With the increasing popularity of information technology, traditional industries such as catering increasingly use information technology to manage their own business. At present, the catering management software on the market is still in the stage of letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend, and most bosses in the catering industry don't know much about IT technology. Faced with a dazzling array of products and sincere service promises, how to choose a catering management system that really suits you in terms of product quality, technical service and price value is indeed a big challenge. At present, catering bosses generally choose catering software in the following three ways: first, through the introduction of acquaintances, friends and partners in the industry; The second is to compare the software suppliers who take the initiative to sell at home; Third, through the introduction and advertising of various media such as the Internet and various professional media. However, due to the complexity of catering software and catering management system, the diversity of catering formats, the expectations of catering company bosses and the particularity of employees' quality, it is not easy for catering bosses to find suitable catering management systems and satisfactory partners in the field of catering informatization. First of all, at the conceptual level, we emphasize that we should not focus on products, but on the needs of customers. At present, most catering software suppliers in the market still unconsciously focus on their own products and promote their products to catering companies, regardless of whether their products are suitable for catering companies. We believe that the catering business forms include Chinese dinner, western dinner, Chinese fast food, western fast food, leisure teahouse, coffee bar, takeaway and group chain. Different catering business forms are very different, and the functions required by natural catering management software are also very different. Also, if catering enterprises are at different stages of development, the requirements for catering management software will show great differences, even if the catering format is the same. For example, some restaurants are still in the initial stage of development, and the requirements for catering management software only stay in the automatic processing of business processes, such as computer cashier, automatic printing, and delivery to the kitchen. Some companies have requirements for kitchen warehouse and cost control, so they put forward corresponding requirements for back-office warehouse and cost management; There are also some companies that need to analyze business data and customer consumption data to adjust and construct the business direction and policy of restaurants. Therefore, when choosing their own software system, catering enterprises need to make a basic judgment on whether the products are suitable for their own needs, rather than relying on software providers to promote themselves. Therefore, professional catering information consulting companies or catering information experts are often needed to provide scientific, objective and fair consulting guidance. Secondly, look at product quality (functional and technical level). Catering software is a tool for catering business. There are three points to pay attention to when investigating product quality. First, the product is not the best, only the most suitable; Secondly, we must combine the characteristics of catering enterprises, grasp the main contradictions, and don't expect catering software to solve all the problems in management; Thirdly, security, reliability and stability are more important than the richness of product functions, because according to our actual statistical results, most catering enterprises only use 30%-40% of the functions of catering software for a mature software on the market, and the data security of the product itself and the stability of the system determine the most important factors of the user evaluation system. From a technical point of view, the most advanced technology may not bring the best products, but what technology can explain to some extent what era the products are, why the design ideas are for customers and so on. For example, on the operating system, catering software is based on DOS, WINDOWS, LINUX and so on. The catering software based on DOS is an old system. At present, most catering software on the market is based on WINDOWS operating system. Considering the copyright issue, some catering software adopts LINUX operating system. For another example, the system databases include ACCESS, SYBASE, MYSQL, SQLSERVER and so on. For the catering system, which database to use is related to the size of the restaurant. Smaller restaurants can use relatively simple databases such as ACCESS, which can be relatively simple to use and maintain, while larger restaurants should use databases such as SQLSERVER, which can ensure data security and system stability, but at the same time, it also needs special system administrators to maintain it. Also, there are usually three ways to input data, one is based on a common computer, the other is based on a touch screen, and the third is to use a wireless ordering system. Wireless technologies include infrared technology and wireless network technology. Judging from the current development trend, more and more catering systems use touch screens, and wireless technology is gradually maturing. Another important issue that needs to be considered at the technical level is whether the software is based on an open platform or a self-contained closed platform. Openness means that the software has good compatibility and can support all kinds of general hardware devices. In this way, users can freely choose their own devices, such as printers, wireless PDA, various card readers and so on. In case of hardware equipment failure, users can buy it in the market at any time; Closed system is a special equipment provided by the system provider, which is incompatible with general equipment. So once users use such a system, they have no choice but to do it through this company. At present, some catering management systems in the market use special equipment in some links, such as special printers, special wireless ordering equipment and special information reading and writing cards. , so