Technology PlanConsultation For:

Consultation Provided By:

Lauryn JashynskiLogan MooreLeeah Rivas

Madeline Rynewicz

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Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………..2

Five Forces……………………………………………………...2

Strategies………………………………………………………..4

Disruptive Technology……………………………………….....5

Web 2.0/Network Effects……………………………………….8

Build vs. Buy…………………………………………………...9

Data Model…………………………………………………….10

URL……………………………………………………………17

Security and Ethics Plan………………………………………17

Conclusion/Summary………………………………………….19

Bibliography…………………………………………………..20

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IntroductionOur team of consultants will be working with Cab Cuisine; a food delivery service that partnered with five popular restaurants in large college towns. These restaurants include Buffalo Wild Wings, Subway, Taco Bell, Culvers, and McDonald since none of these places originally provided any type of delivery service. Cab Cuisine currently has ten locations in close proximity to the following campuses in eight different states: UW-Madison, UM-Twin Cities, University of Iowa-Iowa City, University of Illinois-Champaign, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Indiana-Bloomington, Penn State University, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, and UW-Oshkosh. Cab Cuisine provides full menu delivery, striving to provide a menu pertaining to students demands while offering convenience. All students, residents, and workers within the 10-mile radius of Cab Cuisine locations will be able to utilize their services.

Cab Cuisine gives the option of quick quality food in an economy where convenience is becoming the driving factor in decision-making. Having only a few restaurants within walking distance of campus, providing a meal delivery service will not only increase the number of obtainable restaurants, but it will offer a more convenient option for those who may not have the time to run out and get a meal. It will also enrich the community by providing a few more jobs for college students. Students and residents will be able to readily access their services by either the Internet or phone at the most convenient of times. Satisfaction will be guaranteed with speedy service as well as a polite and responsive staff.

Since this is the first business of its kind in the areas they are located, we want to help them succeed and make it hard for others to copy their efforts. While consulting for them, we will analyze possible competitors and then create strategies to keep Cab Cuisine as a thriving business. In addition, we want to help them identify technology they can use to help their company be more efficient and successful, including incorporating Web 2.0 to build network effects. We intend to help them organize their data better (providing examples in Microsoft Access), so they can be quick, accurate, and efficient when it comes to organizing important information. Lastly, we intend to discuss ethics and safety with them. We want all the employees to agree upon how to handle security and privacy so there are no discrepancies.

Five ForcesIn order to help Cab Cuisine analyze its competitiveness, we conducted a Porter’s Five Forces Model for them. This model illustrates the threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitute product or services, bargaining power of suppliers, and rivalry.

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Porter’s Five Application to Forces Cab Cuisine

Threat of New Entrants

HIGHEasy to enter fast food market

Franchises make it possible for just about anyone to open a popular fast food restaurant chain store

Fast food restaurants do not require extremely skilled workers or complex kitchen equipment, making it quick and easy to acquire both and start a new restaurant quickly

Many existing fast food companies could decide to deliver their own products without much extra work

Bargaining Power of Buyers

HIGHBuyers have many choices of what and where they want to eat

Internet always increases buyer power- they can research restaurant locations, prices, and menus

Switching costs are low- even though we advise Cab Cuisine to offer a rewards program, there is no harm in choosing not to use their service

Customers could decide to travel to a restaurant in order to avoid a delivery fee

Threat of Substitute Products or Services

HIGHThere are lots of other options when choosing what to eat

Since Cab Cuisine is located near college campuses many students already have paid for meal plans and may not want to spend the extra money

People could also choose direct delivery from restaurants such as Jimmy Johns, most pizza and Chinese places, etc.

