In 2021, close to 90% of food services SMEs adopted at least one digital solution following the launch of the Food Services Industry Digital Plan (IDP). With the refreshed launch of the plan in November 2022, the government is now encouraging F&B businesses to adopt more integrated and advanced digital solutions for restaurants. So, what is the Food Services IDP all about, and how can you benefit from it? Read on to find out more!
What is the Food Services IDP?
The Food Services IDP was launched by the Enterprise Singapore (EntepriseSG) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in 2018. The plan focuses on guiding F&B businesses to overcome increasing manpower costs and a tight labour market with digitalisation. It provides advice on how food services businesses can tackle the shift in consumer behaviour toward digital ordering, e-commerce and food delivery.
Four new solution categories were added to the refreshed plan to support F&B businesses in tapping more advanced solutions to further deepen digital capabilities. They are:
Connected business suite;
Service robotics;
Food waste management; and
Smart central kitchen management system
Who Is the Food Services IDP For?
Companies in Singapore within the Food Services Industry stand to benefit from the plan; below are the types of companies,
Restaurants
Food courts, coffee shops, canteens
Cafes
Food caterers
Others such as food kiosks, pubs, fast food (excludes hawkers)
How Does the Food Services IDP Work?
The refreshed Food Services IDP offers a step-by-step guide to using newer and more advanced solutions to identify suitable digital food services solutions to support your F&B business needs. It also provides a digital training roadmap to tailor your training programmes (including change management) according to your employees' needs to ensure they can adapt and use the newly implemented restaurant technologies.
In addition, there's also a new roadmap on cybersecurity and data protection measures helping you identify best practices you can adapt at the different stages of your digital growth to safeguard your systems and operations from cyberattacks. And most importantly, protect your customers' data.
Download the Food Services IDP guide and the Food Services IDP media release.
How Can I Get Started with the Food Services IDP?
You can use the Chief Technology Officer-as-a-Service to request for digital consultancy and project management services. This website lets you check your digital readiness and receive recommendations on the most suitable digital solutions for your F&B business.
Alternatively, you can also book an appointment with the SME Centre if you require business advice.
What Are the Pre-approved Solutions With Grant Support Under the Food Services IDP?
The refreshed Food Services IDP provides guidance on the digital solutions that F&B businesses can adopt at each stage of their growth to streamline operations, increase efficiency and drive business growth.
Find out if your business is eligible for funding, such as the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) or other relevant grants on the Business Grants Portal to implement digital solutions under the Food Services IDP.
How Has Swee Choon (Ourglass's Customer) Benefited from the Food Services IDP?
Service robotics is one of the advanced digital solutions added to the refreshed Food Services IDP. Mr Ernest Ting, Business Director of Swee Choon mentioned that Swee Choon deployed a robot waiter at their Jalan Besar outlet to dispatch food from the kitchen to a common collection point, where staff would then collect the food to serve to the customers. With the service robots, they are able to increase their food serving capacity by 200%, improving efficiency and optimising workflow. Looking ahead, they are also planning to further digitalise and integrate their business functions. This will allow them to better collate and analyse data to drive their business more efficiently.
This article is written based on the information on the IMDA Food Services IDP website.