Blog 5

In this article it explains how some restaurants are using software to make the daily decisions that come up in the restaurant. Some decisions are how much food to prepare, how many employees to put on, and what foods to sell. In the past restaurants had no choice but to make informative guesses about these decisions. But now that this software is becoming more popular restaurants will be able to reduce the number of guesses that they will have to make. Taste Buds located in New Orleans was able to reduce their food costs from 31 percent to 27.5 percent and their labor costs from 12.5 percent to 11 percent using a software called Compeat. The software also helps out when changing the menu or trying to have promotions for some items on the menu. For the CEO of Taste Buds running a restaurant without a prep software is not an option. By using this software for prep restaurants are able to lower labor costs because they will know exactly how many people are needed for the amount of food that has to be prepped. In addition to that they will also be able to cut down on food waste because the software uses forecasting to figure out how much food is going to be needed. So instead of the restaurant prepping too much food and having it spoil they are able to order less and in turn waste less. The software also helps out when ordering more food because it forecasts the restaurant's needs using promotions, seasonal needs, and events going on in the area.

This new software seems like a great investment for most restaurants. The money that will be saved using this software seems to be worth the initial investment. Having to guess how much food and how many employees needed has been a problem that has been plaguing the restaurant industry forever. This new software may not eliminate these problems, but it will definitely help reduce these problems. By using this software restaurants are able to order there food based on forecast instead of gut instinct. The great part of the software is that it will take into account upcoming events for the restaurant and the area around the restaurant. I believe that this will be beneficial for a restaurant because they will not go overboard ordering a large amount of food that will not be made. By not ordering the food it will save them waste and money. I think that this software is great but it may not be necessary in all restaurants. In larger restaurants that have many different promotions and events this software would be extremely helpful. But for a small family owned restaurant that has been around for years and has been successful it may not be necessary. This software would probably be more useful in a new restaurant rather then an old established one because they can rely on their past experiences to make decisions on.

Terry, L (2007, October ). Breaking Down the Fudge Factor . Hospitality Technology
http://www.htmagazine.com/HT/archive/1007/1007_06.html