Customers also might choose to cook at home or make something in their dorm room

Another substitute would be going to a restaurant, or going through a drive-thru

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Porter’s Five Application to Forces Cab Cuisine

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

HIGH Cab Cuisine’s suppliers can determine what percentage of sales

they get popular restaurants could refuse to team up with Cab Cuisine,

and without major restaurants their service becomes less valuable

suppliers could decide not to extend their full menu to Cab Cuisine’s services, which could displease customers or cause them to go straight to that particular restaurant to get what they want

Rivalry HIGHOther delivery services exist, but they are run through each individual establishment, not a collection like Cab Cuisine – other options to eat

also exist as rivals Some examples are Jimmy John’s, Papa John’s, P.F. Changs,

South of the Border, etc. Delivery services similar to ours such as EatStreet- a free online

service that delivers popular local restaurants. With locations all over the nation. They also have an app compatible for Apple and Android for convenience. In addition to their advantageous service, they donate 5% of their profits to a non-profit organization of your choice from a list of options on their site ( https://eatstreet.com/Oshkosh?gclid=CMLlh42u8L0CFYY7MgodHCMAUw).

Given this analysis, Cab Cuisine will face high competition, but can rise to the challenge by identifying in depth strategies.

StrategiesSince threat of new entrants is high, we advise Cab Cuisine to avoid basing their strategies on cost. Instead we came up with three that could help their company excel.

1. Operational effectiveness

We have suggested the use of autonomous vehicles, to cut down on accidents, and any preventable driving costs. This will help Cab Cuisine keep delivery times fast while staying safe, putting them ahead of other delivery companies that are not utilizing autonomous cars. Another way Cab Cuisine will exceed other delivery options, is that they intend to allow customers to mix and match. For example, someone could order an appetizer from one restaurant, a entre from a

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second restaurant, and a dessert from a third.  This not only sets Cab Cuisine apart from other delivery services, but also is more efficient for the customer. Without our services, they would have to travel to three separate places or compromise and settle for just one place. Thanks to Cab Cuisine, they can be as selective and demanding as they want.

2. Differentiation

Cab Cuisine is combining 5 of the most popular restaurants in order to provide an extensive delivery menu from many of customers favorite brands. This is different from companies only delivering their own food because in this case, there is much more variety. Cab Cuisine differs from EatStreet (a similar service) because some of EatStreet’s restaurants also deliver on their own. This is negative for them because ultimately they end up competing with themselves. People don’t need to use their business when they can get the food straight from the source. An example of this would be Papa John’s. However, Cab Cuisine exclusively delivers for restaurants that do not already deliver.

3. Customer Oriented

Cab Cuisine intends on treating not only their customers, but their suppliers with patience, respect, and professionalism. We suggested they offer a rewards program to not only increase staying power, but also reward the customers for using their services. We want all of their customers to feel appreciated, as well as content with their services at all times. In addition, Cab Cuisine should treat their suppliers well so they continue to use the delivery service. It is important for Cab Cuisine’s suppliers to have positive opinions, because that could increase the chances of other restaurants wanting to join in Cab Cuisine’s services.

Mission

Deliver quality food and exceptional service through a unique, customer-oriented approach that attracts new users and retains existing ones.

Vision

Cab Cuisine will grow to become the brand name that is synonymous with food deliver service in every positive way imaginable. The outgoing nature that the company strives for will exceed expectations in the current Midwest markets and launch us into new ones across the country from coast to coast.

Disruptive TechnologyAfter examining the Gartner Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle of 2012, our group has identified autonomous vehicles as a possible technology that has the potential to not only transform delivery services, but also create an entirely new industry. We believe that Cab Cuisine could use this to support its strategy of operational effectiveness. Since Cab Cuisine wants to minimize costs by being as efficient as possible, it is critical that their front line

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employees are good drivers. Significant decreases in operational effectiveness can occur if drivers are inattentive. Not only will customers be unable to receive their orders which will damage Cab Cuisine’s credibility of having superior operational effectiveness, poor driving can result in numerous cost inflating events. If driver’s get in accidents, it poses significant increases in insurance (whether or not it is no fault of their own) and Cab Cuisine may also be held liable for any damages. Also, if driver’s become too aggressive in order to boost efficiency, they may get speeding tickets. In return, this may result in a bad public image and hurt Cab Cuisine’s other strategy of providing unmatched customer service.

