Supporting thousands of restaurant locations requires speed, clarity, and precision. During a recent Executive Insights Breakfast hosted by Crunchtime at the Porsche Experience Center Atlanta, Adam McLellan, VP of Business Performance at GoTo Foods, outlined how the brand leverages AI to eliminate back-office drag and supercharge field teams.
Instead of getting bogged down in manual data collection, GoTo Foods uses operational intelligence to shift its leaders away from screens and onto the fast track toward impactful coaching.
1. Streamlining Pre-Visit Prep with Instant Diagnostics
Field operations teams often spend hours manually reviewing store metrics before setting foot inside a restaurant. AI built for restaurants changes this by sorting through complex operational data in seconds, allowing field leaders to deliver targeted coaching from the moment they step through the door.
"AI analyzes massive operational datasets instantly to surface clear priorities for our GoTo Foods field coaches. Instead of spending five hours prepping before stepping into a restaurant, a coach sits in their car, reviews a quick AI diagnostic, and walks in ready to focus on what matters most," said Adam.
By trading manual prep work for instant data diagnostics, field leaders transform routine store visits from reactive audits into proactive coaching sessions.
2. Maximizing Effectiveness Across Thousands of Locations
With expansive store footprints and limited time on-site, every minute a field coach spends inside a restaurant must yield measurable results. Operational intelligence helps leaders pinpoint store needs instantly, ensuring short visits deliver maximum value to franchisees.
"Across GoTo Foods, roughly 50 field operators support 5,000 locations for just a few hours at a time, so every visit must count. AI synthesizes massive store datasets ahead of time so field leaders can walk into a location with clear priorities and deliver maximum impact during those short visits," explained Adam.
Eliminating manual data analysis ensures field teams spend less time evaluating screens and more time helping operators succeed.
3. Bypassing Administrative Drag to Boost Operational Efficiency
Beyond store visits, AI drives immediate cost savings by streamlining heavy administrative workflows and complex compliance tracking. Automating routine tasks behind the scenes keeps operations compliant and agile across varying regional requirements.
"Where GoTo Foods finds immediate success with AI is in driving cost savings and operational efficiency — automating compliance, streamlining legal review, and managing complex state-by-state regulatory nuances that are difficult for humans to track manually," noted Adam. Removing this administrative burden allows enterprise operations to run more smoothly while protecting bottom-line profitability.
4. Empowering Corporate Teams to Drive High-Performance Results
Automating operational intelligence may raise concerns about job security. However, GoTo Foods demonstrates how practical automation can enable human teams rather than replace them.
"Ten months ago, when we were testing multiple platforms, our data and analytics teams pushed back out of fear that AI exists to replace their jobs. What we actually find across GoTo Foods is that AI doesn't cut headcount — it handles the heavy data crunching so our team can spend less time behind a screen and more time doing what they love: supporting operators, coaching franchisees, and driving business results," shared Adam.
GoTo Foods proves that strategic use of AI in operations helps multi-unit brands scale effectively by automating complex data analysis, streamlining compliance, and giving field teams the time they need to support store operators.
Ready to eliminate back-office drag and supercharge your field ops team? Download the AI Buyer’s Guide or request a demo today.