The Internet and Electronic Commerce promise big improvements in efficiencies and savings. The technology, however, is changing rapidly and in most cases there is little industry experience to draw on. The terminology used to describe the technology can also be confusing with various claims and counter claims being made by competing vendors.

The OrderSmart team believes that before making a decision to invite proposals from system vendors, Chefs and Restaurateurs should spend a little time mapping out the business processes associated with selecting their supplies and their vendors. They should also think about how each order is placed today and what happens from the time the decision is made to purchase a food item to the time that the dish arrives on the table to the time that the vendor gets paid.

In order to properly evaluate an online ordering system the restaurant will have to think about how the system contributes to each component of a complex series of interlinked processes. Key factors to consider in choosing the right system are its depth and breadth of functionality. Many systems are simplistic and act like a consumer-oriented online shopping mall such as Amazon.com. These systems typically limit the choices of vendor and items available and do not provide the additional functionality and integration capabilities that business systems require.

Finally, every system is designed to meet the needs of particular business communities. Your vendors are part of that community and a good online ordering system will provide benefits to both vendors and purchasers. Some systems in the marketplace today are biased more towards the interests of the vendors than the interests of the purchasers. Make sure that the system you choose represents your interests properly. Ask questions about how the company you are considering makes its money—the answers will be very revealing!

Before Investing in an Online Ordering System,
Nation's Restaurant News Suggests:

• Ignore the funding boasts. In the absence of a track record, there is no track record.
• Find out who is using the service with any frequency and get their opinion.
• Do they specialize? Most are focusing in specific areas, i.e., chains, independents, purchasing departments, etc.
• How are online orders fulfilled? Can my key distributors take part in the exchange?
• How does it work with my existing back-of-the-house systems?
• What additional value is provided? Do they offer additional business services, training and information?

• Does the system let me order 100% of the items I need from 100% of the suppliers I want to do business with? Or do I have to use the computer for some things and manual methods for the rest?
• Can I source items and compare prices automatically across multiple vendors or do I have to go to each vendor separately within the system?
• Can I organize the items I wish to purchase by type, e.g., fish, dairy, produce or by frequency of order, e.g., daily, weekly? Or do I have to sort my order by vendor prior to ordering?
• Does the system have a receiving component that lets me compare the price offered by the vendor to the actual price on the invoice?
• Can I electronically transfer the information collected by the receiving chef into my accounting package?
• Can I run reports on food costs as a percentage of food revenues, search past purchase orders, reconcile purchase orders to invoices, and see how much I'm saving on food costs down to the individual item level?
• Can I carry out inventories by location and have the system automatically categorize the items by account groups for the bookkeeper?