Israeli startup SimpleOrder, a cloud-based supply chain management platform for restaurant kitchens, has closed a $2.75 million series A financing round. The round was led by Lazarus Israel Opportunities Fund and Foodlab Capital, with participation from existing investors Cyrus Angel Fund and private angel investors. Founded in 2012, the Tel Aviv based company has raised $3.7 million, including the latest financing.
SimpleOrder also announced the release of its Automated Inventory System, a first-of-its-kind platform that calculates and manages inventory levels in real-time, based on purchasing and sales.
The restaurant industry remains almost unique in the retail world for its lack of systematic, digitized inventory tracking - leaving many managers and chefs in the dark as to their real-time inventory. Many restaurants still handle stock counts with pen and paper periodically when it’s usually too late to make critical adjustments or correct costly, profit-slashing mistakes such as over-ordering, over-portioning and leakage. This is a major factor contributing to the reported failure of over 50% of new restaurants within 12 months.
The SimpleOrder Automatic Inventory solution changes those odds by digitizing and streamlining restaurants’ entire Back-to Front operations - from purchasing and managing suppliers to inventory tracking, recipe costing up to the point of sale. The SimpleOrder system automatically deducts from inventory each time a dish is sold, tracking stock levels digitally and streamlining purchasing in real time. This enables small to medium sized restaurants and chains to gain control over their food costs and improve their bottom lines. Customers have reported saving up to 30 work-hours per month and improved profit margins of between 5 and 8%.
The Automated Restaurant Supply Chain System is available on desktop and mobile devices. The application (iOS, Android) is easy to use and allows restaurant management and suppliers to connect and communicate easily and efficiently.
In the past six months, SimpleOrder has increased its international client base by more than 300%, and is currently serving more than 1,500 locations including leading restaurants, chains and suppliers in 14 countries, principally in the US, UK and the German speaking markets
SimpleOrder cofounder and CEO Guy Even Ezra said, “We’re digitizing the Back of the House, bringing restaurants into the Cloud-based age. We knew that the industry desperately needed a solution designed specifically to help managers streamline their inventory and purchasing operations. Most restaurants have no idea what’s in stock or how much their menu items really cost. Our solution counts each grain of food, so you don’t have to. We’re allowing restaurants to thrive and chefs to get back what they do best - making great food.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 13, 2016
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