The F&B sector, especially coffee shop chains, is under immense pressure: overwhelming crowds during peak hours, skyrocketing personnel costs, ingredient losses, and inconsistent revenue. Luckily, AI technology is delivering a genuine revolution in AI-driven operations. It’s no longer just a future concept—many coffee chains have already successfully adopted AI to automate workflows, predict demand with precision, and elevate the customer experience. 

How is AI Changing F&B Operations? 

The F&B industry, particularly coffee shop chains, is undergoing a major revolution thanks to the explosive growth of AI-powered operations. More than 70% of global F&B businesses have already implemented AI to some extent, with forecasts predicting that by 2030, AI will contribute trillions of USD in added value to the sector. 

In Vietnam, the coffee chain market is experiencing strong growth at an average rate of 15 – 20% per year, yet it also faces intense pressure from rising operating costs, fierce competition, and ever-increasing customer expectations for experience. 

In this context, AI-powered operations are no longer just a trend, they have become a critical survival factor for coffee chains to exist and develop sustainably. AI enables businesses to solve multiple pain points simultaneously: from optimizing costs, speeding up service, reducing losses, to personalizing the customer experience. 

Major brands such as Starbucks, Costa Coffee, and leading local chains that are at the forefront of this trend have all reported significant improvements in operational efficiency and revenue after adopting AI. 

Real-World Applications of AI in Coffee Shop Chain Operations 

AI does not completely replace humans, but F&B chains that apply AI in operations, management, and sales will have a significant opportunity to grow and scale effectively. 

Rather than merely serving as a supporting tool, AI-powered operations are becoming a key competitive advantage, helping coffee shop chains increase revenue, reduce costs, and enhance customer experience. 

Optimizing Service Processes and Speeding Up During Peak Hours 

One of the biggest challenges for coffee shop chains is handling sudden surges of customers during peak hours without compromising service quality. AI addresses this issue effectively by optimizing the entire service workflow. 

Particularly when implementing AI in self-order kiosks, mobile ordering apps, chatbots, or voice ordering, customers can place orders quickly without waiting for staff. The AI system automatically suggests items based on purchase history, processes of payments, and sends orders directly to the barista station. As a result, wait times are significantly reduced, often from 5 – 7 minutes down to under 2 minutes. 

At the same time, AI-integrated robot baristas and service robots (as seen in some automated café models) brew drinks precisely according to standardized recipes, accelerating service speed without being affected by peak-hour pressure. Thanks to these advancements, coffee chains can increase peak-hour service speed by 30 – 50% while still maintaining consistent quality across all branches. 

Demand Forecasting and Smart Inventory Management 

Optimizing chain operations cannot be complete without accurate forecasting capabilities. AI analyzes historical sales data, weather conditions, local events, holidays, and even social media trends to predict customer traffic and ingredient demand on an hourly, daily, and weekly basis. 

For example, TomAI, developed by SoftWorld, can accurately forecast the number of lattes that will be sold on a Monday morning at the district 1 branch, thereby automatically adjusting the amount of milk and coffee beans that need to be prepared. The smart inventory management system provides early warnings when ingredients are about to run out or are nearing their expiration date, minimizing food waste to the lowest possible level. 

Real-world results from chains that have adopted AI show a reduction of 20 – 40% in excess inventory, prevention of stockouts during peak hours, and significant savings in procurement costs. 

Reducing Sales Leakage Through Real-Time Monitoring and Data Analysis 

Leakage in the F&B industry often comes from multiple sources: preparation of errors, ingredient waste, fraud, or unjustified order cancellations. AI helps reduce sales leakage effectively through real-time monitoring. In addition, AI analyzes data to detect patterns of loss, for example, which ingredients are frequently overused or wasted during specific shifts. 

Reducing F&B Staffing Costs While Maintaining Service Quality 

Staffing cost pressure is always a major headache for coffee shop chains, especially in the context of rising minimum wages and high employee turnover rates. AI helps reduce F&B staffing costs without compromising service quality. 

