Currently, inventory management in the restaurant industry is still largely manual, a traditional model with numerous drawbacks. Manual inventory management can consume up to 25% of employee time, significantly reducing employee time spent on core tasks like customer service and menu development. Furthermore, manual operations can have an error rate of up to 10%, leading to food waste and supply shortages while also making it difficult for businesses to accurately monitor the movement and usage of valuable items, posing potential operational risks.
The fully automated inventory management system launched by Modoru, a London-based technology company, is the result of years of research, collaboration, and testing by its team, led by entrepreneur Manni Sidhu. Led by RFID technology, the system boasts efficient and accurate identification capabilities, capable of scanning hundreds of items in seconds with near-perfect accuracy. Manni Sidhu has 20 years of experience in business creation and expansion, beginning with the expansion of Nando’s Chicken to Alberta, Canada. His extensive industry experience laid a solid foundation for the system’s development and implementation.
From a functional perspective, the system can bring about multiple changes to restaurant businesses. By combining RFID technology with a proprietary operating system, the system fully automates inventory management, providing businesses with real-time inventory monitoring information, helping them adjust procurement plans promptly and reduce food overstock and waste. Regarding cost control, Modoru executives stated that the system is expected to help catering businesses reduce operating costs by up to 20%, while also reducing packaging costs and disposable waste by over 50%. Furthermore, the system promotes the implementation of sustainable, recyclable packaging solutions, helping catering businesses embrace circular economy practices.
Manni Sidhu stated in a statement that inventory management is a major challenge facing catering businesses, with cumbersome, time-consuming, and costly management methods hindering their growth. Modoru’s solution will lay the foundation for catering businesses to build scalable inventory management systems and a recyclable material recovery system.
From an industry perspective, the global catering industry faces multiple challenges. There are approximately 400,000 restaurants worldwide, but the recycling rate is only 9%, resulting in a serious resource waste problem. Furthermore, the industry’s available sustainable solutions are extremely limited. With the upcoming introduction of relevant regulations, restaurants are facing an increasingly urgent need to optimize inventory management and enhance their sustainability capabilities. Modoru’s system undoubtedly provides a timely and effective solution.
Notably, Dish Food & Social, a Cape Town-based catering service provider, has become one of the first companies to adopt the system. Its CEO, Andrea Fulks, stated that after seeing initial test results, he is confident in the system’s ability to streamline inventory management and enable long-term reusable packaging, believing it will bring real value to the business.
Modoru’s pilot project has officially launched in South Africa, with further projects planned in Dubai, the United States, and the United Kingdom. As the system is gradually rolled out globally, it is expected to profoundly transform the global foodservice industry, not only helping businesses improve operational efficiency and profitability, but also driving the industry towards more sustainable development. Manni Sidhu stated that Modoru is excited to launch this industry-first solution, leading the long-awaited transformation of the restaurant industry.
