Image Source: foodbeast.com
Food truck technology is one way to improve your food truck operations. However, the technology costs money to acquire and to operate so the big question is which technology should be you invest in and which one should you consider at a later date.
Some of the technologies for food truck operations that are being sold include mobile ordering system, a POS system, credit card payments, online payment schemes like Apple Pay or Google Wallet, and even recyclable solutions.
The Mobile Ordering System
Unless you have enough people to handle both walk up customers and mobile orders, you should not get this technology yet. Not being able to service hungry people on time will cost you more in terms of poor feedback and reviews. If you are strapped for people and you want a mobile ordering system, sell pre-packed goods on your mobile system but anything that has to be cooked on the spot will have to follow the first-come, first serve policy.
In addition, with a mobile ordering system, you could have a potential problem of inventory and supply. You could run out of raw materials or packaging before the end of the day. It sounds like a great problem until you realize that you could lose customers by not having enough supply for unexpected surges in sales.
The Point Of Sale (POS) System
This technology is a must-have because the system will not only help you keep track of sales, it can only track inventory and staff hours. There are many POS systems available and some can be integrated with a mobile ordering system. When choosing a POS system, aside from the acquisition cost, consider the cost of operating it, training, equipment, and upgrades. This way you won’t have to worry about overhauling the system completely when your food truck business starts to expand – and with this kind of business, expansion is very possible to more trucks, carts, catering and even to a small restaurant down the road.
Innovative Solutions
There is a food truck, Kanteen, that operates re-using its cooking oil as its fuel – to run the truck! The system is possible on any truck that can run on biodiesel. Used cooking oil can be automatically drained into a container that will convert it to biodiesel. The truck would have to meet the legal specifications for a vehicle running on biodiesel which means you will have to do some research on local laws to find out if this solution is viable in your neighborhood or not.