Dec. 15, 2007 08:00 AM EST
Hospitality Technology Magazine Features Crystal Bridge and RTIconnect
Mike Welch and RTIconnect software were in the news when Hospitality Technology magazine explored the “real money to be saved” by restaurants using menu analysis software.
Mike Welch, president of Crystal Bridge, was featured in the October issue of Hospitality Technology for his company’s success in using RTIconnect to improve ordering, make decisions on promotions, and troubleshoot problems immediately in his Broward County, Fla., restaurants.
The article, "Breaking Down the Fudge Factor" by Lisa Terry, in the magazine’s “Intelligent Biz” section, described how quick-service restaurants “find there is real money to be saved using the menu analysis and forecast-driven” software tools. Here are some excerpts:
“The company looks at daily sales and product mix pre- and post-intro to measure the results of sales and marketing and the [new menu] item's impact on other menu items, says Mike Welch, president. "We can know the cost of the item and use [RTIconnect] to see what we believe sales will be and how the sales mix will change..."
Especially powerful is the real-time visibility the tools provide, a particular advantage for restaurants whose senior management is remote, such as chains and franchise systems.
"The beauty of the whole system is, you're not waiting until the end of the week to solve a problem," says Crystal Bridge's Welch. "You're solving problems daily."
...Arby's corporate employs RTI for overall business analysis, while franchisees such as Crystal Bridge use it in their own headquarters and within each unit. At the franchise management level, for example, Crystal Bridge looks to the system to continually tweak its operation... "If a restaurant is running .5 better than ideal food costs, you can decrease the waste amount in the recipe so it causes the variance to go to .25," says Welch. "We want to run as close to ideal as possible."
...Remote access to data means management can call a store and start right in on solving problems, not just get updates on daily results. Then, best practices at leading stores can be shared with under-performers.
"It's a must-have," says Welch. "When you weigh the costs versus the benefits, you can't afford not to have it."
You can read the full article online in the magazine's archives section. Click the following link (or copy and paste it into your Web browser): http://www.htmagazine.com/HT/archive/1007/1007_06.html. (Copyright © 2007 Hospitality Technology. Not to be reproduced or reprinted in any form, print, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, without express written permission from the publisher.)
About RTI (Restaurant Technology, Inc.)
RTI (www.internetRTI.com) is a leading developer of technology solutions for the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries, and is a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner. Today more than 9,000 restaurants across the United States and Canada rely on RTI solutions, including many of today’s best-known restaurant brands. Application of the technologies provided by RTI enables restaurant operators to maximize efficiencies in their administrative and restaurant operations, reduce operating costs, and improve service to guests, which ultimately yield more profitable restaurants. Incorporated in 1985, the company is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga.
###
Contacts:
Vice
President – Sales & Marketing
RTI
(Restaurant Technology, Inc.)
ph: 770-590-4300
fax: 770-590-4313