INTRODUCTION:
The 365 Retail Markets Connected Campus(SM) is an innovative solution that provides a seamless and efficient experience for food service operators (FSO), their clients and consumers. This first-of-its-kind, fully integrated, consumer experience ecosystem connects a location’s 365-based micro market, office coffee service (OCS), vending and dining technology through a single cloud-based management portal, with a consistent consumer experience.
At the crux of 365’s Connected Campus(SM) is the company’s software solutions: its Global Market Account (GMA), its mobile payment application, 365Pay and its back-end management system for operators, known as ADM. GMA empowers consumers to execute retail transactions across any 365 device with only one account. Both GMA and ADM link all locations in the operator’s food service footprint, whether they are in the same building or across the country. Leveraging GMA, the 365Pay app allows consumers to connect to their account and execute payment transactions at any location’s 365-based unattended retail and dining spaces.
Download the Abbreviated Case Study
CHALLENGE:
In the Fall of 2022, a well-established food service operator (FSO) approached 365 asking for help with a bid to service a large U.S.-based manufacturing facility. Requirements for the potential contract included dining and refreshment services to support up to 11,000 employees spread across a 1,200-acre campus, working shifts around-the-clock.
A key challenge the client wanted to overcome was to shorten the distance between food service options available to employees, thus reducing the time it takes them to travel to and from their workstations. With food service options limited to a few site locations, it was difficult for an employee to take advantage of onsite options during their limited meal and break times. Adding to the challenge was long wait times in the cafeteria during peak hours.
Another key facility requirement was to provide an array of fast and satisfying food and beverage options accessible across their expansive campus.
With this new bid, the facility was seeking stronger employee satisfaction and increased productivity by:
- decreasing travel down to approximately ten minutes roundtrip
- reducing wait times for meals even further
- maximizing employee break times overall
SOLUTION:
In partnership with the FSO, the 365 Retail Markets team proposed Connected Campus(SM). This network of vending, micro market, OCS and dining technology combines to deliver consumers a frictionless, consistent experience at each refreshment service location.
For this client, the flexibility of grab-and go micro market solutions and full-service dining were a priority. Each unique refreshment option fills physical and logistical food service gaps on the client’s campus. More locations to access snacks and meals translates to fewer lines and shorter distances for employees. Features like order ahead capabilities from the dining kitchen and self-service, intuitive kiosks to place & pick up orders provide a faster checkout experience. Frictionless payment options, including access to the 365Pay mobile app, further contribute to an efficient transaction.
For the operator, Connected Campus devices are managed through a secure, web-based portal. Sales, inventory, merchandising support and real-time device notifications ensure site needs are optimally addressed. ADM also offers the ability to offer promotions and a loyalty program to reward employees for being a frequent patron.
All these capabilities combined surpassed the client’s needs and resulted in a multi-year contract for the FSO.
To meet the needs of the client, the FSO and 365 recommended over 220 new devices supporting grab-and-go Micro Markets, full-service dining and mobile ordering strategically placed across the facility’s expansive campus. That product mix includes:
- (90) 365 Beacons for Scan and Pay on Mobile
- (57) PicoCoolers
- (27) Gen3c Micro Market Kiosks
- (26) PicoMarket+ Kiosks
- (13) MM6 Dining Kiosks
- (7) ReadyTouch Dining Stations
- (3) 365 Lockers sets, each composed of 5 food deliver cubbies.
- (1) Mobile app for payment across devices and Order Ahead capability
- (1) Fully connected campus
Finally, given the short break times and the facility’s preference that their employees never wait in line, the FSO and 365 added 90 Beacons—365 technology empowering consumers to scan products and pay for them directly from their phones.
RESULTS:
Following the completion of the installation, the facility now had a great number of food and beverage option available to employees, both in the form of traditional dining facilities and grab-and-go options.
Quick and easy purchases, as well as order ahead, can be made in the cafeteria, breakrooms, or on their phones while employees are at their workstations. The impressive daily volume of transactions in the months since installation is evidence employees are quickly adopting the new services.
Dining locations
- 7 locations
- 2,400+ daily transactions
Markets
- 85 locations
- 9,200+ daily transactions
At the helm of the proposed solution, 365 placed 2 key factors: Consumer Convenience and Vendor Versatility. Both focal points kept the facility’s obstacles and goals top-of-mind.