The AI system automatically creates work schedules based on forecasted customer traffic, ensuring sufficient staffing during peak hours and avoiding waste during low-traffic periods. Administrative tasks such as time tracking, payroll calculation, and order management are fully automated. 

More importantly, AI frees employees from repetitive tasks so they can focus on customer interaction, the key factor that truly differentiates a coffee shop. 

TomAI from SoftWorld – The Smart AI-Powered Operations Solution 

When a coffee shop chain expands to multiple locations, the challenge is no longer just “can we sell?”, but rather “can we operate smoothly and consistently?”. TomAI, developed by SoftWorld, serves as an intelligent AI layer that helps coffee chains reduce operational pressure, improve decision-making efficiency, and elevate customer experience, especially during peak hours and during rapid chain expansion. 

What is TomAI and why is it suitable for coffee shop chains? 

TomAI is an AI Assistant designed specifically for businesses, built to support operations and data-driven decision-making. TomAI delivers the following key values for F&B chains: 

• Chains with high transaction volumes and frequent repeat orders. 

• Peak hours that easily overwhelm staff. 

• Many operational decisions (menu adjustments, upsell opportunities, inventory management, staffing) that need to be made quickly and consistently. 

Instead of relying on manual handling by staff or managers, TomAI acts as a “digital operations assistant”, supporting both front-of-house and back-office functions. This enables coffee chains to maintain stable operations even when customer volume surges unexpectedly. 

Click here to discover details about TomAI. 

Key Features for Optimizing Chain Operations 

Not only does TomAI deliver operational benefits to the business, but it also optimizes the customer experience through its standout features: 

• AI Order Assistant (Chat / Voice / Multilingual): Directly assists customers by recommending menu items, taking orders, and supporting multiple languages. 

• Personalized Suggestions & Intelligent Upsell: Based on purchase behavior data, TomAI recommends suitable items for each customer and suggests appropriate combos, making it easy and natural to encourage additional purchases. This increases Average Order Value (AOV) without annoying the customer. 

• Real-time Monitoring: Aggregates sales data in real time. Management no longer needs to wait until the end-of-day report to identify issues. 

• Seamless Integration with Systems & OOD Platform: TomAI functions as an integral part of the OOD Platform ecosystem, connecting with POS, e-ordering, loyalty programs, and inventory management. It leverages centralized data to generate actionable insights. 

Real Benefits Achieved by Coffee Chains Using TomAI 

Thanks to these superior capabilities, TomAI delivers tangible value to F&B chains: 

• Reduces pressure during “golden hours”: Staff can focus on brewing and serving, while AI handles repetitive tasks. 

• Reduces errors and significantly increases service speed: Orders are recorded accurately and clearly. 

• Increases order value: Through relevant upsell/cross-sell suggestions based on customer behavior. 

• Delivers consistent experience for every customer: Thanks to standardized processes and uniform service speed. 

• Enables timely decision-making for managers and business owners: Data is aggregated and presented in an easy-to-understand format, eliminating the need for manual processing. 

Start Your AI-Powered Operations Journey with SoftWorld Today 

When choosing SoftWorld as your digital transformation partner, businesses are not simply selecting a software or off-the-shelf AI provider — they are choosing a solution that is carefully “tailor-made” based on a deep understanding of their business model and operations, ensuring the most suitable technology recommendations. 

TomAI from SoftWorld was not developed to become a complicated product that disrupts a business’s existing operations; instead, it is designed to serve as a truly reliable and effective assistant. That is why SoftWorld has earned the trust and partnership of many leading F&B businesses, including Katinat, Al Fresco, Trung Nguyen Legend, and more. 

In today’s fiercely competitive era, AI technology is no longer just a trend; it has become a decisive factor for the survival and success of coffee shop chains. With TomAI from SoftWorld, businesses can easily optimize chain operations, accelerate service speed during peak hours, sustainably reduce F&B staffing costs and sales leakage, thereby increasing revenue, enhancing customer experience, and building long-term competitive advantages. 

Contact SoftWorld today for detailed consultation on the solution!