100 Customers Per Day; Down from 120 Customer Per Day

LB Notes

Fall 2014

Customer base

·  100 customers per day; down from 120 customer per day

·  LB’s service area is Tulsa and the surrounding area – Broken Arrow, Jenks, Owasso, etc.

·  However, LB will travel as far as needed for special event deliveries.

Customer service

·  First-come basis

·  Special orders and Standing orders can be taken by any staff member, but they will be managed by the bakery manager.

Staff

·  20 staff; one manger

·  Staff can work on daily bakery needs, standing orders, or special events.

·  The staff knows in advance which special event projects they are assigned to but all other bakery needs are handled when they begin working that morning.

·  For special events, at least two staff members make the delivery so that the cake can be assembled on location.

·  The manager arranges for all ingredients to be delivered as the bakery needs them. General staff do not make any ingredient orders.

·  LB is open Monday thru Saturday only.

Standing Orders

·  Lori Leonard, manager, is responsible for ensuring all ingredients are available for standing orders and that the standing orders are produced when needed.

·  However, any staff member can take a standing order from a customer. Regardless of who is taking the order, a Standing Order Form is completed (Figure 1).

·  Customer information is gathered such as name, address, phone, and when needed.

·  Standing orders are not delivered, unless there is a special circumstance.

·  The manager files all standing orders and retrieves them in advance of when the order should be started. Standing orders are filed by date needed and are generally retrieved one day in advance to ensure preparation is finished. LB would like to change how this is done in the future to retrieve a week’s standing orders in advance. Also, the manager admits that some standing orders might have been overlooked in the past which resulted in some customers not receiving their items when needed.

·  Standing orders are paid for when they are picked up.

·  If a standing order is cancelled, the standing order file is thrown away.

Special Events

·  Lori Leonard, manager, is responsible for ensuring all ingredients are available for special events orders and that the special event orders are produced when needed.

·  However, any staff member can take a special event order from a customer. Special events require more planning and details. Therefore, customers generally set an appointment to discuss what is needed for the event. Once the discussion is finalized, a Special Event Order Form is completed (Figure 2). If additional follow-up is needed, the manager will call the customer.

·  Customer information is gathered such as name, address, phone, and when needed and delivery location.

·  Deliveries are completed by a minimum of two staff members.

·  The manager files all special event orders and retrieves them in advance of when the order should be started. Special event orders are filed by date needed and are generally retrieved a week in advance to ensure preparation is finished. LB would like to change how this is done in the future to retrieve a month’s special event orders in advance. Also, the manager admits that some special event orders might have been overlooked in the past which resulted in some customers not receiving their items when needed and ultimately leaving LB very upset.

·  All special event orders are paid for (in full) in advance. However, initially only a deposit of 10% is taken.

·  If a special event order is cancelled, the file is thrown away. Also, if ample notice is given, only the deposit is kept rather than the full order amount.

Customer Information

·  The customer information is currently only stored on the special event order form and the standing order form, and this information has not been kept over time.

·  An email address and cell phone number are currently not being stored, but could prove valuable. Additionally, information such as birthdates and anniversaries might be useful for future marketing endeavors.

Weekly Sales Report

·  Currently, only one report is being produced – Weekly Sales Report (Figure 3). This report is for all non-standing and non-special event orders.

·  The report is manually produced by the manager in an attempt to estimate future needs.

·  The sales are taken from the Sales System (at the cash register) and then manually calculated by the manager. The manager is hoping this process can be automated in the future.

Example of Costs

·  Staff is paid between $10-15 per hour; the manager is paid $56,000 per year. The staff and managers are excited about what the new system can do for the future of LB.

·  Last year, LB spent $25,000 on miscellaneous expenses – wasted goods, cancelled orders (ingredients already ordered), and so forth.

LB has determined that there are many possible advantages that a new information system could offer. Below is a summary of some potential needs:

·  Automating the weekly sales report.

·  Producing a weekly standing orders report (a week in advance).

·  Producing a special events order report for the month. However, if a special event order is taken with less than a month’s notice, then an ad hoc report should be produced immediately.

·  Determining how many orders (standing and special event) are cancelled. A report for each would be valuable. The reports should include information regarding why the order was cancelled, if possible.

·  Listing all standing order customers. This information could help LB to target customers with new bakery goods and potentially increase LB’s weekly standing order amounts.

·  Listing all special event order customers, broken down by event, such as birthday, wedding, retirement, graduation, baby shower, and so forth.

·  All standing and special event orders should allow for modifications/changes to the orders. If these changes occur outside of the normal report printing time, a separate ad hoc report may need to be printed when the change occurs.

·  All staff should be allowed to enter new orders and modify existing orders. However, LB’s manager should be receiving the reports.

·  The new system is not to be used to manage inventory, payroll, or other accounting functions (such as accounts payable and receivable). LB already has some of this functions automated but does not have the budget to automate them all at this time. Also, the new system is not to be used to schedule employees for work hours or for projects they should be working on.

·  LB currently does not want an electronic commerce site. However, this is something they might consider for future system development projects.

System Budget: $30,000

Time: system fully implemented by March 1, 2015