Case Studies

NextGen Kitchen Display System

Our client is a dynamic and modern Ohio-based restaurant group. Despite consisting of multiple-brands in the competitive fast-casual market, the organization has managed to achieve huge year-over-year growth and franchise expansion by offering healthy, wide-ranging, and affordable food options. Switchbox developed the NextGen Kitchen Display System (“NextGen KDS”) specifically for a sub-brand within the restaurant group with sights on a wider release to other brands.

The Challenge: Scaling Accuracy in a High-Growth Environment

Rapid growth often exposes friction in existing systems. As online ordering volume surged, many restaurants noticed a discrepancy: digital orders were experiencing significantly higher packaging error rates compared to in-store orders.

The primary users, back-of-house employees, were struggling with a legacy fulfillment UI that was outdated, overly complex, and difficult to navigate, especially during peak hours. Furthermore, with a diverse workforce, the chaotic and inflexible UI meant that employees whose first language was not English faced additional hurdles in fulfilling orders accurately. Recognizing that their current tech couldn’t keep pace with their growth, it became clear that an intuitive solution was necessary that could be deployed across various brands and operating systems.

The Solution: NextGen KDS - A Multi-Tenant, Intuitive Fulfillment Hub

The Switchbox team approached this challenge by developing a fully-custom “NextGen KDS” (Kitchen Display System), a robust application designed to translate complex order data into a simplified, visual workflow. In collaboration with our partner, Priority Designs, who handled the UI/UX supporting the integration with Olo’s online ordering system, Switchbox built a high-performance tool tailored for the modern kitchen.

Architected for adaptability and performance, the system was built from the ground up, on a foundation of the latest .NET versions within a robust Azure cloud environment. The interface leverages the React.js framework Mantine, chosen for its flexibility in creating a simple and highly responsive user experience. This modern tech stack ensures that the platform remains scalable and secure, even as the restaurant’s footprint continues to expand.

Key technical highlights of the NextGen KDS include:

Visual-First Interface: To eliminate language barriers, the UI features 1-to-1 image correlations for every order item, making the display instantly recognizable regardless of the user’s native language.
Real-Time Dual-Screen Sync: The system utilizes dual-screen technology, allowing different stages of a single order to appear on separate screens while remaining perfectly synced in real time.
Accessibility & Localization: Built with a dedicated language toggle and voice command capabilities to support a diverse team of operators.
Cross-Platform Versatility: The software was engineered to be multi-tenant and cross-platform (including Windows), ensuring it could eventually scale across the entire organization, including other sub-brands.

The Outcome: Proving Technical Excellence Under Pressure

The development of the NextGen KDS served as a powerful proof of concept for Switchbox’s ability to deliver high-spec, modern software on time and within budget. While the initial pilot in a handful of locations revealed that individual store-level customization would be required before a nationwide release, the feedback from users was overwhelmingly positive.

Despite the localized rollout, the project stands as a testament to Switchbox’s ability to tackle multi-faceted UX issues. We successfully demonstrated how AI-ready interfaces, real-time synchronization, and inclusive design can transform a complex, outdated process into a sleek, functional tool ready for the future of fast-casual dining.

The Technology & Services That Went Into Creating the NextGen Kitchen Display System

Azure Cloud

React.js

Mantine

Bilingual

Web Development

Data Integration

Real-time Data Sync

Multi-Tenancy