PIZZA POINT OF SALE. Right the First Time. Inside. How understanding the critical requirements can help you avoid a costly mistake

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1 PIZZA POINT OF SALE Right the First Time How understanding the critical requirements can help you avoid a costly mistake Rascal House Pizza chose the wrong point of sale software. It happens. In theory, it looked as though it would work. Other restaurants were using it successfully. And the price was right. Unfortunately, when it comes to technology, sometimes the devil is in the details. For Rascal House, those details the small things that didn t work the way they needed were causing pain. After only a couple of months, they knew they had to make a radical change. The cost? A total technology retrofit for all their stores. What the Rascal House team learned was the importance of understanding their real operational needs, and choosing a solution specifically designed to meet them. Inside Learn how operations determine POS needs in a pizzeria See how the right POS can drive delivery efficiency Learn why most POS systems can t handle your menu Find out how the right choice turned things around at Rascal House

2 Pizza Point of Sale: Understanding the Differences Pizza point of sale is different. Restaurant operators are often surprised to learn that pizza and delivery concepts have far more complex point of sale requirements than other quick service and dine-in restaurants. Operational differences like create-yourown pizzas, complicated coupons, web and mobile ordering, and delivery dispatch add a complexity most restaurant POS software is not built to handle. The fortunate ones discover these differences while they are still in the POS software evaluation stage. But some unlucky operators realize too late that they have made a significant investment in a point of sale system that is unsuited to their business. That can be a frustrating and expensive mistake. A pizza point of sale system is designed from its core to build and price custom pizzas on the fly. Inside the Pizza Menu Many restaurant operators discover the limitations of their point of sale systems the first time they try building or updating their menu. Create-Your-Own Pizzas Create-your-own pizzas and build-your-own subs present serious complications to a POS system designed to handle steak and potatoes. If a pizzeria offers 20 different toppings, in 3 different sizes, with 2 different crusts, there are literally millions of possible pizza combinations (6,291,450, in fact). Add special requests such as light or double toppings, different sauce types, half-and-half pizzas, or other variations, and possibilities are almost endless. A pizza point of sale system is designed from its core to build and price custom pizzas on the fly. So if a customer wants pepperoni, olives, and fresh tomato on thin crust with feta on one half and cheddar on the other, the POS dynamically builds and correctly prices the pizza based on those selections. The Unique Requirements of Pizza Point of Sale A pizzeria point of sale system must be able to handle these unique challenges: z Extensive customization, portioning, and pricing options. z Multiple ordering channels and order types, including deferred orders. z The operational processes to manage dispatch, mapping, and delivery. z Personalized customer service and database marketing. 3 Pizza Sizes + 2 Types of Crust + 20 Toppings z The special complexities of inventory management for create-your-own pizzas. When restaurant POS systems attempt to add these capabilities through add-on modules, the result can be fraught with challenges. But for a POS system built from the ground up for pizza, these are everyday capabilities. 6,291,450 Possible Pizza Combinations

3 The more advanced pizza POS systems will help control food costs further by printing the appropriate weights or volumes for each ingredient on the make ticket, and even adjusting topping quantities based on pizza size and total number of toppings. Portioning for Profit Offering half-and-half pizzas (even thirds or quarters) is standard practice in many pizza shops. Most restaurant POS systems have no way to handle custom portion combinations. Some will force you to create additional items with half-sizes. This complicates menu setup, and the resulting make tickets can cause confusion in the kitchen, resulting in unacceptable delays or errors. EXCLUSIVE PIZZA DEAL BUY 1 GET 1! Multi-Pricing as a Business Model Multiple pricing promotions (2 for 1, 3 for 1, 4 for All ) and related multiple-item purchase specials require flexible pricing structures far beyond the capabilities of a typical restaurant POS. Even some pizza POS systems fail to accommodate all the complexities of multi-pricing. If multiple pricing is a part of your business model, the POS you purchase must be able to support it. In addition to the pricing complexities, pizza restaurants in many areas deal with varying rules on tax exemptions and tender types. In some states and provinces, delivery and takeout orders are taxexempt, and take-and-bake stores face additional variations in tax exemptions and EBT. In other states, delivery orders or tax rates may apply to customers who live across county lines. PLUS FREE BREADSTICKS when you buy a large pizza with Take out only. Complex Couponing 3 toppings. A typical pizzeria often has an extensive coupon menu of 50 offers or more. The nature of these offers often restricts what items, sizes, toppings, ticket totals, or days they are valid for, and what order types they can be used with. Add value meals and automatic application into the mix, and the average POS system often cannot cope. If your order takers have to stop to apply a coupon discount manually, that costs you time and money. Be sure to investigate the coupon creation and application capabilities for any POS system you are considering.

