Fourth announces the release of Fourth iQ, enabling restaurants to embrace AI to maximize profits at every location
By AUSTIN, September 12th 2024: Fourth announces the release of Fourth iQ, the Artificial Intelligence for Restaurants. Fourth iQ is used by restaurant chains to optimize their entire workforce and inventory operations to maximize profitability, increase productivity and enhance the experience of employees and customers.
“AI is transforming the technology landscape across industries and the restaurant sector will be no different. Fourth iQ marks a new frontier in how restaurant operators can easily embrace the transformative power of AI to maximize the profit of every location and create a competitive advantage,” states Christian Berthelsen, Fourth’s Chief Technology Officer.
Many of Fourth’s customers are already benefiting from Fourth iQ, including national chains such as Pizza Hut, Noodles & Company, and Chili’s. As part of the expanded capabilities offered by Fourth iQ, customers can utilize AI forecasting for scheduling and inventory, plus a Real-Time KPI dashboard to track their key metrics across all locations. A further range of advanced Fourth iQ features will deliver new ways to increase profitability centrally across all locations and boost the productivity of general managers at each location.
Speaking ahead of the release, Fourth CEO Clinton Anderson explains the drivers behind developing Fourth iQ. “With 25 years in the restaurant game, we are acutely aware of the challenges our customers face–profit margins are tight, as labor and food costs continue to rise; and the responsibility for driving efficiency is dependent on the decisions made by overburdened general managers who are often reliant on incomplete information and legacy technologies. Fourth iQ can overcome these challenges by using AI to generate ‘the next best actions’ informed by multiple data sources and defined goals; providing managers with real-time recommendations of how best to efficiently deploy labor, grow sales, and reduce waste. It’s an incredibly exciting time for Fourth and our customers.”
In essence, Fourth iQ is a multi-faceted AI and Analytics capability that works across the entirety of restaurant chains’ operations, including recruitment, HR, scheduling, payroll and inventory management. Fourth iQ is embedded into Fourth’s established suite of market-leading solutions, including HotSchedules, PeopleMatter and MacromatiX.
“A core aim of Fourth iQ is to create a ‘profit engine’ at the heart of our customers’ operations,” states Christian Berthelsen. He continues, “By creating a layer of intelligence across all locations in a restaurant chain, Fourth iQ produces what we call ‘above store insights that drive in-store action’, to ensure every opportunity to drive profitability and efficiency is identified and actioned, whether by managers or entirely automated.”
The tangible benefits of Fourth iQ are already being realized by Fourth’s customers; AI-driven forecasting has enabled Noodles & Company to increase their sales forecasting accuracy by 20%, leading to a $4 million reduction in labor costs. The same increase in forecast accuracy resulted in Chili’s saving 600 labor hours per week nationally.
Bar Louie, a 63 location Gastrobar concept, is another Fourth customer embarking on their AI journey with Fourth iQ. Roberta Frierson, Senior Vice President of Technology, shared their ambition to become AI-driven. “At Bar Louie, we see the promise of AI. Not just for front of house, but for our back of house processes like recruiting, hiring, scheduling, and paying team members. As we incorporate AI into our tech stack, we believe it will make managers more effective and streamline our operations.”
Enabling customers to easily bring AI into their tech stack is core to Fourth’s vision for the industry. “In creating Fourth iQ, we are providing every restaurant chain the simplest and most effective way to get started on their AI journey,” says Christian Berthelsen. He continues, “Our underlying AI platform provides the infrastructure to securely integrate data sources and train AI, then put it to work via our solutions and apps. Our experienced implementation teams do all the heavy lifting, including configuring the AI within Fourth iQ to what makes your business unique. There really is no barrier to getting started today.”
To learn more about Fourth iQ, visit the Fourth website. Additionally, the Fourth team will be at FSTEC in Grapevine, Texas from September 16-18, where Clinton Anderson, CEO, will be hosting an AI-themed customer panel.