MRM #RestaurantTech: BlueCart Acquires Sous, GrubHub to Acquire Foodler and Denny’s Delivers on Demand
18 Min Read By MRM Staff
There is a lot of activity at the intersection of hospitality and technology in this edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine’s #RestaurantTech column. To submit items, contact Barbara Castiglia at bcastiglia@modernrestaurantmanagement.com.
BlueCart Acquires Sous
BlueCart, Inc. acquired mobile-first restaurant administration platform Sous for an undisclosed amount. Sous users will be given access to the BlueCart app and its network of industry buyers and suppliers effective immediately.
“BlueCart is rapidly innovating to build what we at Sous believe will be an essential part of the restaurant stack,” noted Sous Founder and CEO Don J. Kahn. “We’re very excited to be working together on this shared vision.”
Both Don J. and BlueCart CEO Konstantin Zvereff recognize that the real value in this partnership lies in giving more clients access to greater innovation. Sous users are concentrated mainly in New York City – an area where BlueCart has already seen some of its fastest growth over the last two years – and the expansion of market share there, coupled with BlueCart’s network effect growth model, gives the company a significant advantage in connecting restaurants and suppliers throughout the region with mobile-first technology.
Zvereff stated “Sous offered a great opportunity to add to BlueCart’s market share in the New York area. As we continue to see wholesale procurement accelerating on mobile platforms, we saw an opportunity to acquire a mobile-first platform and further accentuate BlueCart’s market leadership.”
Sous user Ai Akarach of Ai Cooks Thai Restaurant said, “It makes sense that Sous will join BlueCart – their features are very aligned. I’m looking forward to using BlueCart to work with my suppliers.”
In addition, BlueCart has developed a complete and sophisticated platform for restaurants and suppliers to easily run their operations online. Features such as customized pricing for buyers, online invoicing, payment collection, and personalized e-commerce sites have been key to attracting more suppliers to the platform every day.
Grubhub Will Acquire Foodler
Grubhub entered into an agreement for an all-cash transaction to acquire Foodler. The agreement with Boston-based Foodler, which is subject to certain closing conditions, will add more than $80 million of annualized gross food sales in 2017. This will expand the breadth and depth of Grubhub’s national network of more than 55,000 existing restaurant partners and 8.8 million active diners.
“We’re thrilled to bring Foodler’s scale and its established diner base in the Northeast to Grubhub,” said Matt Maloney, Grubhub CEO. “Its addition will enhance the Grubhub marketplace – particularly in Foodler’s hometown market of Boston – allowing us to connect our diners with an even broader range of top-rated, popular local restaurants.”
“Foodler is proud to become a part of the national leader in online food ordering,” said Christian Dumontet, Foodler CEO. “Foodler has continuously evolved to provide a superior user experience, and our diners will benefit from Grubhub’s robust functionality and wide-ranging restaurant network that operates in 1,100 cities across the U.S.”
TouchBistro Secures Series C funding
TouchBistro raised CDN $16.3 million in Series C funding. The latest round was led by Napier Park Financial Partners and Recruit Holdings Co, Ltd with participation from existing investors, including BDC IT Venture Fund, Relay Ventures, and Kensington Capital Partners. The funding will be used to enhance and expand the industry-leading feature set in the TouchBistro iPad mobile restaurant point-of-sale (mPOS) solution, and to facilitate the company’s expansion into global markets. This latest round brings TouchBistro’s total funding to date to CDN $45.3 million.
TouchBistro is the top-grossing iPad POS app in 37 countries. In the last year, the company has grown its recurring monthly revenue by 150 percent and deployed more than 15,000 iPads in over 9,000 restaurants around the world. TouchBistro POS solutions process Gross Merchandise Volumes of almost US $5 billion annually.
“We have experienced significant growth over the past year and plan to continue on this exciting trajectory,” said Alex Barrotti, founder and CEO of TouchBistro. “Bringing together Napier Park, a Fin-Tech payments expert, and Recruit, a restaurant behemoth, in this transaction together with our existing investors, positions us well to capture an even larger share of the emerging restaurant mPOS market.”
