Junya Mori
Tokyo-based Showcase Gig, the startup best known for its mobile wallet and CRM (customer relationship management) platform’O:der‘ (pronounced ‘order’), announced yesterday that it has developed a new ordering system called ‘Smart O:der’ in association with United & Collective, the company behind several Japanese restaurant chains.
The new system will start operating tomorrow at the 3rd Burger hamburger restaurants in Aoyama and Roppongi Hills shopping complex in Tokyo. The video below shows how the system works.
When you download the ‘O:der’ app to a smartphone and associate your credit card information with your account, you can order food and pay the bill using the app before you go to a ‘Smart O:der’ system-enabled restaurant. Before the introduction of this new system, users could order in advance but had to pay the bill at the restaurant.
When you place an order and make payment using the app, your order will then be transmitted to the restaurant. Upon arrival at the restaurant, a sensor device installed there will detect your arrival and notify the kitchen staff to start preparing your food. With this system you will not need to wait long for your food or wait in a long line to pick up your “to go” meals. United & Collective tested the system at their restaurants and found it could double their order processing speed during lunch peak hours.
Coinciding with this announcement, Showcase Gig rolled out a new feature that allows retailers to give users digital loyalty customer stamps or reward coupons using the beacon-based noncontact type authentication system for iOS, which is the first of its kind in the world, they explained.
The company is planning to add a new service allowing users to pick up their orders at a restaurant at the time appointed in advance.
Masaru Ikeda
Shintaro Eguchi
