As restaurants battle labor and supply shortages, they are leaning on technology to increase efficiency and cut costs, which often leads to remodeling plans.

Speakers in this session talk about their recent redesigns.

When it comes to restaurant automation, the options are endless and can range from something as simple as using point-of-sale technology and analytics to make smarter decisions to deploying higher-tech platforms like burger- or salad-making robots.

This session explores customer-facing automation, such as QR codes, cloud-based POS systems, and delivery and takeout options as well as technologies to enhance the back-of-house, such as kitchen displays automated inventory management and robotic kitchens.

While many brands put international expansion on hold over the past couple of years, those same companies are once again beginning to explore global opportunities.

Experts in this session will discuss how to know when the time is right to go global and share what they’ve learned as they’ve pushed outside their home turfs.

Last-mile delivery is one of the most expensive and challenging parts of providing a solid delivery service, but speakers in this session reveal how they’ve not only cut costs but also found ways to overcome the usual headaches, such as lack of brand control and visibility, being forced to work with multiple fleets and losing customer data.

They’ll also discuss the pros and cons of deploying AI-powered platforms and implementing delivery drones.

As food costs rise, most restaurants can’t afford to give discounts to lure customers, but after relying so long on coupons, dollar-offs and freebies, what’s a brand to do?

It’s actually simple, according to the experts on this session, who reveal how they’ve created loyalty platforms that incentivize without crushing their bottom lines.

Regardless of the type of franchise model you use and whether you have one franchise partner or 100, it may be time to reevaluate how you are doing business. This panel discusses the pros and cons of each franchising model -- direct franchising, joint venture and master franchising  -- as well as how to choose and use tech platforms to help you button up operations.

It may seem impossible to cut costs and grow, especially when back office development teams are getting leaner, desirable retail locations are harder to find, supply chains are stalling and food costs are soaring, but this panel of cost-conscious experts will share how they've adapted to a volatile market with a little real estate and operations creativity, through the use of technology and a lot of trial and error.

Millennials taught us that customers wanted personalized experiences, but Gen Z is taking that to a whole new level. In fact, 58% will pay more for products targeted to their personalities, but only if you can get them to order, which might be a problem, considering that they are the generational least interested in dining and ordering out.

According to NPD Group, people between the ages of 18 and 24 ordered from restaurants 218 times on average between February 2021 and February 2022. When Gen Xers were that age, in 2002, they patronized restaurants 284 times apiece in a year. And when Millennials were that age they went to or ordered from restaurants 244 times in the course of a year.

This session will dive into what your brand can do to entice this younger cohort.

Supply chain delays can obviously be detrimental to a restaurant’s menu offerings, but restaurants are also facing issues when it comes to non-food related items like replacement parts and new equipment. Also, the higher demand for carry out and delivery has led to shortages on packaging as well.

This session will focus on how everyone in the industry from shippers and growers to operators and manufacturers can work together to resolve these disruptions, which lead to higher costs and longer wait times.

Dynamic pricing, the process of regularly adjusting the pricing of menu items to match the current level of demand, may sound like a headache, but just like your restaurant has peak times, so do food items and your pricing should reflect this.

This session features restaurant execs discussing why they’ve adopted dynamic pricing and its pros and cons.

In the labor-pressed restaurant industry, it's imperative to get the most out of every worker, which is where training and technology come in handy.

This session features best practices in developing a training strategy, new modes of training that restaurant owners are leveraging and up-and-coming technology trends that are already proving how employers can do more with less.

A solid marketing plan includes more than catchy social media photos, witty slogans, word-of-mouth clout and a well-working loyalty program. Although each is important on its own, they must also work together to connect customers via in-store as well as digital messaging.

This session offers tangible ways to not only entice customers to give your brand a try but to also keep them coming back for more.