Recruit is a global company with more than 45,000 employees, 1,839 billion JPY (US $16.5 billion) in annual revenue and more than 200 brands, including Hot Pepper Gourmet, the largest restaurant coupon and reservation service in Japan, with 100,000+ restaurants.
“With its world-class technology and visionary leadership team, TouchBistro fits perfectly within our investment portfolio of innovative companies embarking on game-changing opportunities,” said Mikihito Kawanami, Division Director at Recruit Holdings. “We are business builders at heart and appreciate TouchBistro’s vision for restaurant success when their exceptional mobile platform functions as the heart of the restaurant’s operations.”
Mizuho Hiraguri from Recruit Holdings will join the TouchBistro Board of Directors as an observer. Napier Park is a leading FinTech-focused growth equity firm with a long history investing in payments companies. It has an estimated $7.9 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2017.
“We back best-in-class platforms with leading management teams, and welcome this opportunity to invest in Alex and the TouchBistro team,” said Daniel Kittredge Managing Director at Napier Park. “We have been highly impressed by TouchBistro’s leadership team, product, and technology and believe they will continue to deliver a simple, secure, and sophisticated point-of-sale solution to the restaurant market.”
As part of the transaction, Daniel Kittredge will join TouchBistro’s Board of Directors.
GCA Advisors, LLC. acted as the exclusive financial advisor to TouchBistro in connection with this transaction.
Revel Systems Launches Revel University
Revel Systems launched Revel University, a complementary training platform to assist businesses with the setup and onboarding process for all aspects of the Revel Systems POS. The new Revel University is available for all Revel Systems customers at http://revelsystems.com/revel-university.
Revel University is a curated, online onboarding and training video platform to walk new users through setup and installation. No enrollment is necessary and companies are encouraged to follow Revel University instructional videos at their own pace. Revel University helps users get through their set up more efficiently and helps users make the most of their system by providing thorough explanation of each platform feature.
“Business owners want to focus on their business, not setting up a new POS system,” said Scott Betts, CEO of Revel Systems. “With Revel University, our goal is to make setup and onboarding a guided, painless process, letting business owners focus on what they’re best at–running their business while using Revel Systems to increase revenue, improve efficiency and delighting customers.”
“In the past, our how-to videos have been helpful tools for our customers,” said Leslie Leaf, VP of Support, Revel Systems. “We’re excited to see the benefit this repository will have for our customers’ businesses moving forward.”
Training videos cover virtually all aspects of setup and use of the Revel Systems POS, including how to set up a payment processor, managing employees, setting up products/menus, taxes, settings, reporting, setting up the POS terminal, POS processes such as start of day, end of day, transactions and orders, and several other courses.
Poachedjobs.com Launches Applicant Tracking
Poachedjobs.com launched its new Applicant Tracking System. In an industry facing 70 percent employee turnover rates and a tightening labor market, time is more than money – it’s survival. Every moment spent hunting down a resume, looking for a phone number or trying to type in an email address is a moment not spent on growing a business.
“We know restaurant and bar owners don’t want to waste time when they need to fill an open position,” said Poached CEO Kirk Thornby. “To save time, we built applicant tracking right into the job posting. When a job is listed on Poached, the applications it receives are stored directly in our system without the need to configure anything. Employers can get down to the real job of hiring: finding the right candidates.”
Using the Poached ATS, an employer can quickly scan through a list of candidates and view their resumes, making notes and ratings. They can easily share resumes with their managers, as well as print them out, straight from the system. If an employer has a membership account, they can even schedule interviews directly from Poached.
The result is less time organizing resumes and more time interviewing candidates. Together with other features like The Poached Partner Network, which promotes listings on multiple jobs boards, and Boosted Jobs, which increases a listing’s visibility and results in an average of 67 percent more applicants, the Poached ATS is just what the hospitality industry needs to stay fully staffed, according to Thornby.
DiscoverLink Learning Debuts
DiscoverLink, Inc., the leader in e-learning solutions for the hospitality industry, announces the availability of DiscoverLink Learning, a new e-learning solution designed for independent operators and small chains. This new solution enables small restaurant businesses to improve training effectiveness, accelerate learning and reduce employee turnover by using a proven, complete training platform created specifically for restaurants.