Figure 1 (LeHong)

By harnessing the power of autonomous vehicles, Cab Cuisine can limit the ill effects of human error behind the wheel. Additionally, because Cab Cuisine has the majority of its costs associated with its drivers, investing in autonomous vehicles will eliminate those variable costs going forward. While many manufacturers already implement sonar into their vehicles to increase safety, some companies have already displayed prototypes of fully autonomous vehicles (most of which are highly innovative companies such as BMW).

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Figure 2 (Kelly)

The concept is still being tinkered with and from the graphic, it can be seen that there is still another 5-10 years before autonomous vehicles may become relevant. Because of this, Cab Cuisine must realize that since the technology is far enough off and only in the ‘technology trigger’ stage, problems may occur in development. With so many components being integrated to assure that these machines function properly, there are many more areas that need to be sent through troubleshooting to guarantee safety. Because these autonomous vehicles are designed and programmed by humans, they are still susceptible to mistakes just like delivery drivers are. The legal concepts related to these vehicles must also be verified. Cab Cuisine’s Midwestern location makes this technology a safer investment because Michigan has already passed preliminary legislation to allow automated driving. Wisconsin and Minnesota are also considering it. If these states pass bills allowing it, other neighboring states may be more likely to do so as well.

Figure 3 (Diagram)

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Web 2.0/Network EffectsThere is great potential to add value to the service by Cab Cuisine through Web 2.0 and Network Effects. The more people that use Cab Cuisine will allow the business to expand, thus providing the opportunity to raise enough capital in order to expand the number of delivery personnel and different restaurants catered from. By having more drivers and featuring more restaurants, Cab Cuisine will then be able to service their customers faster. Through the continuous building of a customer base, Cab Cuisine also has the option to venture into new geographic markets. This is an example of how Cab Cuisine will be able to add value through exchange opportunities. With less delivery time, prices may be decreased since less fuel will be used and since a wider variety of restaurants can be offered, different customer demographics will find it more valuable to use the service.

Cab Cuisine would be able to increase their network effects even further if they were to offer a rewards program. This creates the value of staying power because over time returning customers will accumulate switching costs and remain loyal to ordering from Cab Cuisine as opposed to competitors. Also, because Cab Cuisine delivers from a variety of restaurants, customers may be attracted on the basis of complementary products. With this service, they now have the option to eat an appetizer from one restaurant, an entree from another, and dessert from yet a third different restaurant. With more individual users and more restaurants participating, the locations of pick-up and delivery become less spread out and can then become more efficient and cost effective for the end consumer.

As depicted in the picture below, four drivers can cover more total area than one, can overlap in busier areas, and also are responsible for less individual area (making delivery more efficient).

Figure 4

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For Cab Cuisine, this is a two-sided market because both buyers (and consumers) and producers (restaurants/Cab Cuisine) have provided value in some way to make the service more beneficial. To fully harness this network, Cab Cuisine should move continue to move early before new competitors enter the market. They should also create partnerships with restaurants because that will ultimately limit the choices any competitor could choose to deliver from. Additionally, leveraging viral promotion will assist in having the Cab Cuisine brand be recognizable.

These promotional opportunities can also be leveraged through Web 2.0 and social media. The sharing of information through social media and blogging/micro-blogging can play a vital role in the success of Cab Cuisine. The fact that many of Cab Cuisine restaurant partners are already established and have followers on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram will make it easier to gain visibility to the brand. Many people already blog about their food experiences, so if Cab Cuisine becomes synonymous with that trend awareness will once again be increased. However, a concern arises over the poor performance of restaurants, which is out of Cab Cuisine’s control. This synonymous image could end up damaging the Cab Cuisine brand if the food is not up to standards. Even if the food is of high quality, customers may be upset with the service Cab Cuisine has offered and that negative image will then be reflected upon the brand of the restaurant, which is out of their control.

