The objective that we set ourselves is to achieve an optimization model that contrasted with the results achieved in the month of January 2015, which is a month of high tourism and therefore high profits, see that without changes in the menu or in the prices and costs of each of the options only with changes in the number of dishes sold for each dish by how much the profit achieved could be improved.
This would give us a point of contrast that without increasing expenses for new actions to be deployed, to the extent that we could increase the profit received. And it could lead to a new sales strategy. On the other hand, we propose to relate the results achieved with the application of the model with other techniques such as Menu Engineering that was applied in the restaurant and observe the stability of the solution that is achieved with those applied techniques and thus know for each This is a timely dish for the sake of greater sales and greater efficiency.
The hotel industry and within it in a special way, the restaurants that are located in the hotels have shown increasingly high standards in their profits. Therefore, it is of interest to seek ways to improve efficiency and its profit margin ratio. It is therefore of great importance to study strategic planning and continuous improvement that allows you to maximize profits to achieve profitability and in turn benefit those who make use of the goods or services delivered.
In every company, it is necessary to carry out a planning process that allows optimal use of resources and with them generate a process of adding value that allows effective profit maximization, thus indicating a high productivity process. For this, it is necessary to know what to do, how to do it and why or for what; once you have the idea of what you want to offer to the market. It is therefore essential to create guidelines that allow you to have a sustained development of your profit.
Restaurants are undoubtedly an important representative within tourism, a growth factor in many regions, since they contribute to economic growth, the generation of jobs and the representation of a place; which makes them a social, cultural and economic phenomenon of importance for any place that seeks to be promoted as a tourist destination. In turn, they exert a chain reaction in practically all the economic sectors of the country.
Thus, having a high level of productivity will allow to meet the objectives of the company and in turn to retain and attract new customers. In every company, its administration is in charge of planning, organizing, directing and controlling its productive areas, which is why this research focuses on the tourism sector, particularly in restaurants, thus evaluating its productivity taking into account various indicators.
For a restaurant, it is of great importance when planning and measuring profitability, trying to optimize the use of its resources, for this it is necessary to have low costs, add value and maximize income.
In the food and beverages sector, without a doubt the main objective is to achieve profits as in any for-profit company; that is, to achieve high income and an effective management of costs incurred in the operation; be it material and human costs; since their relationship will give rise to the service and / or product to be delivered, which will ultimately be the result perceived by the client. The foregoing translates into having good management of the establishment in relation to correct cost control, optimal use of the resources employed, incorporation of new technologies, standardization of processes, a provision of adequate and qualified personnel for its correct performance and operation.; achieve efficient work times, that is, really productive man hours, reduce customer waiting times,achieve the delivery of a quality service and at the same time reach and exceed the standards established by itself, the market and the client.
The menu card, its design, its presentation among other aspects is an essential element in order for the client to choose a certain option. In this it is of utmost importance, the way in which the personnel who perform the service indicate a proposal that, according to the characteristics of the people, are pleasant and that in turn are the most beneficial in the economic result. A well-prepared staff must know what dishes to propose according to their profit margins and taking into account logistical factors.
Therefore, the objective of this article is to present a proposal for evaluating the productivity of a restaurant. In our opinion, in addition to quality factors in its most general sense, which is based on an adequate and elegant environment, good preparation and a varied offer, a good value for money, and a service of the highest level that is capable of satisfying customers. more demanding and adapt to the multiplicity of different people who come to the place, and who position the restaurant within a market segment, it is also necessary to use techniques that allow evaluating the economic performance of the same based on an analysis of the behavior of the offer. There are several techniques in this direction such as Menu Engineering, analysis using the Miller matrix,measuring the effectiveness of each dish by measuring the relationship between profit margin and costs and others. On the basis of these analyzes, we consider it appropriate to measure how to increase profit from a revenue and cost plan and from an effective management of sales in relation to the established offers, managing them by the personnel that provides the service from suggestions and strategies that are formulated with this intention and looking for what is the range and the cadence of sales for dishes that allow us to achieve profit increases.On the basis of these analyzes, we consider it appropriate to measure how to increase profit from a revenue and cost plan and from an effective management of sales in relation to the established offers, managing them by the personnel that provides the service from suggestions and strategies that are formulated with this intention and looking for what is the range and the cadence of sales for dishes that allow us to achieve profit increases.On the basis of these analyzes, we consider it appropriate to measure how to increase profit from a revenue and cost plan and from an effective management of sales in relation to the established offers, managing them by the personnel that provides the service from suggestions and strategies that are formulated with this intention and looking for what is the range and the cadence of sales for dishes that allow us to achieve profit increases.
In this direction, we consider it appropriate to achieve a linear programming model whose variables are precisely the number of dishes to be sold optimally, for each of the existing offers on the menu. This at least would allow knowing the quantity to sell of each dish to achieve the highest profit and have the optimal sales frontiers
Some questions that arise in the approach of the proposal are:
Is it possible, through an evaluation system, to determine the appropriate use of the menu-card offers by the staff to make a restaurant productive?
Can this evaluation model be replicable to other establishments that under a certain pattern of similarity in operation, supply, demand and services?
By having an adequate number, trained and knowledgeable about the management of the proposed offer and its impact on the economic results, by the restaurant staff, is it possible to optimize the economic results achieved through the adequate management of the offer by the staff that provides the service, using a refined sales strategy, in order to work on the basis that sales respond to a sales plan for the optimization of guanacia.
According to Durón (2008), a restaurant is “a lucrative establishment, whose function is to deliver a service focused on the food and beverage business, which through the correct management of its material, human and financial resources together with a contribution of passion, talent and creativity seek to exceed the expectations of their clients ”.
