Mad for Garlic

Challenges

• Surging demands for ‘Untact’, yet efficient ordering services due to prolonging pandemic
• A reliable LAN connection to deliver high-tech IT services in multiple locations
• Limited IT resources to monitor and manage IT infrastructure

Innovation/Impacts

• Seamless wireless LAN connection enabled electronic menu and ordering systems installed at each table, minimizing human contacts and improving speed and accuracy of service
• Successfully monitored and managed IT infra across 41 different branches through centralized smart cloud Meraki dashboard despite of small IT team
• Built a reference for more restaurant chains to adopt Mad for Garlic’s transformation in response to the ‘new normal’ era

Overview

The prolonged pandemic has created difficulties for the entire restaurant franchise industry including Mad for Garlic. In response, MFG Korea, the operating company of Mad for Garlic, turned to advanced IT as a solution and created a contact-free ordering process in each of its restaurants. Since it is a new attempt, we had to consider a lot of things. Our biggest concern was how to build and efficiently manage a powerful but secure network to run such new service at 41 branches across the country. Cisco Meraki, a smart cloud-managed networking solution, helped us with its remote monitoring
and management technology without having to deploy IT personnel at each site.

Jeong Sik Woo

Chief Operating Officer
Data On (IT Operation Subsidiary for Mad for Garlic)

Mad for Garlic launched innovative digital technology, M-TABORDER (here on as ‘Tab Order’) to turn crisis into opportunity

Mad for Garlic, a Korean restaurant brand, started in 2001 specializing in Italian food with a theme on garlic and wine. It has been loved by many Korean customers for over 20 years. However, the unprecedented
COVID-19 pandemic led to a crisis for Mad for Garlic as it did for the entire food service industry. In response, it worked to come up with ways to secure the safety of customers by minimizing face-to-face interaction at its restaurants. As part of this process, MFG Korea decided to turn to fundamental yet innovative solutions by making its IT division into a venture to research and develop innovative digitalization technology. The venture, Data On, soon launched a breakthrough technology that will change the entire food service industry.

Within a year of its launch, Data On released a new IT service platform named ‘M-PLATFORM’ which is an integrated F&B platform that supports the entire process from reservation and waiting for a table to ordering, making payment, and even customer service afterwards. Since then, Data On has been quick to validate its new platform and solutions in the market by applying the contact-free ordering solution ‘Tab Order’ to a Mad for Garlic restaurant in D Tower downtown Seoul.

Solution

Cisco Meraki provides ideal infrastructure for retail industry with real-time visualization of remote monitoring and management

However, the problem remained of how to build powerful but reliable network infrastructure to support the operations of this new solution. In addition, a means of efficient management was required since the new solution needed to be applied to 41 branches nationwide. After much deliberation, Mad for Garlic decided to choose the ‘KT Managed On’ service based on Cisco Meraki.

The strength of Cisco Meraki is that it makes complex network management easy for anyone. It uses the cloud to allow remote monitoring and operating off-site. It also optimizes the management of network resources by intuitively visualizing networking status through an integrated dashboard. In addition, automatic updates to the latest firmware help to rapidly respond to security vulnerabilities, allowing easy operation and management without having to hire a large number of IT specialists. This is why Cisco Meraki has been selected by leading global retail businesses as a standard networking solution. In fact, Cisco Meraki has been playing a critical role in ensuring that uninterrupted advanced IT services are effectively provided at hundreds or thousands of restaurants globally without deploying additional IT personnel. This makes Cisco Meraki a proven solution and a perfect fit for the needs of Mad for Garlic.

‘KT Managed On’ to operate and manage network infrastructure

Even greater news came when KT, Korea’s top telecommunication service provider, launched ‘KT Managed On’, a Cisco Meraki-based managed service. KT has been providing managed services featuring variety of networking solutions to many customers, but it was convinced of the value of Meraki proven from a wide range of global customer references and experiencing it on their own. To allow more local companies to benefit from Cisco Meraki, KT provides remote deployment and centralized management services built upon Meraki’s reliable performance and operational convenience at its control center. In addition, KT provides end-to-end management service for KT Managed On from sales to deployment and technical support over a number of extended products and its broad spectrum of maintenance infrastructure that Mad for Garlic became certain of their choice.

Results

Mad for Garlic makes breakthrough for food service industry with its innovation

Mad for Garlic installed a tablet at each table in its D Tower branch restaurant using the Tab Order Solution and tested Cisco Meraki-based KT Managed On for a month. The outcomes of this pilot project went beyond expectations and proved that Mad for Garlic had made the right decision. As a result, customers can enjoy their restaurant experience in a safer environment and the quality of service improved due to automated ordering process enabling speedy and accurate services supported by seamless network connection.

Mad for Garlic expanded its Tab Order service using Cisco Meraki-based KT Managed On service to all 41 of its restaurant branches in July 2021. In addition, Data On, which is actively seeking to digitalize restaurant industry by supplying an integrated IT platform, is moving forward by providing solutions to other franchises such as ‘Modern Shabu House’, a shabushabu restaurant franchise partnering with Cisco Meraki and KT Managed ON continuously.

In today’s food service industry, an IT platform is a necessity though it is often difficult for restaurants with limited human and financial resources and experience to adopt to such changes. Fortunately, however, Mad for Garlic, Data On, KT with Cisco Meraki are teaming up to help to this roadmap of innovation.