A Business Problem

Summary

This report will attempt to look at these issues which are concerning Amico's Take-Away and provide real time & suitable solutions that can be used to provide the company the ability to move forward in order to make their take away a success. It will provide different solution to its problem and use this opportunity to foresee its end goal and challenge the different solutions which all have to be evaluated in order to make the final decision.

The information which I had collected was based upon the interview which I conducted with the manager and also observing the take away at a busy period. I have collected information required in order to find possible solutions to present to the manager.

Amico's Take away will be a small business ahead in the technology front with ambitions to move the profit margin higher. The aim of the new system is to allow the business to move away from paper and have a system in place that works for everyone. The business has great potential but is being held back due to the current problems it is facing.

From the research I have done, I have found that the business is facing a lot of problems which links into one solution. I have come up with 3 different solutions to replace the old system.

The purple I EPOS system records every transaction made and also has the added benefit of storing customer data. The spreadsheet work with formulas to solve the business needs and is a powerful calculator that stores a great deal of information. The database is easy to manage and forms can be created to use as order sheets.

In mu opinion, the user should implement the system which will be more beneficial to them and not only look at the costs as the money which will be saved will not be comparable to the initial costs.

Introduction

Amico's Take away was established in 1996 in the heart of Brierfield, Burnley. It has rapidly grown over the last few years and it currently employs 7 people, 1 chef, 1 side chef, 2 kitchen porter and 3 people to take order over the counter as well as over the phone. It currently makes a profit of £300 a week despite the problems which the company is faced with on a daily basis in terms of taking orders and monitoring stock levels.

The problem which the take away are facing were mainly in the areas of taking orders, cashing up at the end of the day. At the time, orders which were being placed over the counter or over the phone were recorded on paper. These orders were then sent to the back so they can be prepared. There had been several instants where orders have been misplaced or handwriting has been unclear as the waiter has rushed to write down the order at busy intervals. These problems were starting to affect the staff and also the business as they were losing customers due to the mistakes which were being made. At the time, all the totals of orders were being done by hand; this has proven to a problem because some members of staff are very slow in working out calculations. This process is also having an impact on cashing up at the end of the day as the money in the till doesn't balance due to misplaced order sheets. According to Coopers and Lybrands, "7.5 percent of all documents get lost, 3 percent of the remainder get misfiled". (Micropal systems,nd).

The paper system was taking up too much room in filing cabinets as all order sheets and customer details have to be stored away for audit trails and customer's details are required to send out promotional offers to loyal customers. Also, the manager is unable to view the orders placed and how long it is taking the staff to prepare the orders as everything is done by hand therefore if the manager wishes to check progress of the take away he would have to be unable to do so from the back office.

There are many reasons why using a computer based process would be more efficient than using pen & paper. One is time; it would speed up the process of order taking at busy intervals and also reduce the number of spelling mistakes made making it easier for other staff to read. Another benefit is using less paper, this would make it clutter free and all details can be retrieved with the click of a button. This benefit also means that the business can be more environmentally friendly.

Main body

The old system had many faults which the staff shouldn't have had to deal with on daily basis. The new system should solve these problems and make the take away work easier and problem free. The old system was paper based and all data was recorded on paper and stored away in a filing cabinet at the end of the day. This process caused many problems due to human error. This process was time consuming as well as space consuming as all data have to be put away in an orderly fashion so data can be retrieved easily. The reason why a computer based system will be easier for the staffs are because they could search the system for data more efficiently.

The new system would have to be analysed in terms of financial costs. There would be need for hardware and the re-training of all staff so they have the knowledge to use the new system efficiently. The costs may be high initially but the money which will be saved overall will not be comparable to the initial cost. In an interview with manager, I found that the business had a budget of £2000. If more money was to be required then they would need to start thinking about cutting down on costs which included cutting down on staff. This should not be a problem as the new system will be faster therefore not that many staff is required.

Possible solution 1

One of the possible solutions was to buy a Purple I EPOS System costing £2,225 with the option to pay £23 a week. This price includes the hardware which is the touch screen monitor, mouse, keyboard, thermal receipt printer, back office software, cash drawer and training of staff on the system. This system allows images of the meals being sold and not just the name therefore making it faster for user to take order. This system records every transaction made by user therefore manager can be away from the business and be assured that the business is fine. It works like a cash register therefore the users don't need to learn new technology or read complicated manuals. It has the added benefit of storing customer details which will be good as users can mail merge customer loyalty discounts. It will ensure that every meal is sold at the correct price therefore staffs don't have to go through the menu to find the price of a meal. It can reduce the time spent on sales figures and also reduce