or after their peak service periods – rather than having to step away to make a phone call. “And it’s not just food and beverage that should go through the system,” adds Eng- land. “Everything you purchase, including toilet rolls, pens, uniforms, cutlery, paper, etc, should be bought this way.”
A next stage on from online purchasing would be to implement a fully-fledged P2P system, which embraces the cycle of activities of requesting, purchasing, receiving, paying and accounting for goods and services. This, says Nick Prime, managing director
at Fretwell Downing Hospitality, involves inte- grating the stock control and finance system into the process. Other specialist modules can be linked in as well, such as those that offer information about the allergen and nutritional content of a food item.
“Previously this data would have been in separate systems, but now it can all be drawn together, sharing that data on one single, large database,” says Prime. “Purchase-to-pay integrates the supply chain electronically, and gives operators control of information about their catering operation, including detailed management information, compliance data about allergens and nutrition, and the ability to check prices. All this can be done without a massive admin- istration overhead.”
Blue-sky thinking Suppliers of e-procurement software say the vast majority of operators adopting the technology are doing so via the cloud. Cloud computing is now an established way of deliv- ering software services: the supplier hosts the database and applications and offers users access to it all via the internet. Users simply log on with a password and access their sys- tem and information in the same way as they might log into a Gmail account. Cloud computing has revolutionised the delivery of software to businesses, who no longer have to invest in hardware to host data- bases themselves. It has also created an even playing field, giving smaller operators access to the same sophisticated systems that were once available only to the bigger players.
PIZZAEXPRESS KEEPS MANAGERS ON THE FLOOR
The company Gondola Group operates PizzaExpress, Zizzi and ASK, and smaller brands of Milano, Byron and Kettner’s. The group employs more than 16,000 people, serving almost 40 million meals a year in over 600 restaurants.
The challenge Inconvenient ordering processes were taking restaurant managers off the restaurant floor at key trading times. Guy Croot, head of group distribution at Gondola, says:
“All our restaurants were on a fixed telesales call schedule. Restaurant managers were being called between 2pm and 4pm in the afternoon, which is a key trading time for them. They were being taken off the restaurant floor and away from customers for up to half an hour while they read out their order over the phone.” After trialling
iTradeNetwork’s multiple operator portal in 22 sites, PizzaExpress rolled out online ordering for all grocery products across the business.
“Our e-procurement systems are being used by operators of all sizes – from smaller businesses with two outlets up to groups with 5,000 outlets,” says Alex Walters, Euro-
SPONSOR’S COMMENT: PELICAN PROCUREMENT SERVICES Pi offers a totally unique and powerful
Established for 26 years, Pelican is a market-leading procurement and supply chain specialist. Our professional procurement services and
award-winning, cloud-based systems provide hospitality operators with significantly reduced purchasing costs, improved back- office processes and greater financial control and visibility across their whole business. Cost management is critical to the survival
of all operations, so to support hospitality businesses, Pelican developed Pi, an award-winning, cloud-based system.
36 | Technology Prospectus 2016
procurement solution providing various departments within each organisation with a real-time picture of their purchasing spend without any manual intervention. Pi provides a number of advanced
automated procurement tools, including: expenditure analysis, budgeting, invoice reconciliation, automated invoice price checking, compliance tracking, stock control, online ordering, menu cost management – to name but a few. Pi is flexible, easy to use and is maintained
by Pelican. To book your free demonstration, contact us today.
www.pelicanprocurement.co.uk
The system has enabled restaurant managers to manage their busy schedules better by placing orders outside of peak trading time. Croot says: “Now
restaurant managers can order at their convenience: early morning, late at night, whenever it suits them – three or four days in advance if necessary. And from a supplier point of view, there are no returns or recovery orders to be made as the order is processed correctly in the first place. It’s a win-win for everybody.”
pean sales director at iTradeNetwork, a sup- ply chain management software provider. “The great thing is they all use the same platform, so smaller operators can garner the same benefits as an international company. They pay by the number of outlets they have, so there is a low cost to entry.” Not only does e-procurement streamline an operation, it also gives operators greater visibility of their business as they can see at any time the current profit and loss situ- ation across the entire organisation or just a single unit. Typically, the systems are hierarchical, so different users have different levels of privileges and visibility. The managing director or financial controller of a company may, for example, be able to run reports across the whole business or alter prices, while the manager in one of the units will be able to see only what is going on in their own outlet. Likewise, a chef will be able to access only their own order history. Many systems can also alert suppliers if a deadline for an order is pending or if the cost
www.thecaterer.com
▲
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56