence that can perform tasks rather than simply record transactions. Our AI tools can act like marketing managers, operations managers and purchasing managers. For example, our marketing AI analyses business data, creates campaigns and prepares creative material. The restaurant owner reviews and approves the campaign through WhatsApp, and the system handles the execution.
I believe AI can give smaller businesses access to capabilities that were previously available mainly to large companies. Many restaurant owners cannot afford specialised marketing teams or dedicated business analysts. Our AI agent allows an owner to ask questions such as, "Analyze my business for the last one year." The system retrieves relevant data, examines performance and presents its findings. Owners can also explore how a potential price increase might affect sales under different scenarios. We are developing customised open-source models to control costs and protect affordability. Our goal is to help smaller merchants benefit from AI without expensive monthly bills.
I think companies need to begin with defining jobs which take up considerable time and/or require skilled workers. Marketing and purchasing are some of those. The company does not need to hire an expert in marketing to conduct a marketing campaign or retain customers through AI-powered solutions. Our purchasing system will compare the prices charged by different suppliers for different raw materials and suggest them along with filling the shopping cart. This helps the company save time, eliminate manual work, and keep a check on expenses. The benefit will be more evident for small firms.
I think restaurants will remain reliant on humans despite advances in automation. A chef may use ChatGPT to look into potential new recipes, yet the chef will have to taste them and make a choice about serving them. Interaction with customers is another important aspect of the restaurant business that requires humans. The AI will be able to do the monotonous work, assess the performance of the business and help in making fast decisions. These technologies will be easily adaptable by smaller restaurants if the cost allows it.