Case Study: McDonald’s reduces food waste and streamlines kitchen operations with Aerolab

McDonald’s reduces food waste with Aerolab across 40,000 locations

McDonald's, a globally recognized restaurant chain, faced a significant challenge with an outdated food inventory system from the 1980s that relied on pencil, paper, and an archaic digital system. This led to frequent inaccuracies, causing managers to over-order food to compensate and resulting in unnecessary waste. To modernize this critical workflow, McDonald's partnered with vendor Aerolab to develop a new digital solution.

Aerolab designed and developed a specialized tablet application to streamline inventory management. The solution featured a simple, task-oriented interface with a glove-friendly design for use in sub-zero freezers and was built to minimize errors and withstand interruptions. By automating calculations and integrating a new task management system, the app provided accurate, real-time stock data. This greatly improved operational efficiency and significantly minimized food waste, with the new system automatically recommending transfers of soon-to-expire ingredients to other local restaurants. The vendor's work was praised by McDonald's management as a critical success that launched further automation integration across the region.

McDonald’s