DiscoverLink Learning combines a restaurant-optimized learning management system (LMS) with its extensive library of mobile-ready e-courses, an integrated exam and checklist builder,and an inspiring employee recognition solution. Based on the technology of DiscoverLink’s enterprise solution, DiscoverLink Talent, this new cloud-based product provides a self-service platform that operators can set up themselves in just a few minutes.
Throughout its 15-year history, DiscoverLink’s e-learning solutions have helped more than 200 restaurant brands improve their training programs. E-learning programs in restaurants have been shown to:
- Improve training quality, consistency and effectiveness
- Accelerate learning and raise staff competency
- Reduce employee turnover and increase engagement
- Decrease training costs and eliminate paper-based processes
- Enhance guest satisfaction by providing consistent brand experiences
“We are excited to bring the benefits of e-learning to small chains and independent operators,” said Tom Tankelewicz, Vice President of Strategy for DiscoverLink, Inc. “Now small restaurant businesses can leverage the same solution that major chains have been using for years.”
Independent restaurants and small chains are now outperforming large restaurant chains in terms of both traffic and revenue growth, according to a report by Pentallect, Inc., a foodservice consulting firm based in Chicago. The firm projects independent operators’ revenue to grow by 4-5percentannually through 2020, while chains are forecast to grow by 2-3 percent. However,independent operators still face recruiting difficulties, which remains a top challenge for the entire restaurant industry, according to the National Restaurant Association.
“These market dynamics will put additional pressure on independent operators to invest in development of their employees in order to maximize the opportunity ahead of them,” said Tankelewicz. “With DiscoverLink Learning, independent operators don’t have to reinvent the wheel –they now have the same training support available to them as larger restaurant chains.”
“DiscoverLink’s training features employees dressed in restaurant uniforms and working in restaurant settings, so everything feels much more relevant to our learners,” said Patrick Yearout, Director of Recruiting and Training for Seattle-based Ivar’s Restaurants.
Marriott Launches Chat Extension
Marriott Rewards has partnered with Snaps to launch a Facebook Messenger Chat Extension, making them the first hospitality brand to launch an extension on the platform. Check out the chatbot here.
Marriott Rewards Travel Stickers lets users share how they’re living their #BestLife in their chats with stickers for every travel occasion.
McDonald’s Delivers in Philly with UberEATS
Whether they are home, the office, or somewhere in between, McDonald’s® customers in the Greater Philadelphia Region can now enjoy their favorite burgers, fries, beverages and desserts delivered right to them through UberEATS. McDelivery on UberEATS is available at 97 McDonald’s restaurants throughout the Greater Philadelphia Region. To kick off the partnership, UberEATS and McDonald’s delivered Happy Meals to children and families staying at the Ronald McDonald House on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.
“We are excited to bring a new level of convenience and personalization to our customers in the Greater Philadelphia Region with UberEATS,” said Charles Ehlers, President, McDonald’s of the Greater Philadelphia Region Owner/Operator Association. “As part of McDonald’s ongoing food journey, we are continuing to offer more ways for our customers to enjoy their favorite menu items.”
Customers can now place McDonald’s orders on the UberEATS mobile app or on UberEATS.com, using the same account they use to take Uber rides and track their order, as an UberEATS delivery partner brings their meal directly to them. The full menu at participating McDonald’s restaurants will be available for delivery with the exception of soft serve cones. An UberEATS booking fee applies to each order.
“With UberEATS, you can get the food you want, where you want it, delivered at Uber speed. We’re thrilled to partner with McDonald’s to give fans in the Greater Philadelphia Region easy access to their McDonald’s favorites at the tap of a button,” said Casey Verkamp, General Manager, UberEATS Philadelphia. “People in the Greater Philadelphia Region search forMcDonald’s in the UberEATS app almost daily, so we’re excited to expand our reach and deliver what they’ve been craving.”
