We would like to congratulate long time FOOD-TRAK client Olympia Fields Country Club (OFCC) who recently played host to the 2020 BMW Championship golf tournament. This highly visible, and by all accounts successful event was watched by more than 2.4 million viewers. However, it was much different from previous large tournaments since no fans were present this year. With a drastically smaller F&B demand (~400 per day versus ~40,000), accurate procurement and preparation was even more essential since volume purchasing price reductions and other advantages of high throughput were not available. Their FOOD-TRAK system played an integral role in getting all aspects of F&B ready for this important, high profile event.
The preparation for any tournament begins within the purchasing department. Each outlet at OFCC requisitions goods from the central storeroom for the event. It is up to the purchasing department to determine what items are on hand and what needs to be ordered to fulfill those requisitions. OFCC purchasing team uses barcode scanning in order to quickly and accurately determine what needs to be ordered. "The FOOD-TRAK Mobile Partner handheld scanners save us a tremendous amount of time," Eric Hurley, Purchasing Manager for OFCC states. Items that need to be ordered are quickly added to a shopping list directly on the device and ready to be converted into a PO for the vendor.
Since 2012, OFCC has also utilized the FOOD-TRAK Mobile Partner scanners to convert outlet requisitions to transfers from their central storeroom where vendor deliveries arrive. Capturing this requisition data from the outlet, and having the ability to convert them to transfers using mobile computing, allows them to be more productive as it reduces redundancy and paperwork.
Monthly inventories take one-third the time they used to take with this technology as well, and their accounting department can generate Inventory Extension and Cost of Goods Reports immediately. Prior to using handheld scanners, everything was done on paper, and according to Hurley, "it was a hassle and took longer to get reports for month end." Today, Hurley and his entire team have instant access to the reports that keep them informed while maintaining tight control over spending. Reports such as the Purchase Recap, Price Exception, Sales, and the graphical, business intelligence-based Spend Analytics, all provide timely, crucial information to make informed decisions. The Analytic Reports are used to help keep OFCC operating efficiently.
Olympia Fields Country Club will continue to operate at the highest level of service for their Members and national events. Behind the scenes, SCI is proud to support OFCC's efforts to keep F&B costs low, maintain tight control over inventory and use valuable reports to ensure they can address issues before they become costly.
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 Development News: New Interfaces Available!
As the industry leader in food and beveragement management, System Concepts, Inc. has always encouraged the "Best of Breed" approach. We understand the importance and the need for integration with all of your back of the house systems, which is why 2020 brought about several, brand new interfaces for our clients. From vendors to Point of Sale, we have developed custom interfaces for the following:
Siriusware Point of Sale Interface
Gordon Ordering Vendor Interface
RecTrac 3.1 Point of Sale Interface
Oracle Hospitality Simphony Point of Sale Interface
Brink Point of Sale Interface
For additional information on a particular interface or for pricing, please contact your Account Manager or our Sales Department at 800.553.2438.
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 Zebra Trade-in Rebate Expires 12/31!
Now through December 31st, clients can still take advantage of the Zebra trade-in offer to replace older handheld scanners that are out of warranty or in need of an upgrade to the new Android models.* Zebra offers a $200 rebate for each scanner traded for an MC3300 and a $75 rebate for any scanner traded for a TC-52. *Exclusions apply.
Mobile data collection is by far the most efficient, accurate and real-time way to use the FOOD-TRAK® System. We are dedicated to our various mobile platforms, and will continue to innovate as we have since we offered our first scanners in 1983. The latest release from our Mobility lineup is the FOOD-TRAK® Mobile Partner - Next Generation (FMP-NG), which is by far the best and most technologically advanced inventory, receiving, requisition and transfer scanning product we have ever developed.
Our previous FMP version was based on the now discontinued Windows Mobile platform, so we built the FMP-NG from the ground up on an Android platform. Using the most current languages, tools and technologies, the user interface has been completely redesigned based on our popular FOOD-TRAK® Mobile App. Screens and menus are graphical and include touch screens, slide down and swipe menus, graphical selection screens with filters, and many of the most current approaches to mobile-based design.
If you have not used these scanners in the past, there will never be a better time to start, and if you have our previous FMP version, you are going to love this new one even more! The transition to the new FMP-NG is seamless and no training is needed. Experienced FMP user Bradley DuTemple made the transition to the new FMP Next Generation and stated the following, "I really like the new user interface on the FMP-NG. It’s very responsive and the Sync/upload process is much improved! My staff didn't need any additional training in order to begin using it."
Click here for the product brochure.
Pricing for the new scanners is as follows:
MC3300 (no trigger grip): $1824 + optional $311 3-year warranty
MC3300G (with trigger grip): $2083 + optional $311 3-year warranty
TC-52 - Looks like a smartphone: $2055 + optional $353 3-year warranty
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 FOOD-TRAK University: Advanced Recipe & POS Training!
FOOD-TRAK University: Advanced Recipe & POS Integration training is an exciting online course focused on the creation and management of recipes which includes batch recipes, yield recipes, convenience recipes, catering recipes, key item recipes and plate recipes. In addition, products (sellable purchased items and recipes) will be created to facilitate the integration of FOOD-TRAK with POS systems. The POS integration will include the creation of an execution plan to push the POS file to FOOD-TRAK along with reviewing the audit list FOOD-TRAK creates to troubleshoot any mismatches between the POS menu items and FOOD-TRAK. FOOD-TRAK’s strong Menu Analysis reports will be reviewed along with Inventory Variance reports.
The Advanced Recipe & POS Integration training course is the best way to acquire very specific skills and the preparation needed to integrate FOOD-TRAK with your POS System. Our main objective with this course is to provide you with a higher level of training and knowledge of the FOOD-TRAK System and all process flows, task operations and reports related to recipes, saleable products and POS integration. At the completion of this course, you will have the proper tools to gain even tighter control over your food costs.
Pricing for the 1.5 day online course is $495.00. Register by December 29th, 2020 and receive an additional $50 off.
Join us January 12 - 13th for training!
Click here for the brochure.
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 Support Ending for Internet Explorer 11
Microsoft has announced that Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) will no longer be shipped with future operating system revisions. They are now strictly supporting and developing for their Edge browser. As a result, some of the components we use in the FOOD-TRAK System will no longer run correctly under IE 11.
We essentially have no choice but to discontinue developing the FOOD-TRAK System to be IE 11 compatible, or for that matter any version of Internet Explorer. Therefore, after version 5.8, future versions will not be able to be supported if running under IE 11. We can't be sure what will work correctly and what won't after that point. Since our maintenance agreement provides support only for current versions, once we issue the next version (5.9), our clients will need to be running Edge, Chrome, Safari or Firefox in order to receive support.
There is no charge associated with any of these browsers, so we suggest those of you using IE 11 change to one of them in the next 60-90 days in order to maintain the ability to run the system. All the listed browsers update themselves as required, so it is not necessary to deal with version numbers for these browsers. Simply download the current version and you are ready to go.
We realize this could be problematic for some of our clients, and we regret the need to make this change, but our hand is being forced in this case. However, we will be able to take advantage of new capabilities we can incorporate that will improve the system and client experience. Please don't hesitate to contact your account manager should you have any questions.
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Welcome New Clients
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Welcoming our new client:
Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel
South Lake Tahoe, CA |
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Welcoming our new client:
Medici on 57th Restaurant
Chicago, IL |
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Support Ending for Internet Explorer 11
