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INFOSYS.110 BUSINESS SYSTEMS:

DELIVERABLE 2: BUSINESS SECTION
2014

Name Nathalia Gonzales
NetID Ngon716
Group Number: 165
Website Link: https://plus.google.com/112855408319153254962/posts?hl=en
Tutorial Details
Tutor: Day: Time:
Johnnie Shubert Wednesday 9- 10am
Time Spent on
Assignment:
2 weeks Word Count: 1644

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THE SELFWAITER SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
The hospitality industry faces many challenges when it comes to satisfying customers. The
increase of speed and quality is highly associated with increase in costs for the business
forcing owners to compensate by cutting staff numbers short. The problem presented is
that low staff numbers will keep costs low but wont meet all customers demands. The
solution is the SelfWaiter, an innovative system where customers can place their orders
from their table on to the system through smartphones or tablets; the order gets
transmitted to all stations where the meal is prepared. Its functionalities work together to
improve customer experience whilst keeping the costs low for businesses.
3. BUSINESS SECTION
3.1 Vision
To provide the ultimate customer experience through delivering great quality service with
speed and efficiency to every customer, everywhere.
3.2 Industry Analysis: The General Hospitality Industry
Industry: The SelfWaiter belongs to the general hospitality industry as it is a tool that
supports the key operations of businesses within the industry.
Force: High/Low: Justification:
Buyer power: High Buyer power is high as customers have a variety
of options to choose from and are able to switch
between competitors at no cost (Global Industry,
2014).
Supplier power: Low The industry has a wide variety of suppliers that
are competing among themselves for higher

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market presence, this results in price drops
(Alison, Rimmington & Williams, 1999), providing
suppliers less power in the industry.
Threat of new entrants: High The industry has little barriers for new businesses
that facilitate the daily operations (Global
Industry, 2014). The costs of providing these tools
is reasonably low allowing ease of new entrants.
Threat of substitutes: High Substitute industries provide competing product
offers that provide the same functions (Hotel
Marketing, 2010). Menus, boards, staff and
machinery to are used to provide customer
service as an alternative option for similar value
for businesses in the industry.
Rivalry among existing
competitors:
High Competition in the industry is high due to the
variety of apps, tools and services that support
the key operations of restaurants/cafes. Whilst
some businesses are very influential in the
market , no company has ultimate dominance of
market shares (Spencer, 2014), increasing rivalry
between competitors.
Overall attractiveness of the industry: The industry is not very attractive due to strong
competition forces and high buyer power, that takes away some of the control that
businesses have in the hospitality industry. With a high threat of substitutes and entrants
the industry becomes more unattractive as the barriers of entry are low enabling anyone to
open a business and take some of the market shares.
3.3 Customers and Thei r Needs

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Restaurants and caf owners are the targeted market for the SelfWaiter, as they take
priority in providing value, quality and speed to customers (Sullivan, 2013), whilst enhancing
customer satisfaction through service. Keeping costs low without reflecting on the quality of
the food or services provided is challenging (Anderson, Fornell & Rust, 1997), as owners
need to maintain customers satisfaction levels high with lower staff numbers. Payroll is
one of the largest controllable expenses in the industry, and keeping it as low as possible
can have a huge impact on a restaurants bottom line Vardy (2012).
3.4 The Product and Service
The SelfWaiter ordering system provides an efficient platform for customers and staff to co-
create in the customer experience in restaurants and cafs. Its core functions are to provide
service to customers at any time, enabling them to place their order, inquire about meals,
make substitutions, watch the progress of their meal and pay from the table. The product
reduces the workload reflecting on the number of staff needed for the job. Reducing staff
numbers results in cost reductions for businesses, whilst maintaining customer satisfaction,
quality and speed to standards. This product addresses the main challenges faced by
businesses in the hospitality industry today.
3.5 Suppliers and Partners
A fast and high quality service requires network providers that will enable businesses to
enhance customer experience by always providing good access to the system without
delays. A restaurants core functions rely on the operating of the system, making network
suppliers essential to the SelfWaiter. Technical maintenance firms suppply customers the
knowledge and ability to fix technological problems associated with the system. These
suppliers provide the Selfwaiter customers an efficient and fast support to ensure
restaurant/cafss satisfaction with the system.
The SelfWaiters biggest potential partner is the App Store where the app/system is sold to
customers. This partnership enables the product to easily reach the target market, making it
accessible to a business and general customer market. Partnerships with software
developers such as Alchemy (http://www.alchemy.co.nz/) provide the possibilities of

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implementing different functions on to the SelfWaiter system. By integrating different
systems and tools in to the system more value is added to the product.
3.6 Strategy: Differentiation Strategy
The SelfWaiter system is a product that provides premium quality to the whole hospitaliy
industry. It benefits big restauratns in the industry by introducing more speed and quality
service; small companies also benefit from the product by enhancing the customer
experience and diminishing cost. Whilst it satifies a broad market, the system requires
tablets, internet connection, implementation of systems that connects to all stations in the
work place that is considered more expensive. However the platform is a key point of
difference of the product that provides high value to customers.
The overall strategy is therefore Differentiation.
3.7 Value Chain Activity: Service after sale
The most important value chain activity for this business is Service after sale.
Service after sale is a key activity in the SelfWaiter value chain because it provides tools for
restaurant and caf owners to run efficiently after they implement the system. The
purchase of the system/app only provides substantial value to customers once the system is
running and automating the processes that were previously performed by the workforce.
This is the most valuable activity because it is where businesses that adopt the system
capture value, through simplifying the processes, subsequently reducing labour costs.
The SelfWaiter is a platform that enables restaurant/caf owners to reduce cost through
automating processes whilst maintaining the quality of service and deliverying value to
customers. Service after sale is a key activity because it allows SelfWaiter customers to
provide value to their own customers through the use of the system, making the platform
more attractive for potential customers.
3.8 Business Processes
3.8.1. PLACING ORDERS PROCESS Placing orders is the key process in order to deliver value.
The SelfWaiter app/system provides the menu through a platform accessed from tablets or

