The Acceleration of Digital Transformation Brought on By the Pandemic
It's fair to say that the COVID-19 pandemic caught a lot of industries off guard and necessitated a steep learning curve to discover methods of business continuity while many companies were closing their doors.
For many, this meant quickly adapting their business models to allow employees to work from home, with digital platforms such as Zoom becoming household names almost overnight. All except the front-line services such as health and social care and grocery stores and supermarkets which had to carry on regardless, albeit with additional measures put in place to protect staff.
However, one industry which found itself in something of a limbo was Food and Beverage. Even if restaurants could no longer invite guests to dine in, they could still offer takeout services and we saw many such brands adapt in this manner.
Digital Transformation
Naturally, with the demand for takeout food services going through the roof during the various lockdowns around the globe - some of which, such as in Australia, are still in force - digital technology became an essential tool in helping restaurants meet demand.
Some companies opted to create bespoke online ordering systems and have them built into their existing web platforms. These online ordering tools are particularly useful because they not only drive additional traffic to a business's website, but also allow the way the system is displayed to remain congruent with the brand image.
Others chose instead to make use of third-party platforms such as Just Eat. The extremely well known online ordering platform saw its takeout sales rocket by 79% during the first quarter of 2021 after a boost of 54% in 2020, and there are plenty of good reasons for food and beverage brands to sign up.
"2020 was an exceptional year for Just Eat Takeaway.com," said Just Eat CEO, Jitse Groen. "Right before the completion of the merger between Just Eat and Takeaway.com, the world was hit by Covid-19. This brought unprecedented challenges to our restaurants, consumers as well as to our organization and staff, but it also created tailwinds for our business."
Just Eat (and other operators in the space such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Food Panda, etc.) already has a huge brand footprint and is often a first port of call for people looking to order takeout food. These kinds of platforms also take a ton of work out of the process of offering home delivered takeout food by providing, not only the ordering platform, but the payment system and even the delivery drivers themselves. However, restaurants pay a premium to gain these advantages with commission charges running rather high.
Post Lockdown
Once lockdown restrictions began to relax a little and restaurants and bars were allowed to welcome guests through their doors once again, businesses needed ways to serve customers while simultaneously keeping them and their staff as safe as possible.
Many companies answered this problem by replacing physical menus with bespoke apps and online ordering systems. Obviously, a physical menu being handled by multiple customers could pose a significant risk of viral transmission, so guests could instead be directed to a website or asked to download an app where they could view the menu and place and pay for their food and/or drinks.
Manufacturing
Moving away from companies on the front line of food and drink service, the COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated digital transformation in the food production business.
We all witnessed the food shortages which occurred when supply chains shut down and manufacturers are keen to avoid a repeat of that scenario. Reducing the number of human workers in factories with automation is one way some food production companies are meeting this challenge.
"It is speeding up digital transformation initiatives that are out there," said, former Director of Connected Enterprise Operations for Rockwell Automation, Mick Mancuso. "We saw a little bit of a pause as the outbreak was hitting the US and other parts of the world, but now we've only seen acceleration, especially in certain industries."
Of course, there was already plenty of talk of automation in manufacturing long before anyone even heard the term COVID-19, but the pandemic has undoubtably made more companies pay attention and stat taking their own digital transformations more seriously.
"It's been on their technology horizon, but COVID has kind of pushed that requirement on them more," added Vikram Mankar, Principal Product Manager for Plant Applications at GE Digital, regarding food and beverage customers.
Final Thoughts
It's undeniable that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation at all levels of the food and beverage industry. However, what remains to be seen is, as the bulk of the danger passes, will it take its foot off the gas, or continue to drive forwards?
Digital transformation is set to be a hot topic at Digital Food and Beverage 2021, taking place in November at the JW Marriott Austin, TX.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.