F & B Operations-Recent Trends and Challenges

Recent Trends

1. Use of branded restaurants instead of hotels operating their own restaurants

Hotel and Restaurant Company Strategic Alliances


Reasons:

a. Create financial benefits

b.Provide customers with greater value

c. Improve a property's overall image

d. Create operational advantages

e. Focus on lodging operations

2. Small to mid-sized hotels opting not to offer food and beverage outlets

Examples:

a. Hotel Pop Jongno

Address: 186, Nagwon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea, Jongno-Gu, 110-320 Seoul, South Korea


b. Rodeway Inn Springhills Lake George

Address: 2447 State Route 9N, Lake George, NY 12845, U.S.A.


c. Cairns Queens Court

Address: 167-173 Sheridan Street, 4870 Cairns, Australia

3. Making outlets more casual atmosphere

a. Damon's




b. Chili's






c. Olive Garden

4. Using themes for a restaurant

a. Planet Hollywood






b. Hard Rock Cafe






c. Charlie Brown Cafe

5. Converting beverage outlet into a sports-themed bar

Damon's Grill & Sports Bar

6. Technology being used to enhance guest services and control costs

a. Online reservation and loyalty program






OPENRICE


b. Online ordering






PIZZAHUT


c. Use of QR code to promote






FOODSMEUN


d. Use of software to help controlling food quality and costs:

-MAXFood Safety ERP software


-CostGuard Food Costing software

7. More low-fat, low-carbohydrate menu item

a. O Green






Gluten free, sugar free, detox, and low fat dishes are the highlights of this Sheung Wan cafe’s offerings. Options include breakfast, tea sets, heartier rice and pasta dishes, and even pizzas.



b. IPC Foodlab






Offering a low-carbohydrate menu, IPC strictly sources ingredients from either local farms or its own pollution-free vertical vegetable and mushroom farm.

8. Franchising ownership

a. Brinker International Franchising

Challenges

1. Fickle Customers

Since more and more regions have become developed, customers are more knowledgeable and have higher requirements of choosing food and beverage. Customers care more about food nutritions, safety and the physical environment of the outlets, which represents their lifestyle.

2. Powerful Retailers

Nowadays, customers can get q wide range of instant food in supermarkets or convenience stores very easily. For example, cup noodles, pasta, pastry, etc. Other than instant food, Many supermarkets offer cooked food, such as sushi, rice, sandwiches, desserts, etc. Those food costs less and customers can enjoy at home. Therefore, retailers become a huge competitors to the food and beverage industry.

3. Tightening Regulatory Environment

Because the quality of products in the F&B industry is so closely tied to the health and safety of consumers, companies are constantly faced with the challenge of adhering to and staying in front of regulations. The 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is changing requirements for recordkeeping in F&B, which is prompting many executives to evaluate current IT capabilities around quality and traceability.

4. Shrinking Operating Margins

The competitive nature of today’s global economy has added considerable pressure to operating margins across the F&B supply chain. In response, many organizations focus on identifying areas for improvement in the quality of products and processes. Moreover, there are other factors impacting operating margins such as fuel price volatility, rising competition and developing countries, and heavy supply chain use.

5. Visibility into Supplier Quality

While leveraging the global supply chain comes with many benefits, it also has a significant impact on operational risk, especially in F&B. In many cases, organizations lack the level of communication and collaboration with suppliers needed to improve end-to-end performance and close the loop on quality management. Market leaders are working to offset geographical limitations and operational inefficiencies with IT capabilities.

6. Traceability and Data Granularity

An issue every food processor has to be prepared for is a product recall, which requires strong traceability capabilities. When an adulterated product makes its way into the market, response time and the recall process are instrumental in preserving brand reputation and, peripherally, long-term profitability.

7. Disconnected IT Architecture

A common challenge that nearly every large F&B company faces or has faced is a disparate software and applications landscape. A unified information management system around quality is vital for improving the other challenges noted above. Though, because of acquisitions and a shortage of long-term strategic quality vision, many companies are stuck with a tangled web of processes that don’t effectively communicate with one another.


Reference
http://books.google.com.hk/books?
id=G0AnmDecKpQC&pg=PA274&lpg=PA274&dq=Use+of+branded+restaurants+instead+of+hotels+operating+their+own+restaurants&source=bl&ots=soYCnChDJx&sig=DuWMl3mGjfIPzyF6CNxATm2K0pg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6qRpVJzeNoWxmgWx2YGICw&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Use%20of%20branded%20restaurants%20instead%20of%20hotels%20operating%20their%20own%20restaurants&f=false

http://www.damons.co.uk/our-restaurants/

http://www.damons.com/

http://www.olivegarden.com/home

http://www.planethollywood.com/

http://www.hardrock.com/

http://www.charliebrowncafe.com/

http://blog.spartasystems.com/5-major-challenges-fb-companies-facing-today/

http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/index.htm

https://order.pizzahut.com/home