Au Bon Pain, the bakery and caf chain based in Boston, operates 200 outlets in the...

 

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Au Bon Pain, the bakery and café chain based in Boston, operates 200 outlets in the United States and Asia. Over the last three years, Health magazine has named Au Bon Pain one of America's top five healthiest fast-food restaurant chains. The company had an interest in expanding, and Tim Oliveri, the company's chief financial officer, wanted Au Bon Pain to be able to react to market changes more rapidly while also reducing its costs. The company's existing legacy information systems were holding it back, but the company's decision to implement an SAP ERP system is now helping it achieve these goals. The new ERP system replaced disparate systems, some of which were in paper format. This integrated enterprise system brings the storefront to the back office through a number of different module implementations. With the single system, the company is able to reduce its financial reporting cycle from weeks to days, and the system allows better management of Au Bon Pain's workforce through a Web-based portal. In addition, the new system facilitates greater compliance with financial regulations and better sales management, along with the electronic purchasing of all raw materials. One impetus for installing this ERP system was for management to be able to digest information on market conditions, and react quickly to open new stores or renovate existing stores. For example, cafés in New York City have recently undergone major renovations, resulting in double-digit sales increases. More cafes are planned to open soon. Assume you own and run a small local coffee shop. You do all your ordering of ingredients for your coffee shop by hand-using pencil, paper, mail, and telephone. All your sales are recorded by hand in a book, and transcribed for filing of small- business taxes. Analyze as to how a small ERP system could help your business become more efficient. Au Bon Pain, the bakery and café chain based in Boston, operates 200 outlets in the United States and Asia. Over the last three years, Health magazine has named Au Bon Pain one of America's top five healthiest fast-food restaurant chains. The company had an interest in expanding, and Tim Oliveri, the company's chief financial officer, wanted Au Bon Pain to be able to react to market changes more rapidly while also reducing its costs. The company's existing legacy information systems were holding it back, but the company's decision to implement an SAP ERP system is now helping it achieve these goals. The new ERP system replaced disparate systems, some of which were in paper format. This integrated enterprise system brings the storefront to the back office through a number of different module implementations. With the single system, the company is able to reduce its financial reporting cycle from weeks to days, and the system allows better management of Au Bon Pain's workforce through a Web-based portal. In addition, the new system facilitates greater compliance with financial regulations and better sales management, along with the electronic purchasing of all raw materials. One impetus for installing this ERP system was for management to be able to digest information on market conditions, and react quickly to open new stores or renovate existing stores. For example, cafés in New York City have recently undergone major renovations, resulting in double-digit sales increases. More cafes are planned to open soon. Assume you own and run a small local coffee shop. You do all your ordering of ingredients for your coffee shop by hand-using pencil, paper, mail, and telephone. All your sales are recorded by hand in a book, and transcribed for filing of small- business taxes. Analyze as to how a small ERP system could help your business become more efficient.

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The Enterprise Resource Planning system can help a small business like that of mine to a huge extent ... View the full answer