that system manufacturers can increase profits through this part of equipment. We believe that the truly promising software won the market and customers not by these cleverness, but by the continuous improvement and considerate service of the software itself. Third, service awareness and service ability Software is service. If the service provider who provides catering management software does not have a good sense of service or a good service ability, then even the best products can't play their due role. Services include three aspects: first, pre-sales consultation, including understanding the real needs of users and recommending products; Secondly, the implementation of sales and training services is very important. The quality of network wiring directly affects the security and stability of system data, and the quality of training directly affects the efficiency of system operation. Training should be divided into posts, unified drills, strengthen communication and interaction between different departments and posts, and assess them one by one. You can't go to work until you pass the examination. Usually, the training positions should include: ordering staff, lobby manager, cashier, kitchen supervisor, warehouse keeper and financial personnel. Finally, after-sales service includes store escort, on-site support, telephone support and computer remote service. A good set of software should be supplemented by a complete after-sales service plan to meet the needs of customers, including establishing customer maintenance service files and formulating maintenance service levels. A simple and easy way to examine the service consciousness and ability of a system service provider is to see whether it has established a relatively perfect service process and service standard. If a software provider has not even established the minimum service process and service standards, it is hard to believe that it can meet the service needs of users in time in future services. Fourth, business concentration VS company size Although there are quite a few catering software systems in the market, from the overall level of the industry, the proportion of catering companies using software is still not high. At present, catering software is still in the stage of market introduction, and the number of companies specializing in catering management software management is not large and the scale is not large. As a professional development and operation of catering software, there are almost no companies with national popularity and reputation; There are also some large companies whose main products may not be catering management software, but only a department or a team is responsible for the development and sales of catering software. For such companies, although it seems that the scale and strength are relatively large, once they encounter operational difficulties, they are likely to give up this business. This is a common phenomenon in our industry. Therefore, we believe that business concentration is more important than company size. Because the law of things development is that only concentration will make you an expert; Only concentration can have strength! Fifth, the quantity and quality of effective customers. When choosing the software, the catering company has learned about the existing customers who need to know the software, or it is called a success story. Some software companies often do what they like and make a long list of successful customers. No address, no phone number, no contact information. Even if there are more such customer lists, it is meaningless. The list of effective customers we are talking about here not only refers to the customers who use the software, but more importantly, who will complete the implementation and service. You often come across some well-known software in the market, which has thousands of users all over the world, but there may not be many users in a certain market. So, in this case, I hope users polish their glasses, because maybe you just met a novice who is providing you with services. In the field of application software, the specific implementation service ability and experience are very important, and often become a key factor for the successful implementation of a software. For example, a catering management system can be successfully implemented in a store, but it may not achieve the same effect in b store, because different implementation service capabilities will bring completely different implementation effects; The same thing will happen to some small companies that are constantly splitting from some larger companies, which is more common. Because we just split up, although there are brand-new products, the new products have not been officially used, so one is to adopt the free strategy, and the other is to adopt the * * * user sharing strategy. Customers of the original company will also be included in the list of users of the company in Huang Zhi. Therefore, to examine effective users, we should not only look at quantity, but also look at quality; Not only should you listen to the introduction, but you should also go to the scene if you have the conditions. Only in this way can we see the truth clearly. Finally, choose a partner VS choose a product. At present, many catering enterprises, especially large catering enterprises located in central cities, have excellent choices when choosing catering management systems. At the beginning of starting a business, there are often a large number of catering software companies selling software at home, which makes some catering companies responsible for selection feel too good about themselves and have too many choices. And after several introductions, the original layman has also become the so-called expert. At this time, in addition to the function of the software, it is an indicator of choice. In fact, it is at this time that it is most likely to fall into misunderstanding. Why? Because the rich functions of the product are not necessarily what you need, and the price can't be used as the standard for choosing software. We must emphasize that catering enterprises must clearly distinguish themselves from other product suppliers of catering enterprises when choosing software. Software is not only a product, but also a service, a mixture of products and services. So choosing software is not so much a product as a long-term partner.