tech
How KFC and Taco Bell's top technologist is embracing AI and automation across 63,000 restaurants
When Jim Dausch joined restaurant operator Yum Brands in late 2024, one of his first orders of business was to find a way to ensure Pizza Hut’s food was delivered as hot as possible.
TL;DR
- Jim Dausch joined Yum Brands in late 2024 and focused on improving food delivery temperature through a new automation system that coordinates kitchen orders with driver availability.
- This change led to hotter food deliveries and increased customer satisfaction scores.
- Dausch oversees technology across Yum Brands' 63,000 global locations, including websites, apps, AI, data, and restaurant technology.
- His technology investments focus on customers, workers, and franchisees, emphasizing a clear return on investment for new tools.
- Implemented digital kiosks have led to higher check averages, and a voice AI ordering system aims to boost order sizes and satisfaction.
- The proprietary Byte platform consolidates various restaurant systems into a single source of data, improving operational visibility and reducing stockouts by 85%.
- Yum Brands is also implementing an 'AI Academy' for managers and leaders to leverage tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT.