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A fast-growing group facing operational friction
As Jinchan expanded, operational complexity increased quickly.
In the restaurant business, supplier prices fluctuate constantly. Fresh produce, seafood, specialty imports: prices can change week by week. Margins are often decided on a few percentage points, which makes price monitoring critical.
Before using Phacet, Jinchan relied on a largely manual process. Every Monday morning, restaurant managers had to:
- open dozens of supplier emails,
- extract invoices manually,
- enter price variations into their stock and purchasing tool,
- compare them with reference prices,
- try to assess the impact on margins.
This process was time-consuming, repetitive, and difficult to maintain in a fast-paced, on-the-ground environment.
As Alban explains:
“We operate on the field. When you are in operations, it is very easy to be pulled into daily urgencies and miss things.”
On top of that, the finance inbox was overloaded. Important emails were mixed with invoices, creating constant mental noise and a lack of visibility.
The challenge was clear: gain speed, reliability, and clarity without adding headcount or burdening teams.
Introducing automation where it matters most
Rather than adding another tool or building complex workflows, Alban chose to automate the most critical financial processes step by step. With Phacet, Jinchan progressively deployed three AI-powered workflows.
Invoice extraction and price control
The first workflow focuses on supplier invoices. Phacet automatically:
- reads invoices as they arrive,
- extracts structured data line by line,
- compares prices against the reference price list,
- highlights discrepancies.
Instead of manually crunching spreadsheets, Alban now sends managers a simple extract showing only what actually changed.
Smart finance inbox triage
A second workflow was implemented to clean up the finance inbox. Phacet automatically:
- identifies invoice emails,
- detects the relevant entity,
- routes invoices to the correct Pennylane inbox,
- marks emails as processed,
- separates financial documents from operational messages.
The result is immediate.
“Before, I could have thirty emails mixed together. Now I see five or six, and I immediately know what needs my attention.”
Reconciliation of orders, deliveries, and invoices
A third workflow is currently being rolled out: reconciliation between purchase orders, delivery notes, and invoices.
For Alban, this is a fundamental control.
“For anyone doing financial control, reconciling orders, deliveries, and invoices is the basics. With Phacet, it becomes simple.”
What made the difference: simplicity and transparency
One of the biggest surprises for Alban was how intuitive the product felt.
“No training was needed. By looking at the workflow and testing it myself, I immediately understood how it worked.”
Phacet did not impose a black-box logic. Every step is visible. Prompts, rules, and logic are accessible and adjustable.
“We see exactly what is happening. Nothing is opaque. We even built parts of the logic together with the Phacet team.”
This transparency created trust and allowed Jinchan to adapt the system to its own way of working, not the other way around.
Concrete results in everyday operations
After just a few weeks, the impact was tangible.
Time saved
- Around ten to fifteen minutes saved every day on inbox management alone.
- Several hours saved each week on price control and verification.
Increased reliability
Price variations no longer slip through unnoticed.
“It is faster and more reliable. That is what we gain with Phacet.”
Reduced mental load
One of the most immediate benefits was cognitive relief.
“The mental load dropped right away.”
Managers focus on operations. Alban regains clarity. The organization becomes calmer and more readable.
Refocusing on what really matters
Jinchan does not define itself as just a food business.
“Our mission is to offer a great moment. Not to spend time crunching price tables.”
Automation allows teams to concentrate on customer experience rather than administrative friction.
A shift in posture, not just a tool
With Phacet, Jinchan moved from a reactive, manual approach to a more proactive and data-driven mindset.
Teams no longer chase information. They act on it.
Financial control becomes a lever for decision-making, not a constraint.
Every new operational question now triggers the same reflex:
“Can we handle this with Phacet?”
Jinchan’s view on AI
Alban is clear about the role of AI.
“AI is not here to avoid hiring people. It is here to optimize. It replaces noise, not humans.”
For Jinchan, AI is a way to protect energy, focus teams on meaningful work, and sustain growth without burning out operations.
Who Phacet is for, according to Jinchan
Alban naturally recommends Phacet to:
- multi-location restaurant groups,
- companies with several legal entities,
- businesses relying on multiple interconnected tools,
- organizations with tight margins and volatile supplier prices,
- teams where administrative load weighs heavily on operations.
“Whenever data flows between systems, discrepancies will exist. Phacet allows you to validate them quickly and reliably.”