4 To-go Multiple Ordering Channels and Order Types When it comes to ordering, there are key operational differences between a table service restaurant, a quick service restaurant, and a pizzeria. At a table service restaurant, transactions all tend to follow a similar pattern: the customer walks in, sits down, orders, eats, and leaves. Typical Quick Service Transaction Customer Orders at POS Prints/displays in kitchen for prep. Order given to customer Customer pays for order What makes pizza unique is that there really is no typical transaction. Consider a few of the possible variables: The order process: The customer may walk in and order at the counter, sit down and order from a menu, place an order remotely by phone, self-serve kiosk, on the store s website, or using a mobile phone app. The make process: The kitchen may make the pizzas immediately, or may defer the order because the customer doesn t want it until next Thursday requiring a sophisticated reminder and production planning system. Make tickets may print at a single kitchen printer, or items on the ticket may route to several different printers or kitchen display screens. The order types: Unlike most dine-in restaurants, pizzerias often offer multiple order types: eat in, dine-in, carry out, delivery, even buffets and catering. The tendering options: The customer may pay in the restaurant with a smartphone or chip card, may provide a credit card number over the phone or online, or may pay the delivery driver by debit card at the door. The customer may charge the meal to a house account, or use a credit on file in the POS system to compensate for a service problem with a previous order. Reminder prints for prep staff No Typical Pizza Transaction At the store At the table Phone order Deferred order stored Activation At the door Mobile order Dine-In Web order kiosk Order recorded in POS Delivery Eat-In Quick Service To-go At the counter Online Drive-thru Customer Orders label/ticket prints out at packaging/expo station Delivery Order appears on dispatch screen/map Driver Takes Order Mobile device Customer Pays

5 Successful Delivery Operations For pizzerias that offer delivery, a comprehensive driver dispatch system is critical to meeting customer expectations. A well-designed pizza delivery dispatch system includes: zz Interactive, map-based delivery assignment. zz Live, integrated delivery mapping and driving directions. zz Customizable delivery zones with an import/export option. zz Automatic customer alerts with ETA. zz Delivery stop information sent direct to drivers smartphones. zz Quoted times based on kitchen volumes with a manual override option. zz Flags for late deliveries and overdue drivers. zz Driver banks and enforced cash drops. zz Flexible security settings to protect both the store and the driver. zz Enforced insurance renewal reminders. zz Complete delivery statistics and performance analysis. Visual Dispatching In a busy pizzeria, the dispatch station has to run at maximum efficiency. A visual dispatch system allows your drivers or dispatchers to group orders for assignment by touching pushpins on a map. The system may display dynamic maps of your current deliveries on a second screen or large TV, so staff can see order location, late order warnings, traffic, and delivery volume at a glance. Controlling the Drive Factor Mapping technology has advanced a lot in recent years. Pizza POS systems offer mapping using live, online data to monitor traffic and suggest the best route for a delivery run. The best systems will help curb driver abuse by paying driver fees based on the optimal route distance in current traffic, rather than a self-reported odometer reading. With live map data, the system can provide accurate expected driver return times to dispatchers, and order ETA s to customers. A pizza POS with live mapping data gives you insight into what will happen after an order leaves the store, and helps control the unknown drive factor in the delivery service equation. Delivery Zones for Consistency and Profitability Many pizza delivery stores divide their trade areas into zones. Pizza POS systems are equipped with tools to create these zones and have the option to enter tax rates, delivery charges, and delivery times for each zone. Some let you create zones with boundaries based on estimated drive time from your store, so you can be sure you are charging the right fees to cover fuel and labor costs. Few general-purpose restaurant POS systems provide all the tools a pizza operator needs to effectively manage deliveries. Some sell third-party delivery modules that can be tacked on to expand their basic functionality, but these lack the depth of delivery management functionality found in a pizza-specific POS.

