E-pub: E-ase the burden

It's a people business, so why do you need new technology? Steve Madden, sales director for EPoS supplier Micros-Fidelio, supplies some answers.​

Why do you need technology? You need it to maximise productivity and profitability in every part of your business. EPoS - electronic point-of-sale equipment - gives you the ultimate in pub-information technology. EPoS can help you make your business more competitive and more profitable. It covers your front-of-house and back-of-house operations. It allows you time to coach and manage your people. It permits you to run detailed financial reporting and analysis. It streamlines your ordering and recipe management. And last, but by no means least, it speeds up service to your guests and improves their overall visitor experience.

Have you ever been in the situation where a member of staff swears blind that they phoned a local supplier and ordered the stock needed for a function, only to find out on the day of the function that the order was wrong?

Or how about when you try to run the daily sales reconciliation manually when you're already tired and have many other jobs to do? And what if you are trying to juggle the needs and requirements of four pubs, using various ordering processes and internal systems while managing four sets of staff?

Installing technology in your pub will completely remove these kind of issues and permit you to spend time planning for the future.

Making sure you retain customers and find new ones is vital for any business but it's especially true of the hospitality industry. Nowadays consumers expect to be served with efficiency, professionalism and politeness.

Implementing an EPoS system will allow you to reach higher levels of customer service by having all the information needed at your fingertips. Using databases maintains real-time information on your stock inventory levels, recipe ingredients and costs, as well as competitive supplier quotes. You'll know which member of staff spoke to which supplier and even have a record of what was ordered and when.

There are even greater benefits for pub chains. EPoS systems enable a group's corporate office to enforce menu and pricing consistency as well as to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of the local market.

The financial benefits offered by technology are huge. Not only can you save time - and therefore money - because you have eliminated manual processes but you can view your businesses from the top down, meaning that you'll have a better grasp on all areas of your organisation.

• For more advice on technology solutions for the pub
  industry contact Micros-Fidelio UK on 01753 501603.