Build vs. BuyImplementing appropriate software for Cab Cuisine is an extremely important business decision based on the operations of the business. Customers must submit orders online in order to receive the services cab cuisine offers. Customer information, order information, restaurant information, and employee information should all be stored and easily accessible to ensure the business operations can run smoothly and eliminate any confusion that would increase order and delivery times to customers.

Our suggested strategies for Cab Cuisine are: operational effectiveness, differentiation, and customer oriented. We believe these strategies cannot be fully achieved without the appropriate software system. Operational effectiveness will require a system that can allow customers to easily place orders, employees can easily gather the information provided by customers, and ultimately deliver the product in the least amount of time possible. Cab Cuisine needs a system that can handle a variety of information. We believe Cab Cuisine needs to focus on their greatest differentiation from competitors, which is by offering a large variety of food options in a “one stop shop.” Cab Cuisine requires software that can keep track of the variety of food options from their 5 partnering restaurants. Lastly, Cab Cuisine requires a system that can keep track of customer and reward program information to ensure customers are receiving all of the possible benefits Cab Cuisine has to offer. Cab Cuisine can also use the software to filter information in order to target customers based on purchasing patterns.

With threat of new entrants into the fast food market being high, Cab Cuisine needs a system that is up-to-date and can create a competitive edge by decreasing order wait times with easily accessible information. Bargaining power of buyers is also high. With the appropriate software,

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Cab Cuisine will have the ability to offer a rewards program and target customers based on purchasing patterns. With a multitude of substitutes and high rivalry, Cab Cuisine will need to display the advantages of choosing their services over other fast food restaurants or eating at home. The appropriate software system will allow Cab Cuisine to offer a variety of food from numerous restaurants and the ability to order from more than one restaurant at a time. This creates an incentive for customers who seek variety and convenience. Suppliers have a lot of power in determining whether or not they choose to partner with Cab Cuisine. Suppliers will want to see periodic reports to evaluate the sales they are receiving through Cab Cuisine. Cab Cuisine can offer these reports with a software system capable of easily creating such reports.

Figure 5 (Wisdom)

After analyzing Cab Cuisine’s strategies and the five forces, we recommend they implement a Restaurant Delivery Software (RDS), such as Wisdom by. Cab Cuisine does not have the resources in order to create custom software. Without a group of employees that have an extensive knowledge in Information Technology, creating custom software would be costly and timely. A RDS system has all of the capabilities Cab Cuisine needs in a software. Wisdom’s capabilities include: easy online order management, delivery area management, dispatch process to prioritize and grouping order, driver management, reporting, and database marketing. This software is the perfect option to optimize Cab Cuisines operations. They also have flexible features such as built in credit card processing and mobile app management to ensure satisfaction from not only Cab Cuisine, but also the restaurants they cater from and the customers they deliver to. It has a $250 start-up cost and only a $0.20 charge per order. Many other competitors have yearly fees and also incorporate a higher charge per order.

Data ModelTable 1: Customers

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The first table describes their customer demographics. It assigns each person an ID number so we can see when they order, what they order, and from what location they order from. By having the demographic information, the system can be less complex. They will also be able to send those customers in our database promotions to help keep up our customer loyalty and allow for possible awards further in the future. The complete address lets the employee know where to deliver the final order.

Table 2: Orders

The order table keeps track of all of the incoming orders they have. When a customer orders at one of their stores, they are assigned an Order ID to match with their Customer ID. This also matches an employee with the order and when the order is placed. They can use this table to see which of our customers order the most and where they order from. The date shows when the order was placed and can help for future orders.