6 Personalized Service and Effective Marketing The Customer Database as a Profit Center For a restaurant with delivery service, the customer database is the core of the POS system. Pizza POS vendors understand this, and the customer database is integral to the design of their systems. In-depth customer analysis, customer loyalty systems, and database marketing tools are built into a quality pizza POS. This means a pizza POS includes customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities for personalized service. Third-party marketing solutions can also tie into this rich data source, giving you a choice of marketing and loyalty solutions. Previous Order History and Recall People are creatures of habit, and a pizza POS system s order history allows savvy pizza operators to tap into that tendency to speed up the order-taking process and improve service. A good pizza POS maintains an unlimited order history for every customer, and allows customer service staff to complete a customer transaction quickly and personally by recalling the customer s last order, or selected items from any previous order. Because most restaurant POS systems are not designed with a customer database at the core, they typically lack this important capability. Conversely, most general-purpose restaurant POS systems do not maintain a customer database at all. In order to attract pizza operators to their products, some have added this capability. Because it is not a part of the core product design, however, users typically experience a slower order-taking process and inadequate customer analysis and marketing tools. At worst, database failures and performance problems may plague these systems. Caller ID for Speedy Phone Service Faster, more personal customer service is the key reason why pizza operators invest in caller ID. Pizza POS systems integrate caller ID capabilities. Other restaurant POS solutions typically do not. A POS system with caller ID can speed the order-taking process dramatically, by automatically loading the customer record for new calls, and improve customer service by displaying order status for call-backs. Integrated Mobile Ordering Pizza companies historically relied on phone orders for the bulk of their business, but today, leading chains are seeing 50 percent of sales from digital channels. The industry s largest companies have introduced a range of new ordering apps that allow customers to place orders from mobile phones, tablets, and social networking sites. Increasingly in the pizza industry, integrated online ordering is not a luxury, but a necessity, even for smaller players. A pizza POS system s built-in customer database allows for a tight integration with an online ordering menu, making it possible to add customers, edit customer information, add and recall orders, and display information on stores, streets and zones.

7 Pizza Inventory Setting up inventory for create-your-own pizzas using inventory software not specifically designed for pizza can become complicated to the point where it is virtually unmanageable. In most restaurant inventory systems, the only way to track inventory accurately for create-your-own pizzas and pastas, halfand-half orders, and other custom-built menu items is to define a separate recipe for every possible combination of toppings, crusts, sauces, and sizes. Adding to the complexity, most pizzerias vary their topping weights based on the total number of toppings. For example, a large pepperoni pizza may have twice as much pepperoni as a large pepperoni and mushroom. As a result, a pizza inventory system has to be designed differently than other restaurant inventory systems. Effective Customer Marketing Database marketing is extremely effective for delivery/carryout operations typically seven to ten times more effective than bulk mail promotions. Successful customer marketing begins with a complete customer database and effective reporting tools. These capabilities are essential components of an effective pizza POS marketing engine: z A detailed customer database for targeting marketing. z Customer frequency and purchase history reporting. z Direct mail list and export for targeted marketing campaigns. z Integration with the online order site to collect more contacts. z Detailed coupon tracking and analysis tools to measure the results of a particular promotion or coupon distribution method. z Loyalty reward programs for guest retention and analytics. The ability to consolidate guest data from multiple locations for database marketing from head office is another compelling requirement for many multi-unit pizza companies. Centralizing responsibility for this form of local store marketing can ensure greater consistency, efficiency, and ultimately greater profitability chain wide. A pizza point of sale system with enterprise management capabilities provides tremendous added value to any multi-location operation. At the core of a pizza inventory system is a structure for tracking the use of toppings, crusts, and other variables in a create-your-own menu. This is virtually impossible to add into an inventory system that is not designed with dynamically-built menu items in mind. Avoiding Unanticipated Costs Many operators find that the value in a pizza POS is a faster return on their investment, made possible by using tools designed specifically to help a pizza business reduce costs and increase sales. Pizzeria owners with an eye to the future do their research to find a POS system that meets their current and anticipated needs. The cost of replacing the wrong POS system is high, as Rascal House Pizza discovered in the case study that follows.

8 CASE STUDY: RASCAL HOUSE PIZZA, INC. With the best of intentions, planning to franchise their successful Cleveland, Ohio-based pizza concept, Rascal House principals Mike and Niko Frangos were eager to standardize their systems including point of sale technology. Rascal House Pizza purchased a new point of sale solution with an add-on pizza delivery module from a reputable restaurant POS company and installed a total of 17 stations in two of the company s four locations. The first POS we installed couldn t meet our operating needs, so we made a strategic decision to retrofit all our stores with SpeedLine and make it mandatory for all locations. It was an investment in the successful expansion of the Rascal House system. MIKE FRANGOS, CEO, RASCAL HOUSE PIZZA