McDonald’s recently announced that delivery with UberEATS is expanding to additional U.S. markets following a successful pilot in Florida earlier this year: it is now available from more than 2,000 restaurants in the U.S. and will grow to 3,500 by the end of June. Delivery is just one way that McDonald’s is enhancing the customer experience through added convenience. McDonald’scontinues to transform the restaurant experience through the addition of self-order kiosks, table service and digital menu boards and will roll out mobile order and pay across its 14,000 U.S. restaurants later this year.
Denny’s on Demand
Denny’s debuted ‘Denny’s on Demand’ ordering platform, offering guests a quick and easy way to place a mobile or online order for takeout or delivery* of their favorite menu items. Whether it’s pancakes by the pool, burgers on the beach or coffee on the couch, Denny’s is bringing the diner right to your door, 24/7.
“Denny’s has always been a place where America can come and get their favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes, literally at any time of day or night,” said John Dillon, chief marketing officer for Denny’s. “With ‘Denny’s on Demand,’ we’ve taken that same ‘always open’ philosophy that is synonymous with our brand and expanded it to easy-to-use technology, bringing access to our craveable diner fare straight to our guests’ fingertips. With the menu variety we naturally provide, America no longer has to compromise when it comes to getting the food they want, exactly when and where they want it. Whether it’s a Grand Slam® for dinner, a Fit Slam® for breakfast, all-new Pancakes at 3 a.m., one of our delicious burgers, or all of the above, the options are endless and now truly the world is your diner.”
Within the new platform, developed in partnership with leading digital ordering provider, Olo, Denny’s has carefully considered and improved upon all aspects of the ordering experience. ‘Denny’s on Demand’ includes a complete revamp of the brand’s mobile app, making it quick and easy for users to find their local Denny’s restaurant, customize and place an order, and pay for takeout or, where available, delivery via Olo’s Dispatch delivery network – all from the convenience of their smartphone or tablet. Ordering is also available 24/7 through new mobile and desktop functionality at Dennys.com, where guests can choose pickup or delivery time, track their order, and view their order history.
“We are proud to partner with Denny’s, a global brand that has been celebrated as American’s Diner for over 60 years,” said Noah Glass, Founder and CEO of Olo. “Denny’s is a forward thinking brand that has embraced technology, and with this launch takes service to the next level, offering the option to order and pay ahead for pickup at the restaurant, or to place a delivery order where available. This launch makes Denny’s one of the largest brands to tap into Olo’s Dispatch delivery network to bring convenience to its guests.”
In addition to the new online platform, the brand is also bringing ‘Denny’s on Demand’ directly to guests through its social media platforms. The diner will be one of the first to utilize a new online ordering functionality through Twitter, introducing an interactive way for users to select and order their favorite dish all from within a Direct Message. In the coming weeks, fans of Denny’s on Facebook will also be able to engage and place an order with the diner directly, any time of day or night, via a branded Chatbot and other on-page options. Fans will also be able to share their ‘Denny’s on Demand’ experiences through a variety of new and unique Snapchat filters.
Plus, regardless of when or where they dine or how they place their order, Denny’s meals will be served hot, fresh and delicious thanks to an all-new array of custom-designed take-out packaging to deliver guests the best-tasting breakfast —all made using microwaveable and sustainable materials, including recyclable plastics and paper. As an extra layer of engagement, the brand has printed a variety of Denny’s tweets directly on the burger boxes, cups and more.
Dillon added: “The launch of ‘Denny’s on Demand’ is the result of our commitment to leveraging new technology to reach a wider audience and make it even more convenient for today’s virtually-connected guests to enjoy their favorite diner dishes. In the coming months, we will continue to enhance the Denny’s experience for our guests, giving them even more ways to get exactly what they want from our menu, whenever – and now wherever – they want it.”
FoodLoqiQ Adds Julie McGill
FoodLogiQ announced the addition of Julie McGill to the role of Director of Implementation and Strategic Account Management. As food companies face mounting demands for traceability and supply chain visibility, this newly created FoodLogiQ position will support their needs and increase their speed to value.