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Table 3: Promotions

In the promotion table, each of the promotion types/channels is assigned a Promotion ID. This ID number is also sorted by which restaurant offers it (Restaurant ID). Depending on the restaurant and their location, not every restaurant will offer the same promotions. This table also shows how much a customer would save by using the promotion. This will allow us to see what Order ID is using what promotion. This helps link the customer to their favorite type of promotion.

Table 4: Offices

The office table shows where our offices are located, by state. Each office is assigned an Office ID number and it is linked to the address, city, state, and zip code. This table also tells us the number of employees at each of our office locations. When the Order ID comes through on the system, we can which office site it is connected to.

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Table 5: Restaurant

The restaurant table shows what restaurants Cab Cuisine offers delivery for and in which state they are located. Some cities don’t have all the restaurants we offer, so we will be able to sort them by restaurant name to see if a certain city offers that specific restaurant. When orders come through the system, they are also tracked by the restaurant table. It has their complete address information so the delivery employee knows where to pick up the order from.

Table 6: Employees

Each employee in the employee table is assigned an Employee ID. This ID can be used when assigning orders. This ID is also given an Office ID. This allows Cab Cuisine to see which office building the employee works for. It also shows what model car they drive and how long their average delivery time takes. This table can help run reports on employee efficiency.

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Relationships

The relationship diagram shows the relationships of each of the tables in Cab Cuisine’s database. The Customer and Order tables are linked with a one-to-many relationship. This is because one customer can have many orders. The Order table is connected to the Promotion table and the Office table in a one-to-many relationship because each order can use many different promotion types and one order can be connected to the offices. The Promotion table is connected to the Restaurant table in a many-to-one relationship because there are many promotions linked to each restaurant ID. The Office table is linked to the Employee table in a one-to-many relationship because each office can have many employees.

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Report 1 – Employee Performance

Their first report is about the top performing employees. It ranks them by their average delivery time so they know who the most efficient employee is. It then lists their name and their corresponding Employee ID number. It also shows which office they are located at so the company can see not only which employee is most efficient, but also which office is being the most efficient. It also shows the model of each vehicle the employees drive.

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Report 2 – Promotion Values

The second report is about the most valuable promotion. It is run by which promotion will give customers the most savings. Since not every restaurant offers all the promotions, it shows the Restaurant ID so we can see which restaurant is giving the customers the most value. We also can see which type of order is linked to the restaurant and promotion.

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URLThe URL for Cab Cuisine will be www.cabcuisine.com. It is an available URL that is a perfect choice. It is just the name of the company, making it easy for customers to remember.

Security and Ethics PlanIn order to maintain solid customer relationships, it is important for Cab Cuisine to actively manage a wide variety of data related to each individual customer. However, multiple issues arrive when dealing with such personal information such as home addresses, telephone numbers, and especially credit cards.

Privacy

Cab Cuisine must have a state of the art database security system in order to protect all of the data that they manage. If the databases are compromised, they risk losing their image of integrity and ultimately may fail at leveraging their strategy of being customer oriented. All information that Cab Cuisine receives will be used strictly for internal purposes only. Extra sensitive information such as credit card numbers will not be visible to any random employees either. Cab Cuisine’s main threat is forms of spyware and keystroke loggers. In order to be proactive, a high performing firewall software, such package from Cisco, is a reputable platform with proven results for business that have similar needs like Cab Cuisine.

Accuracy

In order to maintain optimal operational effectiveness, Cab Cuisine must ensure that all of their information is accurate. If a customer places an order and the address is wrong, they will not receive their order and the delivery personnel will have wasted time and fuel. More importantly, it will detract from a positive customer experience. To avoid these issues, manual accuracy checks should be performed throughout the RDS software. A sample of customers will be selected to help verify their information and will simultaneously be assured through proper verification that it is truly Cab Cuisine cross-referencing their confidential.