Consumer Convenience:
The facility’s employees required fast and broad food and beverage options with easily accessible alternatives located closer to their workstations. Additionally, to further prioritize speed, 365 placed access to ordering and payment solutions at their fingertips—a low learning curve in today’s technological climate of smart phones and mobile devices.
With a Connected Campus(SM) mix tailored to their specific facility, employees were able to create and fund accounts, view purchase history, scan and pay for products, and connect to any of the facility’s new 365 devices all with the flexibility of a direct kiosk or the 365Pay app. After walking to the facility’s dining space or an even shorter distance to a PicoCooler or micro market, employees were able to quickly check out using their global market accounts through the 365Pay app. This increased the number of transactions taking place across the entire campus while decreasing the wait time significantly. Because 365’s PicoCooler offers the same security of a traditional vending machine with even more functionality, it is transforming the vending industry. The facility now boasts 57 PicoCoolers on its campus. As a result, the facility and the FSO completely removed all vending machines from the building.
Additionally, the Connected Campus (SM) solution directly addressed:
- Improving employee satisfaction with:
- Alerts about micro market product promotions and offers that the FSO made available
- Redeemable points earned via purchase reward programs offered by the FSO
- Improving lengthy travel and wait times with the ability to:
- access their 365Pay app which is linked to their payment methods for easy checkout
- Plan their lunch breaks from their workstations based on:
- Viewing recent transactions and current balances
- Ordering from the facility’s cafeteria leveraging 365’s omnichannel Order Ahead features
- Receiving their meal at a convenient pick-up location closer to their workstations
The FSO and 365 collaborated to exceed the facility’s expectations by adding the MM6 dining kiosks into the mix. These devices created a frictionless and informed self-service consumer ordering experience. MM6 kiosks allow employees to tailor their food the way they
want with enhanced modifiers, prep options and more. Additionally, 365’s MM6 Dining Kiosks empowered the facility’s employees to make healthy eating decisions with our daily nutritional analysis (DNA) feature—which is included in the kiosk purchase, as opposed to competitors offering similar functionality at an added cost. By color coding (green, yellow or red) a product based on caloric thresholds as well as transparency in relaying nutritional information for each menu offering, 365’s MM6 Dining kiosk gave the facility employees the power to make informed decisions about their meals.
With Connected Campus(SM) by 365, the facility’s employees can now make a quick and easy purchases in the cafeteria, the breakroom, at PicoCoolers or even on their phone from the comforts of their workstations.
Vendor Versatility:
The facility’s entire micro market and dining ecosystem is supported by 365 Retail Markets’ ADM back-end system. Its technology interconnects everything from 365Pay and GMA to the 365Ops mobile application. ADM is the centralized control panel for the FSO’s new suite of 365 technologies while 365Ops empowered the FSO to manage their business from a mobile device.
From 365Ops on their phone, the facility’s FSO can check the status of their 365 hardware in real-time, self-provision hardware, perform reboots and product syncs as needed, and view various dashboards and reports to help them best manage their operations.
With ADM, the FSO can continue to support improved employee satisfaction from behind the scenes by adjusting to the facility’s micro market needs with real-time inventory tracking, machine monitoring, promotional tools and much more.
Moreover, the MM6 dining kiosk also allows the FSO to personalize their menu branding specific to the facility. the FSO configured backgrounds, logos and accent colors to tailor the user experience. Additionally, the MM6 empowered the FSO to feature select products and showcase campus specials in the header of that same customized menu.
CONCLUSION:
The facility’s previous vending and dining operation no longer fit the needs of their employee population. This began to impact employee morale, schedule adherence and productivity. Many FSOs offered proposals to land the contract to support the facility’s food service needs. However, it was 365 Retail Markets’ solution mix that strengthened the winning FSO’s proposal with a competitive advantage and cohesive strategy. Our Connected Campus(SM) not only met the facility’s basic needs, but it also anticipated their potential obstacles—strengthening the relationship between the facility and the FSO. Together the facility, the FSO, and 365 truly reimagined every single food dispensing outlet within the building.
