Wendy's franchisee goes all-digital with menu board system

September 28, 2009 by Dave Haynes

 
Fast food restaurant operators are making the leap in faith that PCs will be just as reliable as POS systems when they cut ALL of their backlit menu boards over to digital displays, and that’s what a large Wendy’s franchisee is now doing in the Minnesota area.
 
POS software company WAND Corporation issued a press release today noting a Wendy’s that is part of the Four Crowns franchisee group has gone all digital.
 
Wendy’s FourCrown became the first Quick Service Restaurant to be an all Digital Restaurant. Their Digital Restaurant is comprised of outdoor and indoor Digital Menu Boards, including a three-LCD outdoor Digital Menu Board, a single-LCD outdoor Pre-sale Board, and a set of indoor LCD Digital Menu Boards. This solution can completely replace a QSR’s need for printed trans-light marketing materials. Their Digital Restaurant also includes an integrated POS solution with digital customer-facing displays, Back Office system, and a Kitchen Video Display system.

The promotional content of all 12 LCD screens inside the Wendy’s store (four Digital Menu Boards, four OCD units, and four digital Point Of Purchase Boards) can be controlled from any computer with an Internet connection and valid credentials. So, too, can the outdoor Digital Menu Boards and the POS system. Among the outdoor units are the single-panel Pre-Sale Board and the triple-panel Digital Menu Board. Able to complete as many day-parts as desired, menu items are displayed with full animation in millions of colors with virtually limitless content rotation and product promotion space.
 
There are other stores in the franchise group that have elements of the digital system, but this is the first to do the outdoor panels, indoor panels and the pre-sell panel. 
 
I like how the three-by outdoor LCDs include an area, at eye-level from a car, that shows what you have ordered and the total.  
 
Computing devices are not bulletproof and do freeze here and there, so I get nervous when I see an information system that completely eliminates traditional printed stuff. But this is where it is going in fast food, and companies like WAND that are already in the door in the sector have a definite leg up up over pure-play digital signage software providers.  
 
There are hi-rez images of the the install at the bottom of the WAND press release, if you are interested. 
 
 

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