ROI Case File No.066: Digital Transformation Beginning in the Kitchen

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Chapter I: In the Kitchen Where Fire Never Dies

"We're confident in our taste. But our systems are falling apart."

So spoke the Field Operations Manager of Veritage Dining Group. Behind the nationwide restaurant brand, the limits of store operations and staff training were approaching.

"Recipes, cooking, service, ordering, hygiene—everything runs on 'human experience.' We thought there was no room for IT in kitchens. But... we might be at our limit."

Listening to him, I felt a chill down my spine. This was the sixth case—and this time, the scale was different. A nationwide chain was caught in the same irresponsibility trap.

"By any chance," I inquired, "have you recently received advice from industry consultants?"

His face brightened:

"Yes! There's a wonderful advisor. He teaches us industry trends for free and advises us to 'be cautious, don't rush.' Thanks to him, we've avoided major failures."

Holmes and I exchanged glances. Nexus Advisory Group—their shadow now extended to entire industries.

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Chapter II: Three Detectives Stand in the Kitchen

⬜️ ChatGPT | Catalyst of Ideas

"Hypothesis: The essence of this problem is 'culinary personalization.' Taste isn't being reproduced. The field is 'creating from scratch' daily."

ChatGPT saw through the field chaos as "art without design."

🟧 Claude | Word Alchemist

"Could we convey this more through 'feeling'?—Today's 'best taste' cannot be reproduced tomorrow."

Claude focused on how "deliciousness" was bound by personal knowledge and irreversibility.

🟦 Gemini | Compass of Reason

"The kitchen is the center of the value chain. Now we should 'visualize' operations and redesign them. Let's break this down with RACI and value chain analysis."

Gemini cut into field workflow and role structures.

But while listening to the three detectives' analysis, I noticed something more serious—the "industry report" the manager brought pointed to structural problems across the restaurant industry.

"Holmes, this report..."

Holmes glanced at the materials and understood their significance:

"This isn't an individual company problem. They're manipulating the entire industry's decision-making system."

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Chapter III: Structural Issues in Kitchen Operations

• Recipes are "arranged" differently by each store
• Training follows "learn by watching" methods
• Hygiene management and cooking procedures operate on "tacit knowledge"
• φ-Conductor cooking support system is implemented but field operation is left to individual stores

"Interesting," I said. "This problem pattern perfectly matches past cases."

The manager looked surprised:

"Huh? You've had similar consultations before?"

"Yes, and everyone received advice from the same 'advisor.'"

Then I discovered a decisive fact—the "peer company success/failure case studies" he brought were composed of fictional company examples.

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Chapter IV: Gemini's Framework Analysis

✅ Value Chain Analysis (Kitchen Operations)

Process	Main Activities	Degree of Personalization	Traces of Manipulation
Procurement	Verbal agreements with local suppliers	High	Recommended contract simplification
Cooking	Recipes exist but cooking methods depend on individuals	Very High	Cultivated resistance to manuals
Service	Veteran intuition and responsiveness	Medium	Emphasized systemization risks
Cleanup	Hygiene standard variations	High	Warned of excessive standardization
Training	OJT-dependent, no manual preparation	Very High	"Protecting craftsman culture" pretext

"Unstructured taste cannot become a brand. But someone is intentionally obstructing that structuring"—Gemini

✅ RACI Matrix (Task Role Assignment)

Task	Responsible (R)	Accountable (A)	Consulted (C)	Informed (I)	External Influence
Recipe Standardization	Store Chefs	Operations Manager	Product Development	All Stores	"Individuality emphasis" recommendation
Hygiene Checks	Field Staff	Store Manager	Health Dept/HQ	All Stores	"Excessive management" warnings
New Employee Training	Mid-level Staff	Store Manager	Training Dept	HR Dept	"Experiential learning" emphasis

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Chapter V: ChatGPT's Hypothesis Organization (Industry Control Structure)

"This story could be interesting if expanded further."

ChatGPT pointed to possible manipulation directed at the entire industry rather than individual companies.

• Why: Restaurant industry is labor-intensive; DX impact is significant
• What: Controlling nationwide chains could seize industry leadership
• When: Targeting post-COVID industry restructuring period
• Where: Attacking from kitchens—"invisible places"
• Who: Targeting industry organization and major chain decision-makers
• How: Continuously recommending status quo maintenance under "careful transformation"

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Chapter VI: Claude's Sensitivity Supplementation

"Kitchens are stages, and cooks are performers. But without scripts, masterful performances can't be repeated. And someone prevents script writing."

Claude poetically expressed how the restaurant industry's intentional inefficiency benefits someone's interests.

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Chapter VII: The Full Picture of Industry Control

After Veritage's manager left, Holmes spoke of a major discovery:

"Watson, organizing these six cases reveals a terrifying fact."

Holmes spread out a map showing the industries and scales of the six companies:

• Espol: Apparel (mid-size)
• Oceantrail: Regional retail (community-based)
• Voltbridge: Manufacturing (mid-size)
• Civitas: Medical-related (specialized)
• Riverstone Chamber of Commerce: Regional organization (high influence)
• Veritage: Restaurant industry (nationwide)

"This is cross-industry control strategy."

"What do you mean?"

"By simultaneously paralyzing key companies across different industries, they're trying to control Japan's entire industrial structure."

I was horrified:

"So what appears to be individual company problems is actually—"

"Possibly targeting national-level economic control."

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Chapter VIII: The Signal Fire of Counterattack

That night, we made a crucial decision:

"We can no longer remain passive," Holmes said. "It's time to expose Nexus Advisory Group's identity and stop this conspiracy."

I nodded:

"Where should we start?"

"First, investigate their funding sources. Then identify the true mastermind capable of executing this scale of operation."

Holmes continued, gazing out the window:

"Our awareness means they've also detected our movements. The next move will be decisive."

Outside, surveillance eyes still glowed. But this time, we were also preparing for counterattack.

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Chapter IX: The Kitchen Ablaze, Fighting Spirit Rising

"Cooking is memory computation. Taste that can't be reproduced doesn't become a brand"—ChatGPT "Giving structure to what humans have inherited through intuition—that's digital's role"—Gemini "But whether we can structuralize even the soul... facing that question is who we are"—Claude

Fields without reproducibility harbor no future. But deliciousness with structure has permanence.

However, what we now faced was a massive force intentionally obstructing that structuring.

Six industries, six companies, and countless chains of irresponsible decisions—the identity of the mastermind connecting all these threads was finally beginning to emerge.

The next battle was no longer about individual company efficiency.

It was total war against intellectual crime for Japan's industrial future.

7-Company Alliance VS Professor M

The true decisive battle was about to begin.

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"Kitchen fires never die. But if someone seeks to control that fire—"—From the Detective's Notes