This research is a correlation study type, since it seeks to evaluate how to improve the results achieved and to what extent it is possible to improve them with an adequate balance in the offer and subsequent selection by the client. It is also worth mentioning that the different variables will be measured in relation to the particular context, since it is not limited only to data collection, but rather they are explored and analyzed in order to have more information and a definitive conclusion. of it.
In order to raise these levels of satisfaction and profit, it is necessary to have the instruments that can be used in continuous improvement processes, whose objectives, in all cases, is to fully satisfy our customers and consumers through the delivery of goods and services trying to achieve a directed and balanced sale, thus allowing us to increase our profitability levels. Now, to achieve these levels of satisfaction, the company must strive to control its costs, reduce unnecessary cycles in the different processes, increase quality levels and thereby generate high levels of profit.
We know that the choice of the dish by the client is something very personal that depends on objective and subjective factors, customs and other aspects in which influencing that choice is very complicated and that requires on the part of those who offer the service, management exquisite.
The shop assistants could, to a certain extent, based on the information and the progress of the sales that the restaurant administration gives them, try to get customers to choose the most suitable for the restaurant and above all have a measure of contrast of results for a theoretical optimum of sales and also identify in order to be able to remove from the menu those dishes that do not show an adequate efficiency of preference and benefits
In other words, will it be possible to increase income and therefore profit, with equal or lower costs and by selling the same number of dishes?
This marks the main objective of this work and that it constitutes an element of comparison of the results with other techniques of the same purposes such as Menu Engineering, Effectiveness of the Dishes among others and that it offers with it other alternatives for analysis and actions, that contribute to improve the financial results of the restaurant.
One of the fundamental aspects when working on the development of a linear programming model is to define the number of variables and restrictions, as well as the meaning of the variables, which allows connecting the solution to the application that emerges from the model.
In this case, the universe of offers that exist in the restaurant is grouped in the menu into four sets: Starters, Side dishes, Main Dishes and Desserts. According to the purpose of this work, we consider it appropriate to work on this occasion, only with the group of Main Dishes. The highest prices are, of course, established in them and they are the ones that decide whether or not the economic results are to be achieved.
In the restaurant offer, the main course offer is established on 17 types of dishes to choose from, this is because it is a restaurant with a high category for its elegance and the variability of offers that it presents.
Therefore, each of the 17 variables is defined as the number of types of dishes that are sold in a month. In this way we will have to:
X1 represents the quantity of Pork Rolls in Fruit Sauce that were sold in the month of January 2015. (see table below)
In the same way, the rest of the dishes offered are defined, which is indicated in the table that follows.
The issue of restrictions was the most complicated at the time of elaborating the model. Thinking about its application and its probable systematic application in the future, we interviewed the computer scientist and the director of the place. From this interview it was considered necessary to carry out a Storm process of Ideas in order to collect and know sensitive information for the elaboration of the restrictions. In total, five brainstorms were held. In the first place with the directors, namely Manager, Assistant Manager, Room Captains and Kitchen Chef. Subsequently, two brainstorms were carried out with these managers and the workers of each of the two work shifts, requesting information about the characteristics of the dishes on offer.What possibilities exist in terms of suggesting the order by the dependents according to the characteristics of the customers who come to the place and taking into account the data of a significant month of sales, suggesting the month of January 2015 for being a high month and according to the number of dishes sold in that month, what would be the maximum possible quantity to sell for each of the dishes in the offer. The fourth and fifth brainstorming had the purpose of validating the maximum amounts to be set for each of the dishes, all of which resulted in a total of 19 restrictions, which included the income and costs that were reached that month and 17 restrictions setting the maximum number of dishes and according to the analysis carried out in the brainstorms would be possible to sell.When projecting the solution of the model with respect to the data for the month of January, it would give us how far or close the optimal solution is to the results obtained. The objective function seeks to optimize the gain of the installation. The profit and cost data used were obtained from the technical data sheets of the dishes and the number of dishes sold from the sales reported on each day of that month.
All this is shown in the table below for the application of Menu Engineering in the restaurant.
Data that were recorded in the Group of Main Dishes
| Timesofer- | Cost according to | Price of | Margin of | |||
| tadas in the | File of | sale of | contribution | Quantity | ||
| menu | Plate i | Plate i | from plate i | Sold | ||
| Dishes and their Variables | Or i | CM i | PV i | MC i | P i | |
| Pork Rolls in Fruit Sauce X1 | 30 | 2.59 | 8.50 | 5.91 | 52 | |
| Shrimp Sautéed with garlic and peppers X2 | 30 | 3.13 | 10.00 | 6.87 | fifty | |
| Great Grilled Villanueva X3 | 30 | 7.16 | 25.00 | 17.84 | 5 | |
| Steamed Mussels Garnished with Confit Tomatoes X4 | 30 | 2.07 | 7.15 | 5.08 | two | |
| Griot of Pork to the Creole X5 | 30 | 1.50 | 6.50 | 5.00 | 35 | |
| Chicken Supreme alRomero X6 | 30 | 1.75 | 8.00 | 6.25 | 43 | |
| Cut of Beef Fillet in Malt Sauce X7 | 30 | 4.2700 | 16.00 | 11.73 | 37 | |
| Fish Fillet with Colonial Trapiche X8 | 30 | 2.76 | 10.00 | 7.24 | 61 | |
| Roasted Chicken with Peanut Layer X9 | 30 | 1.72 | 7.00 | 5.28 | 53 | |
| AsopaoBack Down X10 | 30 | 3.21 | 13.50 | 10.29 | 38 | |
| Pork Escalopines