Companies Changing Technology in Franchising: Rosnet

Technology is becoming the norm in the restaurant space. Owners are choosing to integrate various technology systems to improve operations and the customer experience as a way to get ahead of the competition. In the franchise system specifically, where multi-unit operators have to keep a close eye on things like inventory, staffing and payments at more than one location, technology is essential. Rosnet, a multi-unit restaurant management solution designed to provide restaurant operators with the data they need, when they need it, has found specific success within the franchising world because of the useful insight they are able to provide to both franchisees and franchisors to better operations.

Rosnet was founded in 1998 by restaurant industry veteran Gene Peters, who is now the CEO of Rosnet. Peters started as the Director of Restaurant Systems at Houlihan’s and was tasked with making sure all of the restaurant systems were operating efficiently, which was often done by pulling data from each piece of technology and compiling insight and trends from there. The inefficiencies were glaring, and he knew there had to be a better solution. So, he began to design Rosnet. The technology solution now acts as a one-stop-shop that optimizes profits for franchise owners by tracking food and inventory, managing labor and improving operations and ultimately making sure nothing is being overlooked by the restaurant owner.

“We make things really easy for restaurant managers that are looking for insight on how the restaurant is running,” said Rosnet Director of Business Development Patrick Bobrukiewicz. “There are so many things that are collecting data points in the space, from the restaurant flow monitors that go on the beer systems to the guest traffic motion monitor that detects new people walking in. You can become smarter in operating when you learn how to use the data that you already have at your disposal.”

In using the Rosnet system, franchisees are able to pull data that forecasts trends in all areas of the restaurant. For example, the data can show historically customers order more beer during the hours of 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, and the restaurant can manage inventory to make sure they are prepared for this spike in beer sales. The same data can be pulled in labor and payments. Because of this easy-to-use data, Rosnet has become a go-to system for multi-unit operators and franchisees throughout the country. Concepts like Applebee’s, IHOP and Slim Chickens utilize the system to provide useful insight on data that was otherwise unavailable.

“The Rosnet technology definitely helps us when it comes to monitoring things like food waste,” said Slim Chickens VP of Operations Myles Gift. “As a brand, we are consistently driving the use of technology in order to be able to forecast what operations are expected to look like based on the trends that our Rosnet data has laid out.”

Long gone are the days of tracking inventory and operations via pen and paper. Multi-unit operators can fall back on the technology available to them to make managing operations easier, and are then able to focus on other things in the restaurant. While the job of a multi-unit franchisee will never be simple, there are certain technologies that are changing the franchising game as we know it.

“Most multi-unit franchisees don’t have the bandwidth to do their own audits and pinpoint inefficiencies in the restaurant,” said Bobrukiewicz. “With our software, we provide them with a 360-degree view of what is happening within all of their restaurants, with very minimal management on their end. It’s as simple as popping in and getting information to use towards maximizing operations – we handle the rest.”