A kitchen display system (KDS) is a centralised digital ordering system, which allows orders to transfer from the POS to a digital screen in the kitchen. Every kind of restaurant can benefit from implementing a kitchen display system as it replaces paper tickets and kitchen printers.

Here are some benefits of using a kitchen display system in your restaurant:

Enhanced kitchen performance

A kitchen display system can be customised to sort placed orders automatically in order to send them to specific KDS stations based on order type. This allows the kitchen to be more organised and it streamlines all kitchen processes. The best part of having a KDS for your restaurant, is that every member of your kitchen can access the updates on the screen at the same time. This system thereby improves communication between kitchen staff, because everyone will better understand their roles.

Increase restaurant accuracy and efficiency

As soon as your staff enters the order, it instantly reflects on the display in the kitchen. This allows orders to be processed and prepared quicker and more accurately. While paper slips can be lost or damaged in a busy kitchen environment, the kitchen display system ensures that no order gets missed and that orders are prepared in the correct order. Customers do not like waiting for their orders and a KDS can help your kitchen prioritise which orders need to be prepared and served first.

Save on costs

A KDS allows for more accurate orders to go out to customers, which means that you save on food wastage. This kind of system also helps with order forecasting, allowing you to order only the ingredients you need for the day, thereby saving costs from forecasting the day’s inventory according to the order. A KDS helps you to keep track of your inventory and alert you when something needs to be reordered. That way you are not over-ordering inventory that may be wasted in the long run.

A KDS also allows your restaurant to become more environmentally-friendly by reducing paper wastage, as you will no longer need to use costly receipt printing paper.

Business Data

A KDS, which is integrated into a point of sale system, can give you accurate data about your business and kitchen performance. For example, you can track the time that it takes for orders to be prepared and be send out to customers. This data can help you make smart business decisions such as alterations to the menu, ordering more ingredients for certain menu items or hiring more staff to handle the volume of orders coming in. This data will also allow you to see which members of your team are the most efficient and what processes take up the most time.

A Kitchen Display system is clearly beneficial, not only because it improves the restaurant’s overall performance, but also because it improves the customer experience.