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Microsoft Windows Server System Customer Solution Case Study

Fast Food Restaurant Lowers Cost of Operations with Business Intelligence

Overview
Country or Region: India Industry: Food and Drug Retailing Customer Profile Sahsha Foods, a startup in the food and beverage market space, is promoting the concept of quick service Indian food in India and overseas. Being the first of its kind in India, Sahsha Foods is planning over 100 outlets in the next three years. Business Situation Competing with established brands, Khaaja Chowk required a comprehensive IT solution to manage its operations as well as maintain quality. Solution The Fortune Restaurant and Bar solution is based on client/server architecture, with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000 forming the backbone of the solution. Benefits Gets up and running quickly Lowers cost of operations Improves manageability Standardizes processes Future-proofs IT investment

We chose Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 as it has the lowest acquisition cost as well as the lowest total cost of ownership.
Vikram Nair, Managing Director, Sahsha Foods

Sahsha Foods opened its first Indian fast food restaurant, called Khaaja Chowk, in a suburb of New Delhi. A new entrant in the market, it has to contend with competition from fast food chains, attracting and retaining the best talent, and offering high-quality food consistently and at reasonable prices. For Khaaja Chowk to grow into a chain of successful restaurants, it has to lower its cost of operations and maintain quality at all times. To do this, the company decided to implement a hospitality solution that would take care of inventory, stores, and billing, and provide reports to help management plan and execute better. With this objective, Sahsha Foods partnered with IDS, a leader in hospitality solutions. IDS implemented its Fortune Restaurant and Bar (R&B) solution on Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003. This solution was customized to meet Khaaja Chowks requirements.

Being a small organization, we did not want a complex IT infrastructure. However, we wanted to implement a solution that could grow to meet our requirements in the future. With Small Business Server and Fortune R&B, we have futureproofed.
Ankur Tiwari, Manager, Operations

Situation
Sahsha Foods India Private Limited was founded in 2003 and has recently opened its first restaurant, an Indian fast food restaurant called Khaaja Chowk, in Gurgaon, a suburb of New Delhi. This restaurant brings Indian street food into a fast food environment. The company uses the auto-rickshaw (a three-wheeler used as public transport across the country) as its brand ambassador, and has even placed one in the restaurant itself. The company hopes to expand into a national fast food chain over the next few years. The fast food business is highly competitive, however, with razor-thin margins and high turnover. To succeed as a new entrant in this market, Sahsha Foods had to ensure that its costs remain under control, while food quality does not suffer. Also, it required data that would help the organization streamline items offered on the menu. To generate reports on what items are doing well, which items should be removed, and how to expand the menu, the company needed an IT solution with built-in business intelligence. With these objectives in mind, the restaurant decided to begin operations only after implementing an IT solution that would help reduce costs, improve business operations, and manage billing. The company approached IDS Softwares Private Limited, a leading provider of

software solutions for the hospitality industry.

Solution
IDS suggested that Sahsha Foods implement its Fortune Restaurant and Bar (R&B) solution. This solution has been developed on Microsoft Windows Server System integrated server software, using the Windows Server 2003 operating system and SQL Server 2000. Looking at the small size of our organization, we realised that Microsoft [Windows] Small Business Server 2003 offers the most comprehensive price-performance, comments Ankur Tiwari, Manager of Operations and Information Technology, Sahsha Foods. A LAN was set up initially with one client computer and one server computer. To begin operations in a 98-seat restaurant, we required only two terminals. The server, placed in the restaurant, is also used for billing purposes, comments Ankur, Sahsha Foods. Windows Small Business Server 2003 was implemented by IDS in just one day. Then it took another day to deploy the Fortune R&B solution. The next step was to customize the application to Khaaja Chowks requirements. Over a period of 15 days, the IDS team worked closely with the IT team at Sahsha Foods to establish various parameters; for instance, for specifying ingredients and menu items.

Fortune R&B, which is a modular solution, provides an integrated Food and Beverage (F&B) and Materials Management module. The F&B module allows for both issue-based costing and recipe-based costing. Materials Management allows inventory of raw materials as well as half-cooked food items. This solution also has Billing and Cashiering modules, and has built-in security features. R&B has been deployed at the Commissary (central production unit/kitchen) of Khaaja Chowk.

explains Vikram Nair, Managing Director, Sahsha Foods. Lowers Cost of Operations Entering a competitive market is never easy. With plans to create a national fast food chain, the company required a stable infrastructure that would help with all operational activities of the restaurant, such as generating the cost of each dish, and maintaining a record of raw materials used. With the help of its IT infrastructure, Khaaja Chowk has been able to lower the cost of operations considerably. Improves Manageability Sahsha Foods wanted to deploy a technology infrastructure that would be easy to manage. As a small startup, the organization did not want to hire additional people to maintain its IT infrastructure. With Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, it has been able to implement a simple and manageable solution. Future-Proofs IT Investment While the organization was looking for a simple solution, this investment has been made with a long-term view. Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 and Fortune R&B provide a future roadmap for growth for the company.

Benefits
Khaaja Chowk has become a popular destination for customers ranging from college students to families with children to young professionals. The restaurant has benefited from a hospitality solution that has enabled it to maintain quality and lower costs at the same time. Gets Up and Running Quickly The solution was ready for use in less than 20 days. This is a big achievement, especially for a company venturing into the fast food business for the first time, comments Ankur, Sahsha Foods. Standardizes Processes During the parameterization process, Sahsha Foods had to lay down its standards by creating masters that include menu items, store inventory, and so forth. This process helped us lay a strong foundation for the business, as it enables standardization of processes,

For More Information


For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 5682495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: www.microsoft.com For more information about IDS products and services, call 91-1133479687 or visit the Web site at: www.idsfortune.com For more information about Sahsha Foods products and services, call 91-0124-5019113.

Microsoft Windows Server System


Microsoft Windows Server System is a line of integrated and manageable server software designed to reduce the complexity and cost of IT. Windows Server System enables you to spend less time and budget on managing your systems so that you can focus your resources on other priorities for you and your business. For more information about Windows Server System, go to: www.microsoft.com/windowsserversy stem

Software and Services

2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, Outlook, Visual Basic, Windows, the Windows logo, Windows Server, and Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Document published November 2005

Products Microsoft Office 2000 Professional Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 Microsoft Visual Basic version 6.0 Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Microsoft SQL Server 2000

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition

Hardware

Intel Xeon server computers Pentium IV desktop computers

Partner

IDS Softwares Pvt. Ltd.

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