Hospitality's first operator-scored tech index puts inventory software last

Stacked has published what it calls the first technology index scored by hospitality operators themselves, Restaurant Online reports. Each category gets a score out of 100, built from operator satisfaction, whether the category is being bought or dropped, and how much choice buyers have. It draws on 558 verified operator reviews and 3,053 tool records from 550 UK operator brands. Across the six ranked categories, the market scores 72.0.

How the categories landed - Learning and development: 76.8, top of the table but the least settled, with 59 different tools across 103 mentions - Payments: 75.9, on the strongest evidence (181 reviews, satisfaction of 3.98 out of 5) - Point of sale: the only ranked category gaining real share, up 8.9% this quarter - Inventory and stock: 67.6, bottom, with satisfaction of 3.31 out of 5 and its share of the stack down 18.7% over three months

No inventory vendor with meaningful review volume scores above 3.5. Stacked says the data set is young and London-weighted, and the inventory decline has eased from 29.9% three weeks earlier.

What it means for operators Food cost was the worry of the summer, yet the category built to control it is losing ground. Before renewing a stock system, it's worth asking site teams whether they actually use it, and whether the problem is the tool itself or how it connects to your till and purchasing.