McGill previously worked at GS1 US for over 16 years on various teams including Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) implementation services and global account management. She also led the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative for more than sevenyears, working with manufacturers, distributors, operators and supply chain partners to increase efficiencies and build a foundation for traceability and supply chain visibility through the use of GS1 standards.
“Julie is well known as an industry leader and her experience will deepen our team,” said Dean Wiltse, CEO of FoodLogiQ. “Our customers will benefit from her vast traceability and implementation expertise to establish best practices – guiding them to ensure success. We are delighted for her to join us.”
“We are thrilled to have Julie join our partner FoodLogiQ and continue to move the industry forward with innovative solutions and tools that utilize GS1 standards,” said Lucelena Angarita, Director, Supply Chain Traceability at IPC/SUBWAY®.
“There is not a technology provider in the market today with supply chain visibility tools that match FoodLogiQ’s product depth,” said McGill. “I am excited to share my knowledge with FoodLogiQ customers so they can easily implement our solutions, meet their food safety initiatives and achieve their desired outcomes.”
Delaget Signs 19 KFC Franchises
Delaget, LLC, the only data analytics and business process outsourcing experts focused on the QSR industry, today announced the signing of 19 new KFC franchise customers who have licensed Delaget Guard, its loss prevention software focused on reducing employee theft and error. The new signings come on the heels of the KFC Technology Committee’s successful completion of a 120-day pilot of Delaget Guard.
The Hodges Management Group, a 30-unit KFC, Taco Bell, and Dairy Queen franchise, is one of these new customers.
“Delaget Guard gives me an easy way to see what’s happening at our restaurants. Using the software, I found managers who were doing refunds that weren’t legitimate – they were just pocketing money. In fact, one of the employees we caught stole to the tune of around $4,000,” said Bobby Bange, an Above Store Leader at The Hodges Management Company.
Jason Zakaras, owner of Zak Foods, a 27-unit KFC franchise, decided to partner with Delaget because of how easy the software is to use.
“We wanted to go with Delaget because I know how robust their tools have become. It was a no brainer for me because I know Delaget is a world-class resource for our teams and they provide a very intuitive solution,” Jason said.
“Because Delaget Guard has been tested and proven by KFC corporate, franchisees can be confident that it’s going to work in their business and help them improve margins. We’ve seen a tremendous response so far, which is exciting to see because it means that the software is really making a difference,” said Dave Sandhoefner, Delaget’s Chief Revenue Officer.
Glance Pay Signs The Donnelly Group
Glance Pay has signed with one of Canada’s leading hospitality companies, The Donnelly Group. The Donnelly Group is an award-winning hospitality company, operating in both Vancouver and Toronto.
“The Donnelly Group understands what instills our competitive advantages and mobile payments, well done, is simply a demand of the times. We are excited to partner with Glance Pay and provide a mobile payment solution,” says Reid Ogdon, VP Operations, The Donnelly Group.
“When you look at popular culture today, The Donnelly Group sets the stage for innovation and a remarkable foresight to give guests an incredible experience at each of their venues. Leading the industry, with over eighteen years in business, Glance Pay is extremely proud to work with The Donnelly Group and speak to their core values of providing guests with a superior product, service, design and community with a collaborative approach. The Glance Pay solution aligns with these important ideals,” says Desmond Griffin, CEO, Glance.
One Network Enterprises Unveils Latest Version of Real Time Value Network
One Network Enterprises today announced the immediate availability of the latest version of its Real Time Value Network™ (RTVN). RTVN version 18.0 delivers on the Company’s vision to provide intelligent consumer-driven business networks to organizations across a wide range of vertical markets, including Retail, CPG, Electronics, Automotive, Defense, Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, and Logistics Services.
Key innovations in this release include intelligent end-to-end demand sensing and supply orchestration workflows for restaurants and retail chains, improved inbound supply planning across multiple tiers, and enhancements to global logistics, and predictive capabilities for the automotive industry and other industries, and advancements in Defense Industry solutions.
