{"id":3425,"date":"2017-03-20T18:51:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T18:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/data-the-key-ingredient-for-restaurant-chain-success\/"},"modified":"2017-03-20T18:51:00","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T18:51:00","slug":"data-the-key-ingredient-for-restaurant-chain-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/data-the-key-ingredient-for-restaurant-chain-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Data the key ingredient for restaurant chain success"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.techhive.com\/images\/article\/2017\/03\/old-chicago-pizza-taproom-craftworks-100713910-large.3x2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/data-the-key-ingredient-for-restaurant-chain-success.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Businesses have more data than ever about their operations, supply chains and customers. The problem is often they can\u2019t see it, don\u2019t know where it is, and don\u2019t have an easy way to pull it all together and analyze it. So, they are unable to make smart decisions and can lose thousands of dollars a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a challenge restaurant franchisers such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.craftworksrestaurants.com\" target=\"_blank\">CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries Inc.<\/a> face. CraftWorks has found a solution, though\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.arrowstream.com\/what-we-do\/ondemand\/\" target=\"_blank\">OnDemand software from ArrowStream<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"fakesidebar\"><strong>[ Further reading: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.computerworld.com\/article\/3140091\/enterprise-applications\/sharepoint-2013-cheat-sheet.html#tk.ctw-infsb\">SharePoint 2013 cheat sheet<\/a> ]<\/strong><\/aside>\n<p>OnDemand does the \u201cdirty work\u201d of collecting data from food distributors, cleaning the data, analyzing it and putting the information front and center for supply chain restaurant managers, said Jeff Dorr, chief customer officer of ArrowStream.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnDemand provides near real-time processing and analysis,\u201d he said. \u201cWithout a system, you are spot checking. Humans can\u2019t get through the data quickly. We\u2019re providing predictive and actionable insight\u2014a full supply chain view of the data.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"nativo-promo smartphone\" id=\"\"\/>\n<p>The software is provided as a service, with the data stored in two off-site data centers. Using a dashboard, companies can monitor distributors\u2019 inventory, food prices and purchasing compliance. They can track price discrepancies\u2014if the price charged is the price agreed upon\u2014automate the examination of contract price updates, and streamline communication between restaurant companies and their suppliers. Companies can also set up triggers\u2014for low inventory, for example\u2014so they are alerted and can contact the distributor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>OnDemand watches 100 percent of a company\u2019s spend and alerts managers of \u201copportunities to increase contracted spend and reduce instances of off-contract purchasing,\u201d Dorr said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnDemand ties all data indicators together so corporations can focus on the right vendors and providers. We\u2019re getting the information for them so they don\u2019t have to go looking for it manually,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>OnDemand helps CraftWorks reduces food costs\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p>CraftWorks, which operates 10 brands in 177 locations, wanted more visibility into its diverse supply chain of 25 distribution centers, 49 local produce distribution centers, six small wares distribution centers, and nine redistribution centers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"nativo-promo tablet desktop\" id=\"\"\/>\n<p>Tracking and managing the supply chain for its restaurants, which include Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, Rock Bottom Restaurants &amp; Breweries, and Old Chicago Pizza &amp; Taproom, is a challenge.<\/p>\n<p>CraftWorks used to have spreadsheets and programs, but it would take a long time to analyze the information and find differences, said Scott Adams, vice president of strategic supply and initiatives\u00a0at CraftWorks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Plus, managers couldn\u2019t see everything, causing them to scramble to resolve low-inventory problems or to lose money because of price changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The company chose OnDemand primarily because of the software\u2019s contract management feature, Adams said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith it, we can make sure distributors charge the right cost, that distributors adhere to the specifications outlined in their contracts, and that our restaurants are buying to contract,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"pullquote\">We\u2019re having conversations with distribution centers that we couldn\u2019t have before.<br \/>\u2014Scott Adams, CraftWorks<\/aside>\n<p>CraftWorks can now do post-contract audits and keep track of non-contract spending. The post-audit tells them how much restaurants are purchasing compared with what the contracts say, as well as if the prices change. For example, the price for fry oil and ketchup fell off, and they discovered within 10 days that it happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The company can also see if orders for its larger brands are on spec\u2014that the specified products and ingredients received match the contracts. Smaller brands can order things off spec, and the software monitors those purchases, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can see what\u2019s happening to get things corrected and back to contract,\u201d Adams said. \u201cThe visibility is tremendous. We had it before, but it was in spreadsheets and PDFs and spread out all over the place. Now everything is together in one place, and we can take control of distribution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>OnDemand also lets managers look into each distribution center for pricing, and if it sees a lower price, it alerts them\u2014tells them they might want to buy from that center than the one they currently buy from.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re having conversations with distribution centers that we couldn\u2019t have before. It used to be what I call strategic stumbling\u2014we would just happen upon things,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n<h3>OnDemand monitors distributors&#8217; inventory<\/h3>\n<p>CraftWorks also finds the inventory module hugely beneficial. Now the company can be proactive about managing inventory.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUsually I was behind the eight ball [with inventory]. A restaurant would call when they were out of something, and we\u2019d scramble to find a solution,\u201d Adams said. \u201cNow we can see what is at risk of running out and be two to three days ahead of it. Inventory management is now seamless for restaurants.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The biggest benefit, though: OnDemand saves CraftWorks money. Adams expects the software will save CraftWorks .5 percent on food costs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will be able to correct a lot of substitutions, which increase costs, and we will see savings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"orig\">This story, &#8220;Data the key ingredient for restaurant chain success&#8221; was originally published by <span itemprop=\"publisher\" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Organization\"><span class=\"publisher\" itemprop=\"name\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.networkworld.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"new\">Network World<\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Businesses have more data than ever about their operations, supply chains and customers. The problem is often they can\u2019t see it, don\u2019t know where it is, and don\u2019t have an<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,85,75],"tags":[50,86,54],"class_list":["post-3425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-big-data","category-saas","category-software","tag-big-data","tag-saas","tag-software"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}