Haidilao, as a well-deserved giant in China's catering industry, has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people with its ultimate service experience and continuous innovative spirit. However, behind the glamorous service is its unremitting exploration and investment in digital and intelligent operations. In recent years, RFID technology has quietly become a key link in Haidilao's smart restaurant system. Among many technical options, why does Haidilao favor RFID alone? What kind of changes and value has this technology brought to its huge catering empire?
Ensure food safety
In Haidilao's back kitchen, each ingredient is given a unique RFID tag. This "digital ID card" records in detail key information such as the production date, weight, supplier, and shelf life of the ingredient. Through the RFID reading device on the smart dish table, the back kitchen staff can easily obtain this data and monitor the status of the ingredients in real time. Once the system detects that an ingredient is about to expire or has expired, it will immediately trigger the early warning mechanism, and use a red signal to remind the staff to deal with it in time, thereby effectively avoiding the problem ingredients from being served and ensuring the food safety of customers.
If there is a problem with the dish, Haidilao can quickly trace the source through RFID tags and find the link where the problem occurs. The system can complete the traceability work within 2 hours and immediately notify stores across the country to remove the relevant products to ensure that the problematic ingredients will not flow into other stores. This efficient traceability mechanism greatly improves the speed and accuracy of problem handling and reduces the scope of impact of food safety accidents.
Optimize inventory management
Haidilao has deeply integrated RFID technology with the core function of the IKMS integrated kitchen management system, the "serving board", to form a full-process visual management system. From the entry and storage of ingredients to serving, each link has achieved standardized management of fixed points, positioning, and quantity. This can not only dynamically optimize inventory and reduce waste, but also quickly trace the source when there is a problem with the ingredients and accurately locate the problem link.
RFID tag data also provides strong support for Haidilao's "warehouse & stall visualization" project. By real-time monitoring of the location and inventory of materials, the system can automatically adjust and optimize the warehouse layout, improve space utilization, and reduce errors and delays caused by manual records. For example, staff can quickly find the location of the required ingredients through the system, improving work efficiency.
Improve operational efficiency
In traditional catering management, manual operations are prone to errors, such as recording errors and inaccurate inventory. The application of RFID technology has realized the automatic collection and processing of data, reduced the interference of human factors, and improved the accuracy and reliability of data. For example, in the food acceptance link, the RFID reading device can quickly and accurately obtain food information, avoiding manual entry errors.
The application of RFID technology has also improved the work efficiency of the back kitchen. The back kitchen staff can quickly obtain food information through the smart dish table, reducing the time to find and confirm the food. At the same time, the system's automatic early warning function also reminds the staff to deal with the expired food in time, avoiding the waste and expiration of food.
Haidilao Information Technology Department PMO Jie Pengwei said that before there was an information system, manual traceability alone was very inefficient. Moreover, Haidilao has more than 1,000 stores scattered across the country. The company needs to regularly review the problems in various regions to eliminate the risks that may occur on a large scale. An efficient digital tool is essential.
Enhance brand competitiveness
In today's society, consumers are paying more and more attention to food safety and health issues. Haidilao uses RFID technology to provide consumers with a safer and more secure dining environment and meet consumers' demand for food safety. This helps to enhance consumers' trust and loyalty to the Haidilao brand and enhance the brand's market competitiveness.
As a leading company in the catering industry, Haidilao's technological innovation and management model often lead the development direction of the industry. Haidilao's use of RFID technology has not only brought significant economic and social benefits to Haidilao, but also provided useful reference and inspiration for the development of the catering industry. In the future, with the continuous advancement and innovation of technology, I believe that the application of RFID technology in the catering industry will be more extensive and in-depth.
This paper is from Ulink Media, Shenzhen, China, the organizer of IOTE EXPO (IoT Expo in China)
