Industry News

Posts dealing with Foodservice Industry issues, etc
WEBINAR: Identifying and Eliminating Less-than-Minimum Order Costs

Please join Answers Systems, a division of AFS Technologies, as we host this informative webinar on November 16, 2:00 PM ET, led by Dave DeWalt, Owner & President, Franklin Foodservice Solutions.  Identifying and Eliminating Less-than-Minimum Order Costs Many food manufacturers are surprised when we show them the number of "Less than Minimum" (LTM) orders moving through their systems. Even if they understand the high costs of administration and logistics required to fill these orders, they have difficulty preventing them, or even managing the enforcement of order minimums. One challenge is understanding the source of an LTM order, and determining whether it is an occasional...

posted @ Thursday, October 27, 2011 3:02 PM | Feedback (0)

No Kids Allowed!

By Kristin Avery For some restaurants kids don’t eat free, matter of fact they don’t eat at all. There is a new trend of restaurants banning children from dining at their establishments. Some feel this is a flat-out act of discrimination while others feel it’s simply a smart business move. Mike Vucik is among those who support the child ban from restaurants. He’s an owner of a Pittsburgh area eatery whose children ban went into effect two months ago. In an article titled “Restaurant Bans Kids Under 6. Discrimination or smart move?” Mike Vucik says the decision for the children ban...

posted @ Monday, October 17, 2011 1:12 PM | Feedback (0)

Facebook Freak-out!

By Kristin Avery If you’ve been on Facebook recently then you heard the rumor that Facebook was going to start charging its users. There was one posting in particular that I saw several times and it went like this: "FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO...IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS Facebook...

posted @ Friday, September 30, 2011 12:28 PM | Feedback (0)

Here's a Tip!

By Kristin Avery Did you know there are 1001 tips for cleaning with white distilled vinegar?  Did you also know there’s an inexpensive tip for curing a sore throat? Just add one teaspoon to one cup of warm water and gargle. Well, no matter who you are everyone loves a good tip. You name it, there’s a tip for it. Everything from cooking tips to tips on how to save money on your next electricity bill.  Tips are meant to provide us with useful information and make our life easier.  Here at Answers Systems, we understand the appeal of tips. That’s...

posted @ Wednesday, September 21, 2011 3:42 PM | Feedback (0)

Tackling the Topic of "Trade Spend"

By Kristin Avery The topic of “Trade Spend” can be a difficult one to tackle. Where does one start? What key words should I type when doing an internet search? Who are experts on the topic? What information can I trust? All right, don’t panic! Answers Systems is here to provide the answers to all your “Trade Spend” questions. You can start to tackle the topic of “Trade Spend” right here. Instead of conducting a general search on the internet that would cost you time browsing through article upon article, Answers Systems has compiled 5 of their most visited “Trade Spend” blog...

posted @ Friday, August 12, 2011 1:39 PM | Feedback (0)

The Eye Of The Tiger

  Ten Answers Systems employees spent Friday, August 5, serving the Tampa Bay Community through volunteer efforts at Big Cat Rescue, the world’s largest accredited sanctuary for exotic cats. At first, the Florida sun made it seem like this might be an impossible task, but volunteers pushed through the heat as we offered our washing and tree trimming skills in order to maintain the property and make it appealing to visitors. Once done with volunteering, Answers Systems employees were given a special treat for all their hard work and effort. As a special treat, we got to take a tour of...

posted @ Wednesday, August 10, 2011 1:49 PM | Feedback (0)

What Does It Mean To Volunteer?

  There’s a simple but complex answer to that question.  The answer is simply different for each person. This was demonstrated when Kristin Avery asked Rhonda Harms, Susan Sanford, and Ernie Norling of Answers Systems 6 questions about volunteering.   Kristin Avery first sat down with Rhonda Harms to discuss 6 questions about volunteering. Listed below are the responses to those questions.   Q: Why do you like to volunteer? A: It feels good to know that you’ve helped others and that your efforts matter.   Q: Are there any personal experiences that came out of volunteering that really resonated with you? A: I participated in Habitat for Humanity...

posted @ Monday, August 01, 2011 11:28 AM | Feedback (0)

6 Question About NRA 2011

Recently Kristin Avery sat down with Tom Tipps to have a conversation about his National Restaurant Association Show experience held in Chicago this past April 29, 2011. 1. In a 100 words or less, what is NRA? NRA stands for National Restaurant Association and has been around since at least the early 70’s. The NRA show is really an industry gathering recognizing that everyone in the industry is either in a restaurant operations business, distributor, or manufacturers [sic]. Many of our manufacturers attend who sell through distributors to restaurants, so it’s an industry wide function and it’s a great opportunity...

posted @ Monday, July 11, 2011 11:49 AM | Feedback (0)

Trade Promotion Management - More Than Meets The Eye

By Kristin Avery Have you ever wondered how you receive your fast food so fast? Honestly, I’ve never given it a second thought. All I know is that I turn into a five-year-old who’s been denied a toy when my food takes longer than two minutes. The television show “How Do They Do It?” on the Discovery Channel recently helped me put this fast food efficiency into perspective and led me to do some additional research on the topic. CNN Money provides a taste of how complex fast food drive-through technology really is. According to the article, “Candid Camera at the Fast-Food...

posted @ Wednesday, June 22, 2011 3:36 PM | Feedback (0)

Facing Non-Compliance

Captain Obvious once said . . . Your Best Customer is Your Existing Customer! Most of us in the Foodservice industry feel that some of our best customers are our contracted chain accounts because once we sell them, the cases keep repeating. Good Concept! The problems start when manufacturers make price concessions for a large multi-unit chain and finds out later that ALL units may not be purchasing or case predictions are understated. Years ago suppliers didn’t have to worry much about this issue simply because they didn’t have good reporting systems to identify operator unit level compliance or non...

posted @ Monday, June 20, 2011 12:33 PM | Feedback (0)

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