New industry-specific capabilities include:
Restaurants and Retail Chains: As the industry’s first end-to-end, intelligent network solution, V18.0 spans store ordering, replenishment, transportation, allocation, and integrated business planning tailored for restaurant and retail chains. V18.0 continuously senses and learns POS demand and adjusts store forecasts. It translates to, and orchestrates, needed replenishments of purchase items even in constrained supply situations, to maximize customer service, maintain store in-stock and minimize purchase/logistics costs.
Global Logistics: V18.0 delivers richer capabilities in real-time global demand and supply match by extending deep transportation capabilities with intelligent self-learning algorithms, and predictive analytics to resolve last minute execution issues. One Network’s highly differentiated Optimized Execution services continuously optimize transportation operations, replenishment, and warehouse execution simultaneously and across all trading partners to increase agility, improve service and reduce costs.
Defense: V18.0 marks a major milestone in the development of One Network’s Defense Industry Solutions – being among the first to meet key logistics and auditability U.S. DoD compliance directives. This includes an auditable process mandate to ensure traceability and visibility. This is particularly important for Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR), and support for the Defense Logistics Management Standard (DLMS), which is the next generation of interoperability and digital information exchange between devices and systems for the military. Most important is the support for disconnected operations and touchscreen interfaces essential for effectiveness in difficult theater situations.
Automotive: V18.0 extends One Network’s industry leading solution with new capabilities that include improved inbound supply planning across multiple tiers, enhancements to global logistics, and predictive capabilities in transportation management.
“Release 18.0 delivers on our strategy to accelerate our investments in industry-specific capabilities as a part of our mission to develop the world’s most efficient consumer driven business networks,” said Greg Brady, CEO of One Network. “These networks have a proven track record of improving visibility and transparency between trading partners, enabling marketplaces, and orchestrating optimized execution across multiple parties in real-time. In addition to adding significant enhancement to our core network capabilities, we have added specific, vertical expertise that strengthen and/or streamline processes with all the parties needed to orchestrate supply and e-commerce.”
Fract Wins CART Event
Fract’s artificial intelligence solution helps retailers and restaurants understand market conditions and offers actionable insights to optimize existing or prospective stores Fract, provider of the first geospatial artificial intelligence platform for retail, has been selected as the winner of the Spring 2017 Virtual Pitch Event from the Center for Advancing Retail Technology (CART). Panelists representing more than 18,000 retail stores selected Fract the winner over several hundred other innovative applicants.
“CART worked with panelists to analyze an incredible variety of retail innovations,” said Sterling Hawkins, CART Operations and Venture Relations. “Fract is the perfect winner, as they bring AI to retail in a way that pushes the envelope in terms of what’s possible and delivers tangible benefits and quick ROI.”
Fract’s innovative AI platform solves one of the retail industry’s most critical problems – helping retailers and restaurants understand market conditions and improve the performance of existing or proposed locations for retail stores, restaurants and other businesses. With more than 8,600 retail locations projected to close in 2017 according to Credit Suisse, retailers and restaurants urgently need new solutions to optimize store performance and better understand market conditions for each location.
Fract customers typically see an immediate ROI of 20 percent for decisions such as time to market, with reports available in 1 minute instead of six weeks (with traditional processes). In one case, Fract identified that a retail location could boost revenue by $10,000/month by simply adding two additional parking spaces. Fract has also identified scenarios in which retailers can increase revenue by a minimum of $500,000 in a market by increasing market share.
“Winning the CART competition is a complete validation of Fract’s solution and ability to solve one of the retail industry’s most vexing problems,” said Mike Mack, co-founder and CEO of Fract. “This competition was judged by the people that matter the most – retail executives that are looking for solutions to help their business. CART put us front and center, one-on-one, with six different billion dollar corporations for 55 minutes each, over two weeks. We’re honored to be selected as winners in such a competitive, real-world pitch event.”
Verlin Youd Joins Theatro
Theater announced that Verlin Youd has joined the company as Theatro’s Senior Vice President of Global Sales. He brings more than 20 years’ experience in the retail industry and software solutions space, having worked with some of world’s leading retailers and retail solution providers in various executive positions. In his new role, Youd will continue to drive Theatro’s rapidly expanding customer base in retail, hospitality and manufacturing, both in the U.S. and in international markets.
