Over the past year, many quick service restaurants (QSRs) have learned how to minimize contact while still delivering quality food and beverage service, and keeping their operations running efficiently.

But there’s one area where QSRs are still creating unnecessary safety risks as well as extra cost and inefficiency; it’s in how they are managing the mobile technologies they use in their restaurants.

Most restaurant chains are still sending out an IT specialist to deploy, configure, update, and manage the many mobile devices they use across multiple locations. This means someone has to travel and visit each restaurant to do the work in person, which creates more risk for everyone involved. But it also takes up a lot of valuable time for a busy IT professional, and all those travel expenses add up to more cost on the bottom line.

However, just as we’ve learned to maintain social distancing and implement new safety measures to protect QSR workers and customers, we can learn a better way to manage mobile devices and do it remotely.

Our mobile technology partners at Zebra make it easy with their Mobility DNA tools, which allow QSRs to manage any Zebra tablet, mobile computer, barcode scanner, or printer remotely via the cloud. You can do it all from the safety of a home office or company headquarters, so there’s no need to travel or visit each restaurant location individually.

With Zebra remote device management, you get a comprehensive solution:

• Remotely deploy, manage, and update all your devices from a single location
• Manage any number of devices remotely, across all your restaurants
• Configure devices and apply firmware, OS, and security updates remotely
• Put an end to unnecessary travel, in-person restaurant visits, and related costs
• Do it all with a simple three-step process that’s vastly easier than other solutions

Zebra’s remote device management is incredibly easy to use and is entirely cloud-based, so you can access the software and use it securely through a web browser on any device with an Internet connection.

It’s also designed to be as simple as possible, so even a non-IT professional or manager can use it intuitively and effectively. If you’ve tried remote management tools from other hardware manufacturers, you’ll notice the difference right away, as Zebra’s software eliminates the cumbersome hassles and headaches that are commonplace with other tool sets.

Our customers who use Zebra’s remote device management consistently report that it’s completely changed the way they manage all the mobile computing and data capture solutions they use in their restaurants.

Even when they’re deploying new devices, they’re able to ship devices to each restaurant and simply have a manager or team member power up the device or plug it in. Then their home office uses Zebra’s cloud-based device management tools to configure each device, apply updates, and monitor device health and performance.

Zebra also has many other helpful device management tools available through its Mobility DNA enterprise software, including the following:

• StageNow to automatically stage up to thousands of devices with a quick scan of a barcode
• Device Diagnostics to troubleshoot issues or potential problems and avoid costly or unnecessary repairs
• PowerPrecision Console to manage device batteries and battery health more efficiently
• Device Central for easy management of Bluetooth accessories
• Device Tracker to easily track or find lost or missing Zebra devices
• LifeGuard for Android with up to 10 years of guaranteed OS support, including OS and security updates

Zebra also has great tools to enhance mobile productivity and make restaurant workflows easier, including the following:

• Enterprise Home Screen to create customized mobile device home screens designed for the way your restaurants work
• Enterprise Keyboard to create custom alphanumeric virtual keyboards for faster and more accurate data entry
• Swipe Assist to enable virtual data capture buttons on mobile computer screens
• DataWedge to send scanned data from barcodes, magnetic stripe cards, or RFID tags to any application you’re running
• SimulScan tools for scanning documents, form fields, and signatures

If you’re not already managing your Zebra QSR mobile devices remotely, or you’ve tried other solutions with other hardware and haven’t gotten the results you need, we highly recommend Zebra’s Mobility DNA software and remote device management.

To learn more about these tools, how they work, and how they can simplify your device management and let you do it all remotely, contact Macro Integration Services now for a demo and more details. We’d be happy to help you explore the possibilities for your restaurants.