Candler hospital boosts sales 110% with 24/7 availability through Mashgin

About Candler Hospital

Candler Hospital is a non-profit hospital located in Savannah, Georgia. It was founded in 1804 and has grown into a 384-bed facility with over 3,000 employees. Candler Hospital provides a wide range of medical services, including cancer care, heart, and vascular care, women's health services, and more.

Challenges

Hospital employees working outside of regular hours often face challenges when it comes to finding convenient and accessible meal options. However, the Morrison team at Candler Hospital recognized the potential for new solutions to address this issue. They developed a plan to make the hospital’s Smart Byte Market available 24/7 to provide employees with much-needed meals.

To ensure that the market was accessible around the clock, the team had to overcome several obstacles. For instance, they needed to find a way for employees to make regular transactions while the space was unattended. Additionally, many hospital workers typically leave their wallets and phones in lockers during their shifts.

Choosing Mashgin

To address these issues, the Morrison team installed Mashgin’s AI Checkout system at the market. Mashgin self-checkout has proven to be demonstrably faster than traditional checkout, as much as 400% faster than a cashier and 800% faster than conventional self-checkout. By ringing up items via size, shape, and color rather than barcodes, Mashgin made it extremely easy for clinicians and visitors to adopt self-checkout. Customers simply put their purchases down on Mashgin’s tray and items all ring up instantly.

The team also leveraged employee badges as payment cards through a CBORD integration, as these badges already functioned as keys that employees always have on their person. The team also updated the physical space by adding security cameras and renovating it to allow for more retail display areas.

Thanks to the speed of Mashgin and ease of payment made possible with CBORD, the changes made were highly successful. As a result, the operators saw increased foot traffic and usage of the Smart Byte Market by hospital staff working all shifts. With more food options, new ways to pay, and expanded hours of operation, Morrison saw additional revenue from increased sales—67% since reopening in Jul '21 and 110% higher sales in March ‘22 compared to Oct ‘20 (before the remodel).

By implementing just a few adjustments like those made at Candler Hospital's Smart Byte Market, unattended markets can become positive contributors to operating margins due to increased service hours and serviceable populations. The success of this initiative highlights how digital solutions can benefit healthcare facilities by providing convenient services that support employee satisfaction while generating additional revenue streams. As hospitals face increasing pressure to cut costs and increase efficiency, this approach can serve as a model for other healthcare facilities looking to implement similar solutions.