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São Paulo, September 19, 2023 – Linked Gourmand, a business automation startup within the meals section, reached the thousand buyer mark in September. The achievement comes at a time when the corporate, a part of Grupo Entre, plans to speed up its growth. Investments to spice up the enterprise started lately and are targeting three essential fronts: synthetic intelligence (AI) for enhancing and creating new processes; integration, by way of APIs, of complementary providers to these provided by the corporate, and a venture to democratize using KDS (Kitchen Show System), the system used to view orders on digital screens, in kitchens, dishing out with the paper model.

Linked Gourmand affords software program for the operation and administration of eating places and institutions of all sorts and sizes, from pizzerias, deliveries to sizzling canine stands. “The target is to achieve effectivity and scale by maintaining the workforce lean and guaranteeing the standard of our providers and merchandise”, says Sergio Marcondes, co-founder and CEO of Linked Gourmand.

Funding in AI

The corporate employed a specifically devoted govt to determine automation alternatives with AI. Within the preliminary mapping, 11 processes had been recognized for a primary section of labor, which embrace repetitive actions, which require numerous self-discipline, however little mental effort. Along with duties that will in any other case be too costly to carry out with human labor.

An instance of an already automated course of is the system for accumulating overdue payments. Till lately, the corporate had an in-house workforce for this. As we speak, AI checks the system and robotically sends notifications by way of Whatsapp to prospects who’re in arrears, with the PIX QR Code to facilitate cost.

One other instance is the customer support system. Within the earlier mannequin, assist groups, extremely skilled in fixing technical issues, ended up caught on calls with easy calls for, which might be resolved with a quick session on the corporate’s YouTube channel or the platform’s personal glossary, says Marcondes. Now, an AI robotic filters calls and guides prospects, providing solutions to ceaselessly requested questions, for instance.

“The idea is automation that frees up sources or performs an exercise that we’ve got by no means carried out earlier than,” says Marcondes. “Now we have been exploring these ideas for a very long time, however solely now have we managed to seek out options which can be assertive, simple to implement and have a palatable price. As we speak, it’s viable”, says Marcondes.

With this, says the businessman, it’s attainable to unlock the workforce, which is certified, to construct relationships with prospects and determine extra particular issues, which assist the corporate to enhance the standard of its service, services and products.

As we speak, in keeping with Marcondes, the tempo of implementation is 2 new processes per week. The expectation, due to this fact, is that by the top of September, the 11 already mapped shall be applied. From then on, new priorities shall be outlined each month. “By the top of the 12 months, we should always have greater than 40 working,” he says.

Service integration

One other facet of the corporate’s funding was the creation of a portal to facilitate integration with specialised service suppliers, complementary to these provided by Linked Gourmand. One instance is supply apps. However there are additionally purposes for queue administration or loyalty applications for eating places, for instance.

Till lately, Linked Gourmand built-in different firms. Now, with the launch of the portal, it has reversed the logic, making all of the documentation out there for different firms to create APIs and combine with its platform. As soon as a brand new API has been accomplished, Linked Gourmand solely wants to hold out purposeful exams and, as soon as they’re profitable, disseminate the brand new service choice to its base.

With this new improvement, Marcondes states that the corporate hopes to rapidly improve the variety of built-in suppliers, from the present 20 to greater than 50, by the top of the 12 months, and improve the attractiveness of the Linked Gourmand platform.

“It’s one factor if you need to communicate the language of fifty firms. One other factor is for 50 firms to talk the language of our platform”, says the businessman. “Earlier than, all integrations had been carried out by our workforce. I had a queue of integrations to do, and I needed to prioritize. Now, that’s now not obligatory.”

Fashionable KDS

In parallel with its investments in AI and with built-in suppliers, Linked Gourmand desires to “democratize” entry to KDS. The system, in keeping with Marcondes, is barely utilized by giant chains, due to the worth. But it surely has benefits corresponding to facilitating group and issuing orders in keeping with manufacturing, along with stopping the institution from having a printer within the kitchen and coping with paper. “There’s no extra paper dramaI need to fall behind the furnishings”, explains the businessman.

Linked Gourmand’s technique to enter this market section with its personal service is a system that permits using any digital gadget as a display for studying orders, from previous cell telephones and tablets to laptop displays and TVs.

Different differentiators of the product, in keeping with Marcondes, are the utterly distant set up and the worth of the service subscription. The costliest subscription, R$149 per thirty days, says the businessman, is half that charged by the market.

The launch of the KDS system happened in September, with a marketing campaign to publicize the information. Within the first month, the service shall be free for anybody who desires to check it.

“One of many traits of the businesses within the Entre ecosystem is the deal with improvements that make digitalization, and its numerous advantages, extra accessible not solely to firms with a big quantity of sources to take a position, however to any firm”, says Antonio Freixo, o Mineiro, accomplice of Entre Investimentos, proprietor of EntrePay, proprietor of 20% of Linked Gourmand.

“It’s one other little piece of our objective that’s translated right into a product,” says Marcondes. “These are applied sciences that assist our shoppers perceive that know-how is reasonable and that it’s attainable to sophisticate the administration and operation of any institution”, concludes the businessman.

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