McDonald’s is accelerating its digital transformation strategy, ‘Digitising the Arches’, using data to reshape how the company operates “at every level of the business”.
Described by McDonald’s executive VP and global CIO Brian Rice as a “once-in-a-generation transformation”, the strategy involves digital changes across the fast food giant’s restaurant, customer and company platforms.
The foodservice retailer’s computing platform Edge, which was developed with Google and extends cloud capabilities directly into restaurants, has now been rolled out to hundreds of restaurants across the US and is expanding globally.
“It’s the digital foundation for the next generation of restaurant innovation – powering AI and internet of things (IoT)-enabled kitchens that are smarter, faster, and more reliable,” said Rice. “The result will be increased uptime, better food quality, and a smoother experience for both customers and crew.”
In its restaurants, McDonald’s is also deploying AI-powered technology through Accuracy Scales, which compare target versus actual weight of outgoing orders and flags to staff if anything is missing before the order reaches the customer.
This has now been deployed across thousands of restaurants in its drive-thru and delivery channels in 12 markets and is currently being expanded to more.
In looking to improve the customer experience, McDonald’s is deploying ‘ready on arrival’ geofencing technology in its top markets. According to Rice, this “transformative” technology can reduce customer wait times by more than 50% as it alerts staff to begin preparing the customer’s order as they are approaching the restaurant.
In its corporate operations, the fast food chain has rolled out new company systems in multiple markets. Across finance and HR alone, it has retired hundreds of legacy systems, “consolidating into one cloud-based enterprise solution”, said Rice.
“Our Digitising the Arches strategy is about unlocking the full potential of our people, our restaurants, and our brand. And while we’re proud of the progress we’ve made, we’re even more excited about what’s ahead,” he added.
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