{"channel":"misc","content":"It strikes me that the LLM, in some way, completely misunderstands the situation. ( It has fallen into the register of an IBM commercial, rather than an actual product. )\r\n\r\n[# Regional fast-casual restaurant chain (~40 locations, 500 employees). #]\r\n Currently paying $50K\u2013150K per year for point-of-sale, inventory management, scheduling, and loyalty systems from vendors like Toast or Square. ( the 3% processing fee *WILL NOT GO AWAY*.) ( *should* restaurants have loyalty systems? )\r\n Their general manager knows exactly what they need \u2014 she's been running restaurants for 20 years. ( in the future, the *machine* will know what you need better than the general manager with 20 years of experience. ( the GM will serve as a better *foil* to the machine than the *machine* can.) )\r\n A freely licensed scheduling and inventory system, generated by a large language model (LLM) and tailored to their specific supply chain (they source locally, their waste patterns are seasonal), replaces generic software-as-a-service (SaaS) with something that actually fits. ( the *machine* will know what their waste patterns are. ( you aren't special.) )\r\n\r\n If another regional chain forks the code and improves it for their context, the license requires those improvements to flow back.\r\n <<< If an 8-restaurant chain is using a piece of software, they aren't going to have a rival restaurant chain *fork* the software. Neither company has a software development team. ( the *Build v. Buy* question is for larger companies, with more important software) >>>\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\nSome questions raised:\r\n# Do they have a \"scheduling system\"? ( yes? They have a spreadsheet. If they don't like the spreadsheet, they can talk to << LONDON >> ( the agent that manages the inventory system. it takes phone calls.) )\r\n# Do they have a Point-of-Sale system? Yes. Always yes. ( is this a market *disrupted* by AI? no. the two limitations are hardware form-factor, and the stability of the 3% ( we use this as an estimate for the cost-of-chargebacks.) transaction-fee price.)\r\n# Do they have an Inventory system? ( No. They have an << inventory management system >>.) ( the << Inventory >> system means they always have what they need ( and at a \"good\" price). Inventory management just tracks what you have, and how much it costs.)","created_at":"2026-02-16T17:25:59.049272","id":752,"llm_annotations":{},"parent_id":751,"processed_content":"

It strikes me that the LLM, in some way, completely misunderstands the situation. \ud83d\udd25 It has fallen into the register of an IBM commercial, rather than an actual product. \r

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Regional fast-casual restaurant chain (~40 locations, 500 employees). \r

\n

\ud83e\udd16 Currently paying $50K\u2013150K per year for point-of-sale, inventory management, scheduling, and loyalty systems from vendors like Toast or Square. \ud83d\udca1 the 3% processing fee WILL NOT GO AWAY. \ud83d\udca1 should restaurants have loyalty systems? \r

\n

\ud83e\udd16 Their general manager knows exactly what they need \u2014 she's been running restaurants for 20 years. \u2728 in the future, the machine will know what you need better than the general manager with 20 years of experience. \ud83d\udca1 the GM will serve as a better foil to the machine than the machine can. \r

\n

\ud83e\udd16 A freely licensed scheduling and inventory system, generated by a large language model (LLM) and tailored to their specific supply chain (they source locally, their waste patterns are seasonal), replaces generic software-as-a-service (SaaS) with something that actually fits. \ud83d\udca1 the machine will know what their waste patterns are. \u2728 you aren't special. \r

\n

\ud83e\udd16 If another regional chain forks the code and improves it for their context, the license requires those improvements to flow back.\r

\n

If an 8-restaurant chain is using a piece of software, they aren't going to have a rival restaurant chain fork the software. Neither company has a software development team. \u2699\ufe0f the Build v. Buy question is for larger companies, with more important software

\n
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Some questions raised:\r

\n
    \n
  • Do they have a \"scheduling system\"? \ud83d\udca1 yes? They have a spreadsheet. If they don't like the spreadsheet, they can talk to LONDON \u2699\ufe0f the agent that manages the inventory system. it takes phone calls. \r
    • \n
  • Do they have a Point-of-Sale system? Yes. Always yes. \u2699\ufe0f is this a market disrupted by AI? no. the two limitations are hardware form-factor, and the stability of the 3% \ud83d\udca1 we use this as an estimate for the cost-of-chargebacks. transaction-fee price.\r
    • \n
  • Do they have an Inventory system? \ud83d\udd25 No. They have an inventory management system. \ud83d\udca1 the Inventory system means they always have what they need \u2699\ufe0f and at a \"good\" price. Inventory management just tracks what you have, and how much it costs.
    • \n
","quotes":[],"subject":"Six 500-Person Companies (part 2)"}