Elevating the Airport Dining Experience: Taking Flight with SSP and ACRELEC

The Customer:

SSP, a prominent player in the food, beverage, and travel retail industry, operates numerous branded catering and retail units in transit hubs like airports and railway stations globally. Operating over 2,800 branded catering and retail units across 35 countries, SSP has made its mark at more than 180 airports and 300 railway stations. Their dedication to offering exceptional dining experiences and operational excellence drove their decision to collaborate with ACRELEC Nordics, a technology leader specializing in self-service solutions.

The Challenge:

With its extensive presence in bustling travel locations, SSP sought to redefine customer interactions and enhance operational efficiency through innovative technology. SSP recognized the potential of a multi-application environment for their Finnish FoodCourt at Helsinki Airport. However, merging diverse brands under one platform presented challenges. The complexity of facilitating smooth customer flow and ensuring fair revenue distribution across brands required a cutting-edge solution.

The Solution:

In response to SSP’s visionary ambitions, ACRELEC crafted a suite of solutions tailored to SSP’s needs:

Brand-Specific Applications: The ACRELEC team developed three distinct DOT19 self-ordering

kiosks, each catering to a specific brand. These applications boasted intuitive interfaces branded for marketing purposes, making the ordering process effortless and engaging for customers.

Unified Experience: To ensure a seamless transition between brand applications, ACRELEC introduced a customized user interface. This innovation acted as the backbone of the multi-app environment, allowing customers to navigate with ease and enjoy a unified experience across brands.

Optimal Accessibility: Recognizing the importance of accessibility, ACRELEC positioned six strategically located K27 kiosks within the food court. These kiosks ensured that customers could seamlessly interact with the applications and therefore, restaurants, placing orders effortlessly and

efficiently.

Effortless Transactions: ACRELEC’s solution included the integration of two S22 self-checkout solutions. These solutions streamlined grab-and-go transactions, providing customers with a quick and hassle-free checkout experience. The enhancement was particularly notable at “Tori Kitchen and Cafe,” offering a speedy and intuitive solution that caters to time-constrained travelers.

Enhanced Communication: Acknowledging the significance of order updates, ACRELEC implemented an Order Ready Board (ORB). This intuitive system promptly informed customers when their orders were ready for pickup, further enhancing the overall efficiency of the food court.

The Results:

The impact of the implemented solution extended far beyond the initial challenge, delivering tangible and transformative outcomes:

Elevated Customer Experience: The seamless transition between brand applications led to elevated customer satisfaction and increased brand loyalty. The cohesive multi-app environment provided customers with a truly integrated dining experience.

Operational Efficiency: ACRELEC’s innovative solutions optimized the ordering process, resulting in reduced wait times and an increase in turnover. The streamlined operation contributed to heightened operational efficiency during peak hours, benefiting both customers and staff.

Transparent Revenue Distribution: The challenge of fairly distributing revenues across brands was elegantly addressed through automated and accurate revenue allocation mechanisms. The solution provided transparency and confidence to brands within the food court.

Empowered Staff: With the reallocation of personnel from front-counter roles, staff were better positioned to focus on tasks that added significant value. This not only improved overall productivity but also contributed to a positive work environment.

Continued Collaboration: The resounding success of the implemented solution solidified the partnership between SSP and ACRELEC. This trust and confidence led to further collaboration, underscoring SSP’s recognition of ACRELEC’s ability to deliver innovative solutions.

Within a span of slightly over a month, the kiosks processed almost 10,000 transactions.

Key Findings:

Integration and Usability Enhancement: One of the primary learnings from the deployment of the multi-application environment at Helsinki Airport’s FoodCourt was the identification of a need for a more integrated ordering system. While the current setup allows customers to interact with each restaurant’s application individually, it has become clear that there’s a demand for a unified basket feature. Customers have expressed a preference for the convenience of compiling orders from multiple restaurants into a single basket, necessitating only one payment transaction. This feedback has highlighted a critical area for enhancement.

Proposed Development: To address this, it is proposed that the system be evolved to allow for a more cohesive experience. This would entail the development of a functionality that enables customers to select their dining preference (eat-in or take away) initially and then seamlessly navigate between the different restaurant applications to add items to a collective basket. The goal is to reduce the friction of having to complete separate transactions for each brand, thus streamlining the customer journey.

Operational Considerations: Implementing this integrated basket system would also require backend adjustments to ensure that orders are correctly distributed to the respective kitchens. This speaks to the need for a sophisticated order management system capable of intelligently routing orders based on the customer’s selections.

Customer-Centric Solution: The move towards a unified basket system is a direct response to customer feedback and is aligned with the Food Court’s vision of providing a convenient, fast, and user-friendly dining experience. This enhancement is expected to not only improve operational efficiency but also increase customer satisfaction by offering a more intuitive ordering process that reflects the diverse and dynamic nature of airport dining.

By addressing complex challenges and delivering exceptional outcomes, ACRELEC played a pivotal role in enhancing SSP’s customer experiences, operational efficiency, and business expansion within the competitive food and beverage industry. This fruitful partnership not only solidified SSP’s commitment to excellence but also paved the way for future endeavors that continue to shape and redefine the landscape of dining experiences in travel locations worldwide.