This project aimed to design a custom CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system tailored specifically for restaurants to better manage orders, supply chains, employee scheduling, maintenance, and operational performance.

The client faced significant challenges with manual data handling, disconnected spreadsheets, and inefficient communication between kitchen, management, and suppliers. In addition, managers had limited visibility into real-time financial status and inventory needs, which delayed decisions and affected productivity.

Our challenge was to create a centralized, automated platform that would streamline routine tasks, reduce human error, and provide instant access to actionable insights through real-time dashboards — all within an intuitive, restaurant-friendly interface.

About the project

Results and impact

Testing and validation

Research and design methods

Objectives

The final CRM platform delivered immediate improvements:

• Inventory and order processing times decreased by 50%, thanks to auto-generated purchase lists and low-stock triggers.

• Managers gained real-time visibility into sales, staffing, and expenses, reducing decision-making delays.

• Shift scheduling errors dropped by 70%, with automated conflict detection and staff availability views.

We ran multiple testing sessions with real restaurant managers and back-office personnel. The prototype was loaded with sample data to simulate real operations — such as stock depletion alerts, shift changes, and low-revenue notifications.

We tested:

1. How quickly managers could locate and interpret financial data

2. The usability of the scheduling interface

3. How effectively alerts and reminders integrated into daily workflows

To understand the needs of the end users, we conducted field research and interviews with restaurant managers, kitchen staff, and supply coordinators. Each group brought a different perspective on the current pain points: managers struggled with visibility, while staff were burdened by fragmented tools and outdated logs.

We followed up with on-site process observations in several restaurant settings to identify inefficiencies in real time — such as redundant task logging, unclear maintenance tracking, and inconsistent reporting habits.

• Automate repetitive administrative tasks related to inventory, scheduling, and maintenance.

• Allow managers to quickly access up-to-date financial and operational information.

• Enable seamless management of employee shifts, performance, and payroll status.

• Provide clear dashboards and reports on supply levels, sales metrics, and maintenance timelines.

• Unify operations under a single digital platform accessible across restaurant locations.

Based on this, we ran collaborative mapping sessions to visualize all workflows across departments, from order intake to payroll reporting. This exercise revealed where digital touchpoints could eliminate bottlenecks and improve accuracy.

We then developed user personas for key roles (e.g., operations manager, shift supervisor, head chef) and created journey maps to understand how each interacted with the system daily. From there, we moved to low-fidelity prototypes, focusing on the modular dashboard layout, task automation sequences, and simplified data input formats.

Participants highlighted the importance of mobile access, as many needed to check reports and approve orders while away from the office. We adapted the interface for tablets and phones to ensure smooth performance.

We also improved how supply shortages and maintenance issues were flagged in the dashboard, simplifying what initially felt overwhelming. Through these iterations, we aligned the system closer to actual working conditions.

Tools & methodologies

To create more complex visual elements

Tested the different functionalities of the prototype

Adobe Illustrator

Implemented along side a multidisciplinary team

Used to make a high fidelity interactive prototype

Scrum

Useberry

Axure RP 10

• The maintenance module reduced downtime by automating recurring service reminders tied to kitchen equipment usage cycles.

• Cross-department communication became smoother, with everything centralized in one system accessible on any device.

By automating bureaucratic workflows and offering a clear, data-driven view of restaurant performance, this CRM not only saved time — it helped teams be more proactive, data-informed, and scalable.