EP Business in Hospitality Issue 48 - January 2014

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THE ART OF NETWORKING Building effective professional relationships is a skill in itself. It takes much time, effort and input, but if done well, it will stand the test of time and generate results. EP possesses a team of skilled industry professionals that can work with teams to coach and mentor on: • How to network effectively • Image and perception • Meeting expectations • Building relationships • Hosting Our approach is very much personalised to the individual. As relationship selling is focused on the one to one, so our approach is too. If you would like to find out more, please contact chris.sheppardson@epmagazine.co.uk or call on 0207 025 1862 E Productions
MIKE DAY OPINION Technical Determination and Expansion for 2014 Extending the use of back-office management software As 2013 draws to a close, now is a good time for all companies to reflect on how their businesses have performed over the past 12 months. It is the perfect time to consider the next steps to take in order to re-focus their efforts and extend their areas of technology use to be sure of their ability to grow the business. Customer focus and profitability are two critical compatible elements within a service organisation and technology should no longer be seen as a footnote in this process, but instead should play a fundamental role in any forward planning. In the last year, the hospitality sector has continued to embrace the use of technology to help manage and support its businesses. Outdated paper processes “The impact that technology is having on the bottom line is measurable and significant” have been replaced by ever more innovative back-office management systems and new simple routines make light work of essential ordering, costing and margin management activities. In parallel, there has been a marked increase in the use of social media tools to communicate instantly, effectively and in a targeted manner with customers, all of which harness and enhance customer loyalty. The impact that technology is having on the bottom line is measurable and significant. The flexibility to access such powerful technical resources via a multitude of mobile handheld devices with immediate results must surely make active engagement with the latest technology a top New Year resolution. So what are hospitality professionals thinking about when it comes to developing their use of technology? At IndiCater, we focus purely on our Cloud solutions and are privileged to talk to our client and customer base about their plans and aspirations for companywide solutions, as well as traditional back-office management software. One of the prevalent themes in these conversations is the development capability of management software to enhance the customer experience, something we are already witnessing across all sectors, from providing pre-order catering services at leisure and visitor attractions to patient feeding within a hospital environment. A new application, recently launched and already in use with a major IndiCater client, allows hospital ward staff to take meal orders from a patient’s bedside using any mobile tablet device. With orders received directly by the kitchens, not only does this result in an improved, friendlier customer experience, it also leverages significant reductions in wasted food production – early predictions are in excess of 10 percent. Similarly, in partnership with one of the UK’s leading visitor attractions, IndiCater have developed the Virtual Deli tool to help improve service point queues at peak times, resulting in higher rates of customer satisfaction and, of course, higher customer spend for our client. Virtual Deli allows customers to pre-order and pre-pay for their items and collect their order at a designated time without the need for queuing. In commercial catering, whether in-house or contractor operated, we are working with caterers to extend the use of back-office management software beyond its traditional remit of streamlining internal company processes by widening its functionality in order to provide a direct interface with customers. This will enable customers in contract catering environments to use their PC or handheld device to respond directly to customer surveys, access pre-order/pre-pay applications, book and track the provision of on-site hospitality services. At IndiCater, we believe that 2014 will be the start of a revolution in the use of back-office Cloud software. It will be an exciting year! • Mike Day is CEO of IndiCater Ltd. EP | January 14 | 43
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EP Business in Hospitality Issue 48 - January 2014

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