A leading restaurant technology provider leveraged EMQX to build a real-time, high-concurrency self-service ordering platform, enabling seamless customer experiences and powering data-driven operational insights for over 100,000 restaurants.
The Challenge: Building a Scalable, Real-Time Ordering System
A major provider of restaurant management platforms wanted to revolutionize in-store ordering. Their goal was to create a seamless, real-time ordering system where customers could use in-store kiosks, their own mobile devices, or a WeChat mini-program to place and modify orders. This required a robust solution that could:
- Handle Real-Time Data Synchronization: Orders needed to be updated instantly across all devices at a single table, from a customer’s phone to the kitchen's printing system.
- Support High Concurrency: The platform had to handle massive volumes of data during peak hours and holidays without lag or downtime.
- Ensure Security: With sensitive user and business data, the platform required robust encryption and authentication to prevent malicious activity.
- Adapt to Multiple Devices: The system needed to function flawlessly across a wide range of devices and operating systems, including Android, Windows, and mobile mini-programs.
The Solution: EMQX as the Core Messaging Engine
To address these challenges, the company implemented EMQX Platform as the core of their self-service ordering system. EMQX’s real-time messaging capabilities enabled a unified, secure, and scalable data-sync architecture:
- Real-Time Device Synchronization: By integrating all devices with EMQX, the platform could use MQTT topics to instantly synchronize orders. When a customer adds an item, the action is reported to EMQX, and backend services immediately broadcast the update to all other devices at the same table, ensuring a consistent ordering experience.
- High-Volume Data Handling: EMQX’s high-availability, clustered architecture provides the stability needed to handle millions of simultaneous connections with millisecond-level latency. This allows the platform to support fluctuating demand and massive data streams during peak hours without performance degradation.
- Robust Security: The solution leveraged EMQX’s built-in authentication and authorization features, along with TLS encryption, to secure every connection. This ensures that all data transmissions are confidential and that devices and users are properly authenticated.
- API-Driven Order Notifications: Once an order is successfully submitted, the system uses EMQX’s HTTP API to broadcast a message to all connected devices. This provides immediate, reliable feedback to customers and clears the ordering interface for the next use.
The Results: Stability, Efficiency, and Actionable Insights
By integrating EMQX, the company achieved significant improvements across its self-service ordering business:
- Increased Stability and Reliability: The platform now operates with minimal latency and downtime, even during the busiest periods. This has eliminated the service disruptions that plagued the previous system, leading to higher customer satisfaction.
- Reduced Costs: EMQX’s efficient handling of large-scale connections allowed the company to significantly reduce server costs and optimize resource utilization.
- Real-Time Operational Insights: The system now collects real-time data on customer behavior and sales, which is stored in a database for analysis. This provides restaurants with valuable insights for making data-driven decisions on everything from inventory management to marketing strategies.
A Foundation for Future Innovation
With EMQX as a key enabler, the company has successfully transformed its self-service ordering business. The enhanced platform has not only boosted operational efficiency and customer satisfaction but also laid a strong foundation for future innovations in big data and AI for the restaurant industry.