Mirus Reporter

The Roaring Twenties has a lot of similarities to what has been going on in recent times. In the early 1920's, it was a time of hope and prosperity. With WWI over, the economy was booming, jazz was all the rage, women's rights was a critical topic, and people were out spending lots of money.

If you haven't had an opportunity to join the Mirus User Conference, then you've been missing out! Besides enjoying time with industry peers, sipping on drinks, and bowling, we also discuss how restaurants can leverage their data.

What's data integration and how is it leveraged?

Data integration is a process in which heterogeneous data (finance, marketing, operations, sales, customer, mystery shop, cleanliness, inventory, etc.) is organized and cleansed into a data warehouse. It is leveraged when it's accessible through a platform that allows it to be leveraged together to form meaningful and actionable reports.

What are some challenges restaurants face today?

Restaurant companies are drowning in data about their customers, operational execution, internal business processes, finances, suppliers, partners, and competitors. Many can't leverage this flood of data and convert it to actionable information for growing revenue, increasing profitability, and efficiently operating the business.

Why? Well, there are multiple reasons, here's two that come to mind:

2018 Mirus User Conference

We had a blast being able to meet with some of our clients this year at MCON! Big thank you to everyone who came down to our hometown in Houston, TX, especially the presenters and panelists. If you couldn't make it out this year, make sure to check out some photos on our Facebook page here.

Employee Spotlight:
Dina Misener, Manager of Application Development, Mirus Restaurant Solutions

At Mirus, we work with many wonderful clients. At industry events or maybe during our annual user conference, we get to meet with some of them, face-to-face. It's always a good feeling to personally meet someone you have been working with over the phone or email.

Like many terms in the restaurant industry, "Restaurant Management Software" is widely used, creating a complex understanding of what it actually means. In this article, I'd like to briefly discuss why that is, explain what I have learned so far by studying its use in our industry and tell you how to get a clearer picture of what defines solutions that are classified as Restaurant Management Software.

The ordering experience at a fast-casual restaurant can be overwhelming for some guests. Take a second and imagine this scenario with me: You walk into a fast-casual restaurant with a friend. Let's say this is one of those new pizza concepts where you go through the line picking toppings, making your pizza similar to a Subway line.

It's lunchtime, the place is fairly busy. You have a handful of customers behind you as you stare at the menu board above. But it's ok, they are also staring, trying to decide how they should begin their journey. For some, the ordering experience can even cause anxiety. To make the process go smoothly and put guests at ease there are two things fast-casual operators can do. Focusing on these two areas will help fast casual operations increase profits.

What a great conference this year! I want to thank everyone who joined us, especially the presenters and panelists. This year we made it back to lively and always exciting Vegas strip. Check out our photos here.

Has Data Become More Valuable Than Oil?

Read an article on this very subject. Think about it, every day you can find something in the news about businesses using data to make more money. With that in mind, I wondered if Mirus clients were ahead of the curve? If they are, could their actions of leveraging data be paying for itself?

The Foundation

For the purpose of this article, let's make the assumption that the multiple restaurants you oversee have, in some form or another, a POS system, an established holiday calendar, weather data, customer satisfaction surveys, kitchen timers, and a labor management system.

If you only have a few of these systems in place, that's okay. I just wanted to name the data source systems that could be leveraged for this reporting overview.