“Theatro’s innovative ‘heads up, hands free’ mobile solutions are exactly the type of solutions that retailers have been waiting for to deliver exceptional customer experience and business performance in an omni-channel world,” said Youd. “I look forward to drawing on my experience across a wide variety of retail and enterprise technology verticals to drive business growth and help Theatro customers realize the power of a connected workforce.”
Youd most recently served as Managing Principal of Retail at Verizon Enterprise Solutions, where he was responsible for overseeing Verizon’s top retail accounts and delivering solutions to drive optimal customer experience, business growth, operational efficiency and risk management. Prior to his time at Verizon, Youd held senior executive positions at a number of innovative retail solution providers, including SCOPIX, SAP, Motorola, IBM, and Systech Retail Solutions.
“I’m pleased to have an executive of Verlin’s caliber join our team and to have him lead the charge in building a world-wide sales organization at Theatro,” said Chris Todd, CEO, Theatro. “We are experiencing rapid growth and therefore need a sale leader who can scale with us. With the addition of Verlin, our team will be well prepared to lead our customers forward with our innovative solutions.”
Unicharge Debuts
The newest creation from Yatra’s line of cutting edge technological products, UNiCHARGE™, is already in use at nationally known restaurants, including STK Vegas, Chicago Cut Steakhouse, Prime and Provisions, Gibson’s, and Tavern on Rush. Each power bank comes with built-in detachable Lightning and Micro USB cable, and are individually equipped with USB ports that allow users to not only charge, but to independently connect to their other devices too. The incredible quick charge technology, equips the charging stations with 8 4000mAh lithium polymer batteries, that can power any smart device from 0-70 percent in less than 30 minutes.
UNiCHARGE™ Benefits:
– White Glove Service
– Enhanced Experience and Luxury
– Removes Restaurant Liability
– Custom Branding Options – Fully customize and display marketing logos, names, and designs
Another feature is their Luna Pulse Technology, theft protection. Combined with GPS technology each battery is only allowed to be charged by the base station, giving restaurantuers peace of mind.
UNiCHARGE all offers:
• Custom Branding Options – Companies can fully customize and display their own logos, names, and designs, as every UNiCHARGE™ comes backlit, illuminating your brand!
• Compact – Each charging box contains 8 ultra-slim power banks that easily fit on countertops or host stands.
• Universal – Each power bank comes with built-in detachable Lightning and Micro USB cables, individually equipped with USB ports that allow users to not only charge, but to independently connect to their other devices!
• Convenient – Now guests are drawn to your brand, and the environment you are providing to them, as every UNiCHARGE™ is fully adaptable, eliminating the need to spend time looking for open outlets, keeping customers in-house.
PG Cash Drawer Adds Robert Banker
PG Cash Drawer added Robert Banker to the position of Director of SMARTtill® Technology Sales. In his role, Banker will lead the US sales and strategy around the innovative new SMARTtill® Solution to retailers throughout the United States.
“I am very excited to be joining APG to help lead the sales efforts around their innovative SMARTtill® Technology,” stated Banker. “Key factors for me are the strong and positive culture of the company and the collaborative approach that they take within the organization. The value proposition for the solution is very strong and the current European customers are extremely happy. I am looking forward to helping bring this solution to the US marketplace to help retailers improve operational performance and reduce shrink.”
“We are excited to have Robert on board as we continuously drive the integration of our newest product innovation into the marketplace,” stated Mark Olson, President and CEO of APG. “The sales process for the SMARTtill® Solution requires a multifaceted approach, and Robert’s experience and expertise in the sale of technology solutions to the retail industry will ultimately yield more positive results for APG’s partners.”
Based in the Boston area, Banker is a retail technology veteran with extensive experience in solution sales of retail technologies. Prior to joining APG, Robert led the sales efforts around a variety of software solutions for companies including Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, IBM and Tyco Retail Solutions. These solutions included Semi-Integrated Payments, Promotions and Loyalty, Omni-channel Point of Sale, and Loss Prevention Analytics. Throughout his career, Robert has been partnering with retailers across the country to help them solve critical business issues.