Property

Any information that is entrusted with Cab Cuisine will be viewed as only something that it being rented from the customers. This approach means that anything given must be carefully handled because if not handled correctly, the customer can cease doing business with Cab Cuisine and that information will become useless if they are not being delivered to. Cab Cuisine has been advised to train employees in proper security and loss prevention techniques. This includes knowing what to do in a robbery situation of delivery drivers where physical security may be compromised, not just informational security. Additionally, a hierarchy of credentials should be implemented to extract certain types of information.

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Accessibility

Employees of Cab Cuisine will only be given access to pertinent information required to make their deliveries. The main threat to customer security is hackers that may compromise sensitive information. Additionally, all information will only be used within Cab Cuisine in order to avoid spam coming from other sources that tries to engage the customers. A high grade antivirus software, such as a Norton, will protect the potential compromising or destruction of customer information in addition to the firewall.

Ethics

As mentioned above, Cab Cuisine employees will be thoroughly trained. We recommend that they have a selective screening process and then also make all new employees sign a service pledge that covers the four aforementioned bases of security. Yearly performance reviews are also recommended so that the pledge can be reexamined. To further protect the integrity of Cab Cuisine’s brand image, customers are encouraged to report inattentive driving or poor quality standards exhibited by any employee. These issues will then be addressed by management and the results will also be shared with any concerned customers to reassure them that the issue has been taken care of.

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Conclusion/SummaryJudging by Porter’s Five Forces, Cab Cuisine is in a competitive market because each of

the five forces faces challenges to overcome. We as a consulting group advise Cab Cuisine leverage operational effectiveness, differentiation, and a customer oriented approach as their strategies to be successful when faced with the challenges. The mission and vision statement we provided will help them accomplish these strategies, in addition to harnessing numerous technological advances by staying current and up to date.

Beginning with disruptive technology, Cab Cuisine must be aware of the possibility of autonomous vehicles entering mainstream consumer application. They have the ability to increase operational effectiveness by reducing fuel and labor costs, as well as increasing safety. This type of technology is still only in the trigger stage, so they must be proactive in following its progression in the years to come.

Another aspect to improve upon is customer service, which can be done through Web 2.0 and network effects. The more customers Cab Cuisine has within its operational boundary, they will be profitable enough to expand and provide more efficient services from more restaurants. They will be able to respond effectively to any concerns by utilizing social media and interacting with their customer base on a consistent basis.

We recommend Cab Cuisine buy a Restaurant Delivery Service software, such as Wisdom, because the benefits of having a predesigned system are far greater than the costs of designing their own. They will be able to increase both operational effectiveness and customer service through this software that manages multiple facets of information. We provided a sample data model set that can be a platform for which Cab Cuisine can begin using their RDS software. It is complete with a relationship table and sample reports of topics of interest, such as employee performance and valuable promotions. In order to let their customers connect with them in ways other than social media, the domain www.cabcuisine.com is available and a logical choice to use.

Because Cab Cuisine has access to sensitive customer information, we have compiled recommendations that address privacy, accuracy, property, accessibility, and the ethical actions that are incorporated into all of these aspects. They must utilize adequate firewall and antivirus software to protect all of their information. Additionally, they must train their employees properly, in order to ensure the integrity of their system is fulfilled.

Overall, if Cab Cuisine can adhere to our consultation, we fully believe they will not only be successful, but also an industry leader.

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BibliographyKelly, Heather. Driverless car tech gets serious at CES. 2014. Photograph. n.p. Web. 7 May

2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/09/tech/innovation/self-driving-cars-ces/>.

LeHong, Huan, and Jackie Fenn. Key Trends to Watch in Gartner 2012 Emerging Technologies Hype Cycle. 2012. Photograph. n.p. Web. 7 May 2014. 

N.d. (Diagram) Photograph. n.p. Web. 7 May 2014. <http://low-powerdesign.com/sleibson/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Autonomous-vehicle-sensors.jpg>.

N.d. (Wisdom) Photograph. n.p. Web. 7 May 2014. < http://www.datadreamers.com/wisdom-restaurant-delivery-software>.