The Food & Beverage System Fundamentals - Case Study Example

The Food & Beverage System – Fundamentals Name Class Unit Introduction Modern food and beverage (F&B) industry started in the 19th century. This is through the preservation industries (pasteurisation and canning) and transportation technology which included railways that made distribution of food possible. The political development during the period also made it possible for the industry to flourish through cheap labour (Davis, Lockwood, Pantelidis and Alcott, 2013). The modern F&B industry operates on thin margins hence the need to cope with trends and avoid being left out. This has made it to be necessary to have automated tools with an aim of enhancing efficiency in the industry. The major challenge has been making the tools highly effective without compromising the guest experience. The recent advances in technology have made the industry move forward. This includes use of open architecture, widespread use of internet, wireless communication and flexible interfaces (Inge, 2006). When all these are combined, it has become possible to have fully integrated operations with numerous benefits. This essay analyses the fundamentals of the food and beverage systems. This is through analysing the types of operation systems, front office operation systems (POS, table management, reservation) and back office operations systems (purchasing, receiving and requisitioning). Lastly the essay analyses centralised hosting of the systems in F&B industry. Types of operations in food and beverage systems Food and beverage operations system needs can be grouped into three types based on the operations. The first type if based on the small restaurants that requires point of operations systems which are cheap, easy to operate and maintain. The systems have limited functionality and are affected easily by the changes in conditions. The systems are replaced after few years and in some cases written off. If they are not eliminated after time, they are upgraded with the modern technology. This especially occurs if the system has a module which can be used for expansion (Inge, 2006). Larger hotels and corporations have high end operations and their focus is longer term outlook. This makes them to be more focused on effective systems, technology maximisation and data efficiency (Davis, Lockwood, Pantelidis and Alcott, 2013). They have integration between the point of sales, labour management, accounting, e-procurement and attendance systems. The system used by them is supposed to be as complete as possible and may include the gift customer relationship management function and paperless payment system. The systems used by these F&B establishment are intuitive to learn and use. This is due to pressure on time and high staff turnover. The systems are also highly centralised to enable standard operations and effective consolidation of reports on the operations (Inge, 2006). For the major hotels, they have high number of guests and increased hotel operations. Due to the relationship management, they are expected to offer additional activities to their guests. This makes it prudent to have applications that have integration with their guests. These hotels have high level of integration in their systems (Ham, Kim and Jeong, 2005). Front of house operations (POS, table management, reservation) Point of sale systems (POS) POS is a core system used in the F&B operations. This includes the management of ordering and delivery of the items in the menu. The system is expected to be capable of handling menu based on different prices and varying times (Davis, Lockwood, Pantelidis and Alcott, 2013). The orders made by the guests are entered by the wait staff into the hotel systems. This includes the modifiers which specify the side orders such as salads and dressings. The computer systems can be desktops, terminals located at specific areas or handheld devices. The customers’ orders are then transferred to the kitchen preparation areas and service bars. This helps the chef to prepare the guests order in time and avoid lost orders (Davis, Lockwood, Pantelidis and Alcott, 2013). The guests’ checks are prepared based on the demand. The settlement for the customer check are then made through cash, credit cards, membership cards or gift coupon based on the establishment (Inge, 2006). At this point, it is possible to discount or void the items based on the customer level of satisfaction. The management authority is required when making decision such as discounting but since it is impractical the software provides a section to enter the reason. The management looks at the servers and carries out an audit based on the daily reports (Ham, Kim and Jeong, 2005). Use of handheld devices makes it possible for the orders to be made without servers walking to the terminals. The orders are transmitted directly to the kitchen. The handheld devices save time and are highly efficient. This is especially in a hotel with dispersed environment. The advance in technology has made the hand held devices to be highly effective through use of character recognition software (Inge, 2006). The POS requires fast responses due to time pressures and sharing of the workstations by the servers. They are also required to be secure and accurate especially when making the payments. The user in most cases is supposed to swipe or enter the magnetic strip of their card when making the payments. At the moment, use of kitchen videos has been replacing the printers. This is due to the high advantages offered by the videos such as; high reliability, elimination of lost orders, high visibility, ability to capture useful information and visual remedies which acts as order reminders. Trends in the POS systems include; signature capture, accepting credit cards, ingredient analysis, pre ordering and management alerts (Inge, 2006). Reservation and table management In the modern F& B industries, reservations are much common. The main aim is to increase operational efficiency and increase the focus on customer relationship management. The reservation process is aimed at increasing repeat purchases hence loyalty. The reservation system such as RSViP has been very vital in the industry (Inge, 2006). The system increases the turns by the waiting staff and also helps in determining the wait time forecasts. The system software is capable of giving a visual layout of the hotel. Through linking the system with the POS, it becomes possible to opening the check once the guests are seated. The system is updated once the guests leave the table and services at each table are easily monitored. All these enhance the operational efficiency (Ham, Kim and Jeong, 2005). Hand held terminals With advance in technology, the handheld devices have become smaller in size and highly practical. This rise of the wireless network has made the functionality of the devices high. They incorporate card swipe area, signature capture screen and printing capability (Inge, 2006). The whole transaction is completed through the single device. Use of RFID technology has been phasing out the use of physical card swipe. Tablets and e-menus are also utilised due to their larger screens. Despite this, they are bulky and heavy (Davis, Lockwood, Pantelidis and Alcott, 2013). Kiosks In the F&B industry, use of kiosks is widespread. The main aim is to speed up the services and enhance accuracy. They are capable of giving information and upsell the guest. Despite this, the kiosks are not suitable to all customers (Inge, 2006). Back of house operations Purchasing The F&B ordering is complex and its needs are special. The industry makes purchases for different mix of perishable goods and other products. This is based on daily basis and from different locations and suppliers. There is need for integration with the accounting department and hence need for a specialised application (Davis, Lockwood, Pantelidis and Alcott, 2013). With the advancement of technology, use of electronic orders and bids is common. Suppliers utilises spreadsheets which can be emailed. There is increased efficiency through use of software to ensure precise ordering. This implies that lost orders are few and there is less spoilage. The major softwares are Adaco and CBORD. The electronic documents make it easier to carry out checks when making the purchases. This leads to purchases which are accurate, in right time and undamaged (Inge, 2006). Receiving Modern inventory planning has made it possible to automate the receiving process in the F&B industry. The purchased goods are received through the electronic orders. This has made it easy to calculate miscellaneous charges and ensure all exceptions are entered. Use of bar codes has been very helpful in recording through scanners. There have also been rise of the RFID tags. Requisitioning Electronic forms are highly used in completion of requisition. The modern F&B industry has a lot of paperless transactions which has made the approval process easier and fast. There is high consolidation of the approved acquisition forms (Inge, 2006). Centralised hosting of systems The POS can be operated in standalone environment. Despite this, they are capable of being integrated with several systems (Inge, 2006). The most common interfaces are; hotel property management systems, reservations management systems, inventory and purchasing systems (IP) (Ham, Kim and Jeong, 2005). In the F&B industry, centralised systems are common. The approach is based on coming up with a hybrid system rather than a remote terminal configuration. This is through use of local servers which communicate with the central server. The POS is made in such a way that it can operate as standalone in case of connection failure with the local servers. This helps in providing centralised monitoring in the industry (Inge, 2006). In the F&B industry, systems are very critical for smooth operations. The vendors of the F&B systems have been working hard to make them rugged and highly reliable. The systems are supposed to be protected and their reliability in the industry improved. This is due to fact that failure in the systems can lead to high losses (Inge, 2006). In the modern F&B industry, there is high usage of internet. This is through the handheld devices and guest access to internet. High internet usage has helped in increasing industry visibility and optimising the guest experience. There is increase in orders being placed over the internet. F&B outlets such as Starbucks, McDonalds and Kentucky Derby ensure that patrons have access to internet which is well protected through a firewall (Ham, Kim and Jeong, 2005). Conclusion The F&B industry systems continue becoming more advanced with time. The industry relies on the improving technology and creativity for systems to provide excellent services and keeps the guests happy. The main aim is to reduce increase profit margins and reduce employee turnover. The integration of the systems will continue making the operations efficient, convenient and increase profits. Use of POS systems is on rise even in the small F&B outlets. As the size of the establishment becomes large, there is need for complex systems and integration. Guests can make their orders through workstations or handheld devices. There is also rise in reservation and table management through use of modern systems in the industry. The back office operations have been improved through use of technology. This is through use of technology in purchasing, receiving and requisitioning. Centralisation of systems is very common in the F&B industry. Through centralisation of the systems, use of central server is utilised. To sum up, food and beverage systems have become common in the industry and are expected to continue improving and increasing as technology advances. References Davis, B., Lockwood, A., Pantelidis, I. and Alcott, P., 2013. Food and beverage management. Routledge. Davis, B., Lockwood, A., Pantelidis, I. and Alcott, P., 2013. Food and beverage management. Routledge. Ham, S., Kim, W.G. and Jeong, S., 2005. Effect of information technology on performance in upscale hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 24(2), pp.281-294. Inge, J., 2006, Food and Beverage Systems, A Technology Primer Developed by the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Technology and E-Business Committee Funded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation. P. 1-30. Read More