In our latest edition of our ‘meet the team’ series, we caught up with our new AI Product Lead, Sai Chan.
AI is changing the way all businesses work, and at IndiCater, we’re exploring how it can make life easier for hospitality teams.
From smarter automation to faster product development, there’s plenty of opportunity to make technology work harder behind the scenes, giving people more time to focus on what matters.
And helping us turn those opportunities into reality is our newest team member, Sai!
We caught up with Sai to find out more about his background, what attracted him to IndiCater, and all things AI – let’s get stuck in!
Firstly, welcome Sai!
Sai is no stranger to hospitality technology. Having previously worked at Procure Wizard, he brings valuable industry experience alongside a keen interest in software development and emerging technology.
Sai says, “Over the past few years, AI has evolved from something relatively experimental into an essential tool for improving the way software is developed and businesses operate”
And it’s that potential that attracted him to IndiCater.
“I’ve always been interested in hospitality, and what’s really exciting about AI is how much more you can get done with it,” explains Sai.
As AI Product Lead, Sai’s role brings together product development, customer insight and AI innovation.
Rather than simply developing new features, he’ll be working to understand the challenges customers face, identify where technology can help and turn those ideas into practical solutions.
There’s a lot of talk about AI at the moment. Where do you see the biggest opportunities?
Sai: I think hospitality has traditionally been quite slow to adopt new technology. Even now, there are businesses still relying on spreadsheets and manual processes for things that software has been able to do for years.
For me, one of the biggest opportunities is changing how people interact with that technology.
So rather than giving customers a system they have to log into, navigate and spend time interpreting, we want the technology to do more of the work for them.
IndiCater has already started the journey of moving from being a system of record to a system of intelligence, by making data easier to understand, with clearer insights, more personalised dashboards and improved forecasting.
The next step is making that information more actionable, so instead of just telling people what’s happening in their business, the system can increasingly help them decide what to do about it.
What could AI improvements actually look like for hospitality teams in practice?
Sai: There are so many opportunities! Hospitality is a labour-intensive industry, and AI has the potential to take some of that everyday workload off people’s hands.
A good example is managing supplier price changes.
All useful information, but the next step is that someone needs to decide what to do next.
Where AI comes in and what we’re exploring is how we could automate more of that process. E.g., if an ingredient increases in price, could the system automatically identify a cheaper alternative? And if there isn’t one, could it look at the other ingredients in the affected dishes and suggest ways to protect margins?
It’s about taking something that might currently involve hours of checking recipes and comparing products, and making it much, much simpler.
That’s where I think AI can make a real difference across hospitality. Cut down time being bogged down in spreadsheets and data, and spend more time being customer-facing.
What product features are you most excited about bringing to life?
Sai: There are lots of things I’m looking forward to getting stuck into! A big part of my role is working closely with customers to understand their everyday challenges and exploring how we can use AI to develop and test new ideas that make a real difference.
In traditional software development, you might have ten ideas but only enough resources to properly explore one or two. With AI-assisted development, we can prototype different ideas much faster, get feedback and find out what actually works.
It means we can spend less time on lengthy development cycles and more time solving real problems.
A good example is the new IndiCater mobile app we’re developing.
It started with a customer challenge around printed recipes in kitchens. As soon as recipes are printed, they can become outdated because ingredients, allergens and other information change.
We’re developing an app that will make it easier for kitchen teams to access up-to-date recipe information, without relying on printed copies.
And there’s potential to take that much further, with things like notifications and stock management.
For me, the important thing is that we’re not just talking about what AI might be able to do. We’re actually building things, testing them with customers and seeing what makes a difference.
So, what does all this mean for you?
Sai: There’s so much potential!
IndiCater already has a really good customer base and strong foundations to build on. What’s exciting is looking at the platform and seeing all the opportunities to make things simpler, faster and more useful.
AI is moving incredibly quickly, and we’re already using it in our development processes. That means we can explore ideas and introduce improvements much faster than would have been possible a few years ago.
But it’s not just about developing new features. It’s about changing the experience for customers.
Ultimately, I want IndiCater to be a system that makes people’s working lives easier. Something that takes care of repetitive tasks, highlights what matters and helps people make better decisions without adding more work to their day.
That’s the direction we’re heading in, and I’m really excited to be part of it.
And finally, what do you get up to when you’re not working?
Sai: I really enjoy building things, whether that’s software or something mechanical!
I’m really into cars and motorbikes, so when I’m not building software, I’m usually working on bikes, riding or doing track days.
I do a bit of cycling too, particularly gravel riding. I just enjoy getting stuck into things and understanding how they work.
We’re delighted to welcome Sai to the IndiCater team!
With his experience, knowledge and enthusiasm for making technology genuinely useful, we can’t wait to see what intuitive solutions he comes up with for our customers.
We can’t wait to see what comes next.
Connect with Sai on LinkedIn and join us in giving him a warm welcome.
