How Starbucks’ CTO balances tech investments that can make work easier for baristas without losing the human touch

The main pillar of the Starbucksthat, led by CEO, Brian Nicole, is a more focus on the human relationship between employees and clients and a lower focus on technology. So what does that mean for the chief technology staff Deep Hall Levrei?

“The story of technology here in Starbucks – she betrays what? – Star of the story is not technology,” says Levvry. “It is a human relationship in our cafes.”

She says technology will continue to weave during the Starbucks strategy, from automation investments in the store to the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence. But technology is now aimed at working quietly in the background. This is a reformulation of Starbucks, which was an early motor and a fast engine in Mobile, and it is a technological progress that a chain of restaurants mastered by flirting with 34 million Starbucks Active Starbucks using its application in the United States alone.

During a 16 -year profession in its opponent McDonald’s, where Levrei has played many leadership roles, including work as head of information in the American business field, she watched closely the ingenuity of her technological competitor. “I often envy the technology that I saw, from the consumer perspective, in Starbucks,” says Levvry. “They were the standard for all of us in this industry.”

Perhaps Starbucks has achieved a lot of success on the mobile phone and lost a little way with how to manage material stores. Often, there was a “third place” that dates back to a large extent, which is a space for work between work and home, and some critics became their regret for the stores became very unborn. Inclined investments towards the mobile phone experience, even which prompted Starbucks to open simple stores that were just sites to capture dining orders abroad. This led to some dissatisfaction because the guest’s experience felt more unborn. Mobile orders were very popular, as they will accumulate and lead to long waiting times, which inhibits both shoppers personally and even online.

Last year, Niccol was recruited from Chipotle Mexican Grill to get the coffee giant to the right track, a shift that is still action under progress – Starbucks recently reported a quarterly decrease in a row in the United States.

Some early changes work, including simplifying the list and launching fewer lower versions. Others aim to make the chain cafes feel more personal, such as restoring names and handwritten notes after using printed stickers for some time. This is an example of the efficiency of the Starbucks of technology for the warmer hospitality.

Niccol and Lefevre are encouraged by the last pilot in the last quarter in 700 sites, as Starbucks increased its investment in employment and adjusting the sequence algorithm for requests, which helped reduce waiting times for engine customers and driving without hurting those who buy via mobile phone. Starbucks says that on average, waiting times decreased for two minutes, which led to 75 % of waiting times for the cafe’s request to less than four minutes at the height of the demand.

“These modifications can be given Baristas in Starbucks more time to create” a moment of contact “with customers.

Other most accurate technological investments include the Starbucks device that was published in 200,000 devices that have been published to 10,000 stores managed by the company, which is one of the largest Internet publishing operations (IOT) in the fast restaurants sector for the service, according to Lefevre. The digital list boards will be launched through the stores that are owned and operated in the United States for the next 18 months, which can be updated and monitored remotely, and saving time for employees in stores. Sensors are able to measure and monitor coffee thickness and improve the operational efficiency of refrigerators and frozen.

Starbucks has also made adjustments to improve a mobile phone experience, including sharing more accurate waiting times when the order is ready. There is another update that will appear this summer about the transparency of prices, and more clearly explain how every customer’s modification will affect the customization of the final price.

Lefevre investments of artificial intelligence include some basics, such as Microsoft Copilot to help customer support employees and corporate employees. Starbucks also revealed a digital tool to improve Paristas scheduling. The new feature of employees provides a broader range of stores throughout the transformations area, which led to half a million bouts filled with the second fiscal quarter on March 30 of the previous year.

“It is a victory for our customers because they are walking in the fully equipped stores,” Levrei says.

Lefevre imagines that future use of males and other emerging technologies can range from artificial intelligence used to accelerate the training experience in the store, to use the augmented reality to help Baristas to track inventory, and even the default “AI Barista” facing customers that can help customers choose their request.

“It is one of the possibilities in all fields, from the design of stores to the supply chain,” says Levvry. “There are a lot of things that we think, day after day.”

John Keel

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This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

2025-05-14 15:04:00