Integrated platforms offer lifeline to Singapore’s F&B sector

Faced with a challenging environment of rising costs, manpower shortages and razor-thin margins, Singapore’s food and beverage (F&B) operators are increasingly turning to integrated technology platforms to streamline operations and stay resilient.

This comes as the sector grapples with intense competition, which has seen 3,047 F&B businesses close so far in 2024 – the highest number since 2005, according to data from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

To tackle this issue, payments platform Adyen has partnered with Atlas, a Singapore-based restaurant operating system provider, to integrate payments directly into its platform and consolidate sales data from online storefronts, physical point-of-sale (POS) terminals and third-party delivery apps into a single dashboard.

With the integration, merchants have reported up to an 80% reduction in human error from manual reconciliation, a 12% increase in direct sales, and an average 10% saving in manpower costs.

For many F&B operators, the struggle with fragmented systems is a daily reality. Leon Foo, founder and chairman of specialty coffee boutique PPP Coffee, noted the operational challenges his company faced before adopting the integrated platform.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to pivot to delivery,” said Foo. “Suddenly, there was a QR code on the table on one system. Then, there was Deliveroo, Grab, Foodpanda and our own online ordering system. Our counter staff were overwhelmed.”

The technological friction that comes with the use of multiple systems can be a drain on resources. A recent YouGov survey commissioned by Adyen found that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) spend an average of six hours per week on accounting, with 75% citing payment reconciliation as a key pain point.

“Nearly half of SMEs use multiple software-as-a-service tools, which creates complexity rather than helping them streamline,” said Ben Wong, Adyen’s general manager for Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. “When you are juggling different, unconnected systems, it adds to the friction. Rather than helping you speed up, it slows you down.”

On the payments front, Yi Sung Yong, co-founder and CEO of Atlas, compared the complexity of digital payments to “rocket science” or “getting Wi-Fi on an aeroplane” – something consumers take for granted until it fails.

“You have MasterCard, Visa, Amex, PayNow, PayLah, GrabPay – that whole payment stack is a very under-appreciated technology that Adyen helps solve,” said Yong. “Our mission is to help restaurants focus on what matters most: the food and the service. By collaborating with Adyen, we support our merchants’ core needs so they can do just that.”

For PPP Coffee, the benefits of an integrated platform are both quantifiable and intangible. Beyond reducing accounting and reconciliation errors, Foo stressed the impact on service.

“The improved customer experience is the part you can’t really quantify,” he said. “It helps the business focus on what it needs to do and provides the data to make the right decisions. It helps us focus more on serving the customer.”

This focus on the customer journey is critical, as the final payment step can define the entire experience.

“Payments are the last touchpoint, but they can make or break the customer journey. They should not be viewed as just a cheap commodity,” said Wong. “When you consider your technology stack, you ask, ‘Can this scale for me globally and securely?’ You have to ask that same question when you think about payments.”