New startup by entrepreneur Guy Van Neck increases profitability of retail and restaurant chains

Khova translates data into concrete action plans for local branch managers

Why does one branch of a retail or restaurant chain perform better than the other, even though they operate under the same formula? According to the new Belgian startup Khova There are too often no clear guidelines and priorities in the workplace. With its AI platform, the company, among others led by Guy Van Neck (MobieTrain), wants to help location managers make the right decisions faster and thus increase the profitability of their locations.

For chains with multiple locations, operational consistency remains an important challenge. Sales figures, personnel planning, audits, customer reviews and numerous other data sources provide a wealth of information, but do not always make it clear which actions make the biggest difference today.

Khova aggregates that data and combines it with external factors such as weather conditions and local events. Based on this, the platform generates an overview of the most important priorities and recommendations for each branch.

“Where classic BI or analytics tools stop, Khova goes on to provide personalized action plans. We combine proprietary data and external context, and predict how certain actions will ultimately impact results. This way, Khova helps each location run more structurally based on what works on the ground.“

says Founder and CEO Guy Van Neck.

Born from practical experience

Khova builds on the experience that Van Neck and his team have gained over the past ten years. MobieTrain, a learning platform that is active at more than 140 organizations and 34 international quick service Restaurant groups. During those processes, the company found that while training remains important, many middle managers primarily need more guidance in their day-to-day operations.

With Khova, Van Neck created a new software category that does not focus on training or reporting, but on improving operational performance at the level of individual branches.

Khova therefore focuses specifically on hospitality and retail organizations where performance can vary greatly from location to location. According to the company, many operational decisions are still made today based on fragmented information from different systems, which often causes managers to waste time on analysis rather than improving.

First customers already on board

By targeting location managers in the hospitality and retail sectors more specifically, Khova aims to translate small differences in execution into higher turnover and profitability. Even before Khova officially launched, the software was already undergoing testing. Seven pilot projects were launched, including Sergio Herman's Frites Atelier and an Alice Pizza, a pizza chain with more than 200 locations in Italy.

“MobieTrain helps employees build skills. Khova helps managers deliver better results every day. As a result, we have a very different type of conversation partner at the table: no longer just HR or training managers, but also owners and business leaders who are directly responsible for growth and profitability."

decides the CEO

About Khova

Khova develops AI software for retail and hospitality companies with multiple locations. The platform translates operational data and external context into concrete daily actions for local managers, with the goal of improving the performance and profitability of locations. Khova was born out of MobieTrain, a learning platform that builds on over ten years of experience supporting more than 140 clients and 34 QSR groups. From those conversations it became clear that training remains important, but managers primarily need clarity. They no longer need information, but the right action at the right time. For more information: www.khova.ai