Process Automation

Let our experts value-engineer your existing model, whether a restaurant, central kitchen, distribution center, or any other situation requiring the automation or replacement of repetitive functions and labor-heavy tasks. Efficiency Studies and Automation Evaluations are great tools to use to ensure the highest efficiency for you and your future franchisees.

Regardless of what type of franchise model you are scaling, automation and artificial intelligence is likely to play a role in how we create and deliver our products and services to our customers.

At Franchise Science, clients who wish to have a full review of their operations with a view toward practical and effective automation options can elect to experience a complete review at a level commiserate with their product or service.  Although engineering services are not specific to any one industry, at the current moment most of our activity in this regard is in the restaurant space.  Recently we have been asked to review automation for four service businesses who intend to have robotics play a significant role in delivering various home services in the near future.

Franchise Science’s responsibility in consulting is to provide clients with the best current options for automation with a view toward future flexibility as technology progresses.

There are two scenarios most prevalent in our engineering reviews.

Full Engineering Design Study:  This option is managed with your FSI lead consultant, and a qualified engineer specializing in automation and design.  A full “Automation Audit” is conducted at the client’s location(s) to create a feasibility study and economic analysis of automating repetitious and labor-intensive tasks.

In many cases the engineer will need to obtain video of client’s processes, many times over several days or weeks for the purpose of process measurement and other data.  Review of all actionable items then flows into a proposal, which may involve suggesting “off the shelf” engineering or automation solutions if the most efficient solution or may even suggest a fully new creation or design, all depending on cost, risk, and ROI.  Whether the needed solution exists in the factory setting right now or not, all options must be reviewed to arrive at the best possible solution, even if that solution is to have existing labor remain unchanged.

The second scenario is much more abbreviated and may not involve extensive new tech installation at all, which is an Efficiency Review and Report.  This is also done by an engineer but is not necessarily focused on fully automating a given set of tasks, whether it be for a central kitchen, local restaurant kitchen, or factory setting.  The goal of an Efficiency Study and Report is to refine the processes of workflow in any given production environment, regardless of the focus on technology, and solutions are proposed as s combination of workflow improvements and/or off-the-shelf solutions which are not necessarily “tech-heavy.”    Up until 2020, FSI routinely did  these studies as part of restaurant development using our operations consultants, and a lot of video to have our restaurant experts improve workflow and reduce labor.  Due to the increased availability of low-cost automation solutions, we now exclude operations from this task and use engineering professionals for our efficiency studies also, and not just the much more involved engineering studies.

It is important to note that the newly-emerging franchisor needs to take ownership of a huge responsibility, which is to do the best job that they can to insure the ongoing success of their franchisees, and to support them in the best way possible within their specific economic model. Many new franchisors are being added to the crowd, over 500 in 2023 according to FranData, the nation’s most active data provider for the IFA and the franchise industry in general.  How many of the restaurants, service businesses, and other variations of value took the time to recognize and implement viable automation improvement plans prior to executing their documents and starting to take on new franchisees?

Although historically great systems such as most larger franchise organizations hold up a lot better during uncertain times than non-franchise brands, similar rules apply when it comes to both surviving and thriving in the present and the future.  It is an extremely low-cost move to do an entire automation study of every process in your system when compared to any metric of cost in a full franchise development, especially when compared to the cost of being left in the dust by more efficient competitors who took the time to responsibly innovate and increase their ROI.

Your store model, restaurant model, or central kitchen may not only need a “facelift” prior to scaling, but a technology makeover as well to properly value engineer your offering for the future.  FSI works with the best architectural and engineering talent for your newly-emerging model to create beauty in your brand, reduce costs of materials, and evaluate and engineer the best process improvements for both the present and future store development.

Standing Offer: New FSI clients who are beginning their Strategic Planning (Phase-I) work and who are also seeking Store Design assistance (or)  Value Engineering/Automation assistance  are entitled to receive one (1)  on-site visit and review from one of our affiliated architects or design engineers at no cost.  This courtesy review is both encouraged and paid for by FSI with no design-contracting or other obligation to the client in any way.  The purpose of this ongoing offer  is to A) encourage great design and  value engineering regardless of the ultimate choice of designer hired,   B) give our design vendors an opportunity to seek a new client if it is a good fit with zero risk to our client, and for immediate benefit C) gather more data to be used by FSI immediately in client’s Strategic Franchise Business Plan, specifically identifying changes or design needs which will impact client’s cost and method of scaling.