Yum China is the exclusive licensee of Yum! Brands in China, where it operates KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants. Yum! Brands spun off its China holdings into Yum China in 2015 to allow for separate investment in the region. The Chinese company is focused on expanding KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell and is the country’s biggest fast-food licensee, with over 7,685 outlets, of which more than 4,000 are KFCs.
Yum China has experienced rapid expansion and high demand for its popular products. As a result, customers have endured long lines in many restaurants, ultimately affecting the company’s ability to maximize revenues.
The company believed that more efficient methods for meeting customer demand would improve revenues. It realized that many of its patrons were savvy online customers and heavy users of mobile technologies. Yum China thought that creating multiple ordering channels would likely result in improved customer satisfaction as well as a boost to the company’s brand image.
Yum China wanted the new system to be built with a flexible IT solution that would support future business and development needs.
A flexible, mobile, scalable solution
Yum China wanted the new system to be built with a flexible IT solution that would support future business and development needs, which meant having the ability to accommodate frequent changes to business models and rules. The solution had to be able to support potentially complex promotion rules and marketing activities.
And it needed to be able to scale. With as many as 10 million potential users, pressure on the system could be massive.
Business metrics for the mobile ordering system have been uniformly strong. High consumer ratings for the app have boosted the brand’s online image, and the app has significantly reduced in-store waiting times.
Learn more about DXC Applications
Yum China tapped DXC Technology to build a mobile ordering system that could perform multiple functions, responding to its need to improve location-based customer engagement and drive greater efficiency in customer operations.
DXC’s first project was the development of the KFC Mobile Ordering System (MOS) in July 2012 for iPhone/iPad and Android devices, and a year later Yum China promised major new initiatives to improve its KFC and Pizza Hut brands in China. The company centered its efforts on changes to KFC’s menu and on ramping up a recent marketing push by using social media and other digital tools.
A new system, built using HTML5 and hybrid technologies, was designed to receive and process online food orders from customers, reducing in-store waiting times. The ability to process orders through the company’s website, as well as from Apple and Android mobile devices, was expected to boost overall revenues.
In addition to order management, DXC’s solution functions as a content management system and social networking platform, allowing Yum China to track customer trends and swiftly refine its promotional strategies.
Yum China signed a five-year deal with DXC to provide support services, which include the ongoing application development and enhancement of its mobile ordering system plus the maintenance of its e-commerce platform, big data and application management services.
Value delivered
DXC delivers a big boost
Since its launch, the mobile ordering system has been downloaded to more than 8 million devices. It processes over 200,000 orders per day and is fully integrated with Yum China’s online and call center ordering systems.
Business metrics for the mobile ordering system have been uniformly strong. High consumer ratings for the app have boosted the brand’s online image, and the app has significantly reduced in-store waiting times. Multichannel revenues have increased dramatically, with mobile ordering representing more than half the volume.
Overall, the company has seen a revenue boost of greater than 15% and has realized a 30% reduction in cost.