9 The Problem After less than two months, the Rascal House management team had become convinced that the POS solution they had selected and installed would never meet the needs of their growing franchise company. They were disillusioned by the discovery that the system could not do some key things that they had expected it to do. We could never get the system working properly with our menu and pricing, Mike says. Some of the problems related to the unique needs of a pizza business. Configurable printer routes are essential in a pizzeria with multiple kitchen prep areas and service types (delivery, dinein, takeout, etc.). In addition to pre-ordered delivery and takeout sales, as well as dine-in at one location, Rascal House offers quick counter sales of some prepared items. Their POS could not handle the typical service types of a pizzeria, which are significantly different from other restaurant setups. There was no way to stop counter sales tickets from printing in the kitchen, even though those items were already prepared. We do a lot of corporate and school lunches, so the ability to defer tickets and keep them organized is essential. Deferred orders are a crucial part of Rascal House Pizza s delivery business. We do a lot of corporate and school lunches, says Niko, so the ability to defer tickets and keep them organized is essential. Every day, we may have 10 to 15 tickets that are deferred orders. They might be anywhere from $50 to $1000 in value, so we have to plan and prepare accordingly. Although their POS was capable of deferring an order, it was not flexible enough to meet their needs. If they deferred an order to noon on Friday, the ticket would print automatically a few minutes before noon. For one pizza, that was adequate. But for large catering and school orders, they wanted to be able to print the ticket in the morning to allow time to prepare. Unfortunately, their POS could not do that. And there were other problems. For example, to ensure successful, on-time delivery, Rascal House needed full customer information and quoted delivery times to print on the tickets at both the pizza and wings prep areas. Their POS did neither. And because they were not only operating several successful locations, but also planning a franchise expansion, Rascal House was also particularly concerned with ensuring product consistency and cost control. They felt that portion control was essential to ensuring consistency and controlling food costs. Their POS, however, lacked the ability to print weights and portions on the make tickets. In short, Rascal House needed a point of sale system designed to handle the unique requirements of a pizzeria, and their existing restaurant POS was designed for a different type of restaurant.

10 The Solution Just two months after their initial software purchase, the Frangos called a SpeedLine consultant and explained their dilemma. The solution was to replace the POS software and reuse the existing POS equipment in two stores, replacing the software on each station with SpeedLine POS. All new software and hardware was installed in the remaining locations. The designers of SpeedLine POS understood from the beginning that the only standard in pizzeria configurations and business models is that every one is different. Therefore, the SpeedLine software is designed with the flexibility to support the wide variety of service types and multiple kitchen prep lines that characterize a pizza business like Rascal House Pizza. With SpeedLine s flexible printer routes, Rascal House can now print different types of items to different kitchen printers. Or they can choose not to print an item to a kitchen printer at all which suits their counter service well. Moreover, using SpeedLine allows Rascal House to print the weight of ingredients on make tickets for the thorough portion control necessary to maintain consistency and control food costs. It was an investment in the future of our franchises. MIKE FRANGOS, CEO, RASCAL HOUSE PIZZA There is no doubt that our SpeedLine system has allowed us to grow. Niko adds. It has given us more control over many areas of our business. It has helped us manage our labor hours, our product mix, our deliveries, marketing and more. We ve been pleased with our relationship with SpeedLine: The company is responsive to our needs and they update the system regularly. We ve seen the integrity behind the people at SpeedLine. We know they re in it with us for the long haul. No point of sale solution is right for every restaurant concept. The Frangos experience at Rascal House Pizza underscores the importance of selecting a POS provider who understands your business. If your business is pizza? Choose carefully. The intuitive deferred order system in SpeedLine POS also makes it easy for Rascal House to set different ready and print at times, print separate reminders, and even print a deferred order production report that they can use for purchasing and prep planning. SpeedLine helps us stay organized and on time, says Niko. Because the customer database and delivery systems are the heart of the SpeedLine system, rather than add-on modules, Rascal House now has all the tools they need to manage their delivery efficiently. More Resources The delivery and dispatch functions of SpeedLine are very, very important to us, says Niko. The system shows us which tickets are out and which ones are outstanding. It gives us the ability to better handle our deliveries and better manage the whole process. Rascal House integrates delivery mapping with their SpeedLine system. It s very helpful, especially in the suburbs when we have new drivers, Niko says. They can map their routes and figure out where things are. The Frangos do not regret the difficult decision they made replace their brand-new but inadequate POS with a new solution from SpeedLine. It was an investment in the future of our franchises, Mike says.