ISS Eaton Reaps Benefits of New Technology Investment

 

Contract catering heavyweight ISS Eaton has overhauled the way it processes its weekly returns by investing in technology that is expected to net considerable savings through speedier invoicing and time saved in processing the returns data. 

 

In one of the biggest internal projects that the caterer has undertaken in recent years, ISS Eaton has moved from submitting weekly returns via excel spreadsheets sent by post, to operating a web-based system Saffron Zest. The new system is specifically designed to help improve a hospitality firm’s management information flows and to assist cash flow by allowing faster invoicing through time saved in collating and processing the data from each operating site.

 

ISS Eaton appointed hospitality IT specialist Fretwell-Downing Hospitality (FDH) as technology partner for the project and after installing the system at 70 of its B&I and community catering sites at the beginning of the year, is already seeing more benefits than had originally been expected.

 

In February, the first full month end trading period since the system was installed, ISS Eaton has already managed to shave off the equivalent of a day and a half during the month in the time taken to process the weekly returns, resulting in the company being able to invoice clients up to two days earlier. Further time savings, equivalent to a further day spent processing the returns, are expected in the future.

 

As Peter Johnston ISS Eaton’s client account executive explains: “The system has transformed the way we operate. Previously, the reliance on spreadsheets sent by post led to delays in receiving the information, and also duplication of workloads as head office would then have to re-key in all the data.

 

“We closed for weekly returns on a Wednesday and it would take until the following Tuesday to process the data, often including weekend work. Under Saffron Zest weekend working by our accounting team has been eliminated and we can now invoice our many customers much sooner, which obviously helps improve our cash flow.

 

“We can now also grow the number of contracts we operate without having to take on extra accounting staff to process the data, and because the system is web-based it means we don’t have to install the programme at each new site but simply purchase an additional account number to log onto the system.

 

“Importantly, we can also work even smarter and with quicker reaction times by having more up-to-the-minute management information to help improve our decision making and forecasting.

 

“The system has also been very well accepted by our staff and colleagues out on client sites, as the Saffron Zest system is very easy to use. It now forms a standard part of the way ISS Eaton does its business”

 

Simon Titchener, ISS Eaton’s managing director added: “ I set a very ambitious target for implementation and I am delighted with how FDH and my team rose to the challenge and delivered the project on time and on budget.”

 

Saffron Zest is operated via the internet using password controlled log ins that give users access to areas of the system specific to their local needs Managers at each of the operating sites will key in the weekly return data, which is then automatically and instantly available for head office to produce management reports and interface electronically with the company’s financial system.

 

FDH’s managing director Charles Mobbs comments: “We are delighted to have been working with ISS Eaton on this project which has enabled the company to greatly increase the efficiency of its working practices. We have worked with other companies within ISS UK, and this is a logical but very important extension to that work. Across the contract catering sector we are finding rising demand for systems that improve daily business processes, and therefore help keep tighter control on costs and aid a company’s position in a very competitive marketplace. “