Microsoft Windows Server System
Customer Solution Case Study
Fast Food Restaurant Lowers Cost of
Operations with Business Intelligence Solution
Overview
Country or Region: India
Industry: Food and Drug Retailing
Customer Profile
Sahsha Foods, a startup in the food and
beverage market space, is promoting the
concept of quick service Indian food in
India and overseas. Being the first of its
kind in India, Sahsha Foods is planning
over 100 outlets in the next three years.
Business Situation
Competing with established brands, Khaaja
Chowk required a comprehensive IT
solution to manage its operations as well
as maintain quality.
Solution
The Fortune Restaurant and Bar solution is
based on client/server architecture, with
Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003 and
SQL Server™ 2000 forming the backbone
of the solution.
Benefits
 Gets up and running quickly
 Lowers cost of operations
 Improves manageability
 Standardizes processes
 Future-proofs IT investment
“We chose Microsoft Windows Small Business Server
2003 as it has the lowest acquisition cost as well as
the lowest total cost of ownership.”
Vikram Nair, Managing Director, Sahsha Foods
Sahsha Foods opened its first Indian fast food restaurant, called
Khaaja Chowk, in a suburb of New Delhi. A new entrant in the
market, it has to contend with competition from fast food chains,
attracting and retaining the best talent, and offering high-quality
food consistently and at reasonable prices. For Khaaja Chowk to
grow into a chain of successful restaurants, it has to lower its cost
of operations and maintain quality at all times. To do this, the
company decided to implement a hospitality solution that would
take care of inventory, stores, and billing, and provide reports to
help management plan and execute better. With this objective,
Sahsha Foods partnered with IDS, a leader in hospitality solutions.
IDS implemented its Fortune Restaurant and Bar (R&B) solution on
Microsoft® Windows® Small Business Server 2003. This solution
was customized to meet Khaaja Chowk’s requirements.
“Being a small
organization, we did not
want a complex IT
infrastructure. However,
we wanted to implement
a solution that could
grow to meet our
requirements in the
future. With Small
Business Server and
Fortune R&B, we have
future-proofed.”
Ankur Tiwari, Manager, Operations and IT,
Sahsha Foods
Situation
Sahsha Foods India Private Limited was
founded in 2003 and has recently opened its
first restaurant, an Indian fast food
restaurant called Khaaja Chowk, in Gurgaon,
a suburb of New Delhi. This restaurant brings
Indian street food into a fast food
environment. The company uses the autorickshaw (a three-wheeler used as public
transport across the country) as its brand
ambassador, and has even placed one in the
restaurant itself.
The company hopes to expand into a national
fast food chain over the next few years. The
fast food business is highly competitive,
however, with razor-thin margins and high
turnover. To succeed as a new entrant in this
market, Sahsha Foods had to ensure that its
costs remain under control, while food quality
does not suffer.
Also, it required data that would help the
organization streamline items offered on the
menu. To generate reports on what items are
doing well, which items should be removed,
and how to expand the menu, the company
needed an IT solution with built-in business
intelligence.
With these objectives in mind, the restaurant
decided to begin operations only after
implementing an IT solution that would help
reduce costs, improve business operations,
and manage billing. The company
approached IDS Softwares Private Limited, a
leading provider of software solutions for the
hospitality industry.
Solution
IDS suggested that Sahsha Foods implement
its Fortune Restaurant and Bar (R&B)
solution. This solution has been developed on
Microsoft® Windows Server System™
integrated server software, using the
Windows Server™ 2003 operating system
and SQL Server™ 2000.
“Looking at the small size of our organization,
we realised that Microsoft [Windows®] Small
Business Server 2003 offers the most
comprehensive price-performance,”
comments Ankur Tiwari, Manager of
Operations and Information Technology,
Sahsha Foods.
A LAN was set up initially with one client
computer and one server computer. “To
begin operations in a 98-seat restaurant, we
required only two terminals. The server,
placed in the restaurant, is also used for
billing purposes,” comments Ankur, Sahsha
Foods.
Windows Small Business Server 2003 was
implemented by IDS in just one day. Then it
took another day to deploy the Fortune R&B
solution.
The next step was to customize the
application to Khaaja Chowk’s requirements.
Over a period of 15 days, the IDS team
worked closely with the IT team at Sahsha
Foods to establish various parameters; for
instance, for specifying ingredients and menu
items.
Fortune R&B, which is a modular solution,
provides an integrated Food and Beverage
(F&B) and Materials Management module.
The F&B module allows for both issue-based
costing and recipe-based costing. Materials
Management allows inventory of raw
materials as well as half-cooked food items.
This solution also has Billing and Cashiering
modules, and has built-in security features.
R&B has been deployed at the Commissary
(central production unit/kitchen) of Khaaja
Chowk.
Benefits
Khaaja Chowk has become a popular
destination for customers ranging from
college students to families with children to
young professionals. The restaurant has
benefited from a hospitality solution that has
enabled it to maintain quality and lower costs
at the same time.
Gets Up and Running Quickly
“The solution was ready for use in less than
20 days. This is a big achievement, especially
for a company venturing into the fast food
business for the first time,” comments Ankur,
Sahsha Foods.
Standardizes Processes
During the parameterization process, Sahsha
Foods had to lay down its standards by
creating masters that include menu items,
store inventory, and so forth. “This process
helped us lay a strong foundation for the
business, as it enables standardization of
processes,” explains Vikram Nair, Managing
Director, Sahsha Foods.
Lowers Cost of Operations
Entering a competitive market is never easy.
With plans to create a national fast food
chain, the company required a stable
infrastructure that would help with all
operational activities of the restaurant, such
as generating the cost of each dish, and
maintaining a record of raw materials used.
With the help of its IT infrastructure, Khaaja
Chowk has been able to lower the cost of
operations considerably.
Improves Manageability
Sahsha Foods wanted to deploy a technology
infrastructure that would be easy to manage.
As a small startup, the organization did not
want to hire additional people to maintain its
IT infrastructure. With Microsoft Windows
Small Business Server 2003, it has been able
to implement a simple and manageable
solution.
Future-Proofs IT Investment
While the organization was looking for a
simple solution, this investment has been
made with a long-term view. Microsoft
Windows Small Business Server 2003 and
Fortune R&B provide a future roadmap for
growth for the company.
For More Information
Microsoft Windows Server System
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Microsoft subsidiary. To access information
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Microsoft Windows Server System is a line of
integrated and manageable server software
designed to reduce the complexity and cost
of IT. Windows Server System enables you to
spend less time and budget on managing
your systems so that you can focus your
resources on other priorities for you and your
business.
For more information about Windows Server
System, go to:
www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem
For more information about IDS products
and services, call 91-11-33479687 or visit
the Web site at:
www.idsfortune.com
For more information about Sahsha Foods
products and services, call 91-01245019113.
Software and Services

© 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case
study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO
WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
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Document published November 2005
Products
− Microsoft Office 2000 Professional
− Microsoft Office Outlook 2003
− Microsoft Visual Basic version 6.0
− Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
− Microsoft Windows Small Business
Server 2003
− Microsoft SQL Server 2000
− Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Enterprise Edition
Hardware


Intel Xeon server computers
Pentium IV desktop computers
Partner

IDS Softwares Pvt. Ltd.