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smartphones. Customers place their orders in to the system from the table. The order is first
sent to the inventory management system where it gets checked againts what is available; if
something is not available customer is informed (with option of cancellation or substitution)
otherwise a confirmation with an estimate time of preparation is sent back to the table. The
system then directs the order to the respective stations (bar/kitchen) where it gets prepared
to be delivered within the estimate time.

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3.8.2. PAYMENT PROCESS - The payment process is the capturing of value from customers.
This process receives data from the ordering system, checks that the order is consistent
Start
Connect to the
System
Selection of
products
Check Inventory
Is the order
Available?
Send confirmation
receipt to customer
Direct order to
respective stations
to be prepared
End
Provide option or
cancellation
Enable editing of
order
No
Yes
End
Cancellation
Option
Place order
Inventory Management System
Warehouse
Warehouse

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with what was delivered to the table. Any irregularities found are checked against inventory
management system data. An invoice is sent through the system to the table with options
on method of payment. Bank card payments can be done from the table whilst cash
transactions require the customer to go to the till to make payment. Once the payment is
processed and accepted confirmation is sent to the table and the order is filed.

Start
Receive invoice
from tab
Check consistency
of invoice and order
Does it match?
Check inventory for
errors
Send invoice to the
table
Provide
payment
options
Pay at the till End
Enable payment
from table
Confirm and file
order
End
Cash
Credit Card
Yes
No
Finance Department
Finance Department
Payment Collection System

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3.9 Functionalities
3.9.1. PLACEMENT OF ORDERS PROCESS
Tracks inventory levels
Communication and interaction with customers.
3.9.2. PAYMENT PROCESS
Sending invoices
Processing and filing all payment options
3.10 Systems

3.10. 1. INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The system is used in the ordering process to
ensure the business replenishes stock on time. It supports the decision processes around
inventory stock, based on the information collected from every transaction. Inventory
management system aids the SelfWaiter to always deliver quality service to customers
efficiently. Tracking the inventory levels enables the system to inform owners what is
needed to cater for customers demands.
3.10. 2. PAYMENT PROCESSING SYSTEM - The payment processing system is a transactional
system that enables the payments to be invoiced and received by supporting the capturing
of value from customers. Sending invoices to customers and processing different payments
correclty and efficiently is essential to daily operations of businesses. This transactional
system also incorporates quality of service and speed to payment processes.
3.10. 3. CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Customer management system supports the
communication and interactions with customers in various processes, particularly in the
processes where co-creation of value takes place. The system assists in customer experience
decisions and increases satisfaction by providing transparency in processes, such as
placement of order, where customers create value for themselves and are informed of the
output in every step of the way.

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3.11. Summary Table: Value Chain to Systems

Value Chain
Activity
Processes Functionalities Specific Information
System(s)
Broad Information
System(s)

Service
after sale
1. Placing
orders
process
1. Tracks inventory levels

2. Communication and interaction with
customers
Inventory Management
system

Customer relationship
system


SCM

CRM
2. Payment
process
1. Sending invoices

2. Processing and filing all payment options
Customer Billing System

Payment Processing system
CRM
TPS


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CONCLUSION
The SelfWaiter is an innovative system that provides business owners in the hospitality
industry with a tool that facilitates the running of daily operations. Through automating
different processes and integrating systems the SelfWaiter is able to provide fast and
efficient service that reduces labour costs whilst maintaining the customer demands and
satisfaction high. The product creates value to customers by providing a platform that will
enable them to deliver great value to their customers, reduce costs and stay ahead of
competitors in the industry.
REFERENCES

1. Alison, J.M., Rimmington, M. & Williams, C. (1999). Entrepreneurship in the
hospitality, tourism and leisure industries. UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
2. Anderson, E.W., Fornell, C. & Rust, R.T. (1997). Customer satisfaction, productivity
and profitability: differences between goods and services. Marketing Science, 16(2),
129. Retrieved from Business Source Premier.
3. Hotel marketing competing strategies. (2010). Retrieved from
http://www.hotelmule.com/html/79/n-2179-7.html
4. Global restaurants industry profile. (2014). Restaurants industry profile: Global, 1-31.
Retrieved from Business Source Premier.
5. Sullivan, J. (2013). Driving customer satisfaction with service?. Nations Restaurant
News, 47(3), 28-30. Retrieved from Business Source Premier.
6. Spencer, M. E. (2014). Industry analysis: restaurant. Retrieved from
http://www.valueline.com/Stocks/Industries/Industry_Analysis__Restaurant.as
px
7. Vardy, M. (2012). Resistant to the inevitable: how technology is changing the
restaurant industry. The Next Web. Retrieved from www.thenextweb.com