Success Story
About the Client
InTouch is a pan-African fintech company focused on payment solutions and digital service aggregation. It offers a single-account, multi-channel, modular platform supporting 3,000+ businesses and 60,000 TouchPoints across 16 countries. The platform enables secure transactions, real-time reporting, invoicing, mass payments, loyalty programs, and cross-border settlements.
Business Situation and Requirements
InTouch identified an opportunity to expand into the hospitality sector, where many restaurants still relied on manual processes for reservations and food ordering. These methods often led to longer wait times, booking inconsistencies, and limited customer convenience, while also lacking integrated digital systems and payment technologies to support efficient operations and revenue growth.
To address this, InTouch planned to launch “Restopay,” a tech-enabled solution tailored for restaurant operations. They required an intuitive interface, reservation and order management systems, digital menu integration, secure payment gateway integration, advanced analytics, and a centralized dashboard to streamline operations and improve customer experience.
Through collaborative discussions, Unthinkable and the client defined a comprehensive set of requirements:
Build an intuitive Restopay interface for restaurant staff and customers
Implement reservation management with real-time updates and preference tracking
Integrate digital menus with images, descriptions, and pricing details
Develop order management for processing, tracking, and fulfillment
Integrate InTouch payment gateway for secure, seamless transactions
Enable analytics, reporting, and a centralized dashboard for operations management
Solution
The project began with a collaborative “Discover and Frame Workshop,” where Unthinkable’s business analysts and the InTouch team aligned on product vision and requirements. This phase helped define a clear product roadmap tailored to business goals and operational needs.
Following this, design and engineering teams worked on user research, journey mapping, and architecture planning. The solution was built using Angular, Java, MySQL, and Firebase, ensuring scalability, security, and real-time performance. The platform focused on simplifying restaurant operations while improving customer experience through integrated digital workflows.
Reservation Management
- Enable table booking with real-time availability and preferred dining time selection
- Allow staff to manage reservations and seating arrangements in real time
- Generate unique reservation codes for tracking and identification purposes
- Provide filters to view reservations by date, time, and status
Food Ordering System
- Allow customers to browse menus, customize dishes, and place orders digitally
- Support multiple menus with dynamic updates for different meal times
- Provide detailed descriptions, images, and add-on options for items
- Track order status in real time for staff and customers
Room Service
- Enable guests to place room service orders with delivery time preferences
- Capture room details and route orders directly to service staff
- Allow requests for additional services and amenities within the app
- Integrate room service orders with billing for accurate processing
Planned Order Management
- Allow customers to schedule orders in advance for events or occasions
- Enable the selection of dishes, timing, and special instructions easily
- Highlight scheduled orders for kitchen and staff preparation workflows
- Send reminders and notifications to ensure timely execution
Delivery Management
- Manage in-house and third-party delivery orders efficiently
- Generate QR codes for tracking delivery status and accuracy
- Assign delivery tasks and track progress in real time
- Provide customers with live updates on delivery status
Admin Panel
- Provide a dashboard for monitoring orders, reservations, and customer feedback
- Enable menu updates, pricing changes, and availability management
- Support staff role assignment, performance tracking, and payroll management
- Ensure data security and compliance with robust system controls
Chef Portal
- Display incoming orders in real time based on priority and preparation time
- Allow chefs to update dish status from preparation to completion
- Provide clear visibility into the kitchen workflow and order queue
- Improve coordination between the kitchen and service staff
Waiter Portal
- Enable waiters to manage tables, orders, and customer requests efficiently
- Support split billing, tips handling, and special instructions management
- Provide real-time communication with the kitchen and management teams
- Improve service speed, accuracy, and overall customer experience
Impact
The restaurant management solution delivered measurable outcomes for InTouch’s operations. Over 45 restaurants were onboarded onto the platform, with more than 10,000 successful orders processed. By digitizing reservations, ordering, and delivery workflows, the system reduced manual effort and improved overall operational efficiency.
The platform also enabled staff to focus more on customer service. Based on these results, InTouch continued the collaboration, expanding the solution with additional features such as loyalty programs, timed discounts, and promotional codes.
