August 2001

Entertainment complex uses recipe management system to control menu-related operations
By Jerry Eimbinder

Universal Orlando isn't just a place to have fun. At the Bob Marley Restaurant on CityWalk, a visitor can munch on Jammin Caribbean plantain, sweet potato and yucca chips with tomato, black bean and roasted corn salsa. At the Latin Quarter, he or she can dine on Corvina fish and shrimp marinated in lemon and lime juice with jalapeños, tomatoes and cilantro. At this Florida vacation complex, 80 separate foodservice locations operate daily and depend on a software system that enables tracking of nearly 20,000 recipes and the 11,000 ingredients they require.

So when executive chef Steven Jayson wants to change a menu, he can have his pick of nearly 20,000 recipes residing in a centralized database. In addition, because so many factors are involved in a menu change, he can view up-to-date information concerning ingredients needed, their availability, their cost and even the time required to prepare the dish or beverage involved. But it wasn't always that way.

"About four years ago, when we were getting ready to grow from a single theme park to a vacation destination complex," says Ellen Feit, assistant director, foodservices, at Universal Orlando, "we realized we didn't have the IT infrastructure to take us there.

"We could ill afford to take no action. We knew growth was coming surely and not necessarily slowly," continues Feit. "So it was pretty easy to decide to replace everything."

From a foodservice technology standpoint, it was a case of starting from the ground up. The hunt began for a solution to replace the aging legacy systems with one that would provide the full functionality required for growth. The search led to Eatec Corp., an Emeryville, Calif.- based organization that had already developed software modules for the development and cost determination of recipes, for menu mix analysis and for inventory valuation and control. Eatec's solution used inventory data to project probable demand and replenishment cost, exactly what Universal Orlando had been looking for. It also provided the capabilities needed to interface to point-of-sale (POS) systems and third-party accounting packages.

A clean sweep
In January 1998, it was out with the old and in with the new - Eatec became the heart of the new Universal Orlando core-recipe management and revenue tracking system and the products of two other suppliers were implemented to play important support roles. One was Aloha Technologies, a Bedford, Texas company (known at the time as Ibertech). Aloha already possessed extensive knowledge of both restaurant and theme park point-of- sale (POS) and transaction processing needs. The other supplier was Cambar Software Inc. (CSI), headquartered in Charlestown, S.C. Its real-time warehouse management system (WMS) was chosen because it could be integrated seamlessly to the other systems, it could associate the ingredients in physical inventory with the recipes, and it could provide audit trails. In the warehouse operations, Symbol Technologies' products were employed for scanning stock-keeping-unit labels and expiration dates that are generated daily.

EatecNet provided Universal Orlando with a comprehensive, enterprise back-office system. The software included recipe and menu development, a complete multiunit and multi-location inventory system, purchasing and production modules, sales order functions and comprehensive reporting. The system could interface to all major POS and accounting systems.

During the three years following the implementation of the Eatec/Aloha/Cambar solution, the number of foodservice locations at Universal Orlando expanded to 80 (consisting of fine dining restaurants, fast-food eateries and food carts). In addition, a second theme park called Islands of Adventure was built adjacent to the Universal Studios movie theme park and film and television production facilities. Also developed was a 30-acre, lake-side complex of dining establishments, clubs, shops, theaters and live-entertainment venues named CityWalk.

The 80 foodservice locations include Margaritaville, Motown Café, Pat O' Brien's and "the groove," a hightech disco. The Islands of Adventure park has foodservice operations in Jurassic Park, the Lost Continent, and its other three entertainment "islands." Thirty of the 80 locations are carts selling products such as turkey legs, ice cream, hot dogs, beer, soda and snacks.

Home cooking
Precision recipe management played a critical role during the first three years of the growth period. In addition to meals cooked and served, all of the cakes, pies, breads and muffins consumed at the complex are baked on premises, and all sauces are prepared from basic ingredients. By mid-2001, when the number of recipes stored had increased to nearly 20,000, about 11,000 ingredients were in use - all recipes and ingredients were tracked by the system. Feit estimates that as many as 70 percent of the recipes are used in a given year.

"The system makes sure that nothing is overlooked, however small," explains Feit. "We may have all the ingredients needed for a Vodka Martini, but we also need to know that we have individualized napkins for 'the groove', Margaritaville and anywhere else one is served."

An important modification to the system, custom developed by Eatec at Universal Orlando's request, was adding the capability to determine five-week moving trends for every item. "This was a big help," explains Feit. "It is essential to see what's selling and to know when to reorder. It is also important to know what should come off the menu. Five-week moving trend information usually satisfies our needs but, at times, it needs to be used in conjunction with other relevant data and experience gained over the years."

Feit appreciates the performance of the Eatec solution and its breadth of features. She says, "We saw early on that it could take us to where we are today. It was exactly what we needed then and still is now."

Recently, the system was moved to MicroSoft SQL Server 7. As many as 150 users access it daily.

Two Loews hotels have opened at Universal Orlando, the Hard Rock Hotel and the Portofino Bay Hotel, and a third hotel, the Royal Pacific Resort, will open in the summer of 2002. Universal Orlando is a part of Universal Studios, a unit of CANAL+, the television and film division of Vivendi Universal.

Technology and the future
Improving purchasing efficiency has high priority in IT planning at Universal Orlando. "Evaluation and reevaluation goes on constantly; it's a never-ending process," notes Feit. "We analyze everything from menu mix, inventory turns and ingredient price fluctuation to small wares inventory."

Review of the need for new technology is a team effort, Feit comments. Her IS staff includes Susie Shinner, Senior Business Systems Analyst, and Linda Johanning, SQL Server Database Administrator.

The IS staff consults regularly with Randy McCann, senior vice president of food services, and Jim Waters, vice president of information services. But, says Feit, it often receives ideas and need assessment from executive chef Jayson, who was recognized as "National Chef of the Year" by the American Culinary Federation in 2000. Jayson is best known for his culinary creations, but his creativity isn't limited to his work in the kitchen; he sits in on technology planning meetings along with the IS department heads and analysts.

Several projects for the near future are under consideration including e-based purchasing. "We would like to see where e-commerce can take us," says Feit. "For example, it could be very useful for requesting and receiving bids. Currently, we receive bids weekly on produce, seafood and meat, and monthly or annually on most goods. But through the Web, we could accept bids as frequently as needed, even daily, depending on the commodity."

Also in the works is the process of tying a catering module into the system. Many of the facilities at Universal Orlando are used for social events and private evening activities and parties, some of which are associated with events at the nearby Orange County Convention Center.

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