What is a Kitchen Display System?

Have you ever wondered how a restaurant times all of its orders perfectly? The answer is easy: a kitchen display system.

A kitchen display system (KDS) is like having a full-time traffic director working in the kitchen. It tells you when the orders are received, routes them to the proper stations, and warns the kitchen staff when something has been on the screen too long.

Although it depends on your kitchen setup, the kitchen display system can also serve as a quality control monitor by displaying the dish and a list of ingredients for the sake of continuity. This ensures that diners enjoy the same delicious experience every time they visit.

What are the components?

The kitchen display system connects to the point of sale terminal and consists of software, a durable monitor to display the orders, a bump bar to scroll through them and a controller.

It’s important that the controller be heat and moisture-resistant, so look for a unit that doesn’t have a fan or vents for liquids or food particles to get caught in.

How does it work?

The KDS is an integral part of many smoothly running kitchens. Once the order is sent from the POS terminal, this technology will sort it by station or location (if applicable), and, if multiple orders are received at the same time from different POS terminals, it will put them in the order you set (i.e. timestamp, course, take out, etc.).  Once the order is completed, the bump bar is used to clear the screen.

Higher customer satisfaction:  It’s an uncomfortable situation when some people receive their meals and others are left to wait. We see it all the time: the entire party wants to be polite and wait for the missing dish before eating, so everyone waits while hot food cools on the table. Inevitably, someone gets stuck eating a cold dish.

By employing a kitchen display system, you can guarantee that food will be prepared in an appropriate amount of time and arrive at the table together. Systems that are set up to display ingredient lists help ensure that each selection is prepared the same way despite staff turnover or other issues. Customers will be more satisfied with the consistent, timely service and reliable quality.

Right the first time: A KDS eliminates errors made due to illegible tickets or missing kitchen print outs. It also notifies kitchen staff when an item is changed or deleted, which minimizes wasted ingredients and manpower.

Faster service: Once the order is transmitted from the POS to the kitchen display system, the kitchen staff can begin working on it, rather than waiting for a server to run a handwritten ticket back. In addition, the system will keep tabs on all of the “moving parts” and will flash or beep when an order isn’t prepared within a set timeframe.

Orders can be moved to the front of the queue or rerouted to a different prep station if one is overburdened. This helps to avoid awkward waiting for other diners to be served.

Ingredient tracking: Don’t get caught telling diners that their favorite items aren’t available.  A kitchen display system can help monitor ingredients and notify management when stocks are running low.

Other reports can be generated so managers can view waiting times and production information. These reports can be used to pinpoint kitchen issues like inconsistent preparation of dishes, long wait times and food not coming out at the appropriate times.