Fuddruckers Gets Cooking With IBM Kiosks in the Kitchen

AUSTIN, TX - 14 Jul 2006: World’s Greatest Hamburgers" maker Fuddruckers will improve efficiency of meal preparation and food order delivery with IBM (NYSE:IBM - News) technology, becoming one of the first known restaurant chains to use interactive kiosks in its kitchens.

With a unique use of technology, Fuddruckers’ proprietary recipes and food preparation methods are distributed to 125 secure, ultra-compact IBM Anyplace Kiosks in all of its corporate-owned restaurants’ kitchens from the company’s headquarters in Austin, Texas. This replaces paper-based procedure and recipe manuals and allows the restaurant chain to provide accurate and up-to-date food preparation instructions and recipes quickly and easily at a single source.

Fuddruckers will provide its general managers and cooks with easy access to recipes, via touch screen panels and Recipeviewer software from Custom Business Solutions, Inc., to better ensure consistent preparation methods across all locations, reduce training time and deliver guests’ orders more efficiently.

The restaurant chain also is using 125 new IBM SurePOS 500 systems to record customer orders quickly and accurately. The new systems are small and robust enough to run the entire POSitouch suite that includes software applications for point of sale, enterprise reporting, employee scheduling, inventory, food costing and forecasting.

“For the past 25-plus years, we’ve distinguished ourselves through the quality and freshness of our outstanding menu items, yet we’re equally as committed to the technologies that will allow us to further distinguish ourselves in the industry,” said Matt Pannek, Chief Financial Officer for Fuddruckers. “This investment in IBM technology will help us protect our own recipes, while further enhancing the overall experience of our associates and customers.”

“With this technology, Fuddruckers has become even more nimble, able to quickly react to its competitors and overall marketplace,” said Steve Ladwig, general manager, IBM Retail Store Solutions. “In minutes, Fuddruckers can alter its menu and ingredients by simply distributing uniformed changes through its new kiosk network.”

The IBM Anyplace Kiosk, which is the size of a flat-panel monitor, offers retailers a cost-effective opportunity to install an informational kiosk “anyplace” in the store, whether in the aisle, on the wall, beside a demo or on a store end cap. With the capability to show full-screen video as well as high quality sound, the kiosks can deliver a variety of applications, also including production information, self-ordering in restaurants and unattended check-in for hotel guests.

About Fuddruckers:

Austin, Texas-based Fuddruckers has been serving the world’s greatest hamburgers and shakes since 1980, when it first opened its doors down the road in San Antonio. Now the company has 232 restaurants spanning 36 states and Canada. To this day, the restaurant still holds true to its simple recipe and values: 100% USDA fresh ground beef prepared every day by on-site butchers, buns made from scratch every day by restaurant bakers and produce-stand-fresh tomato, lettuce and onions.

More information about IBM retail solutions can be found at www.ibm.com/retail and Customer Business Solutions, Inc. at www.cbs-posi.com.

Contact Information

Lon Levitan

IBM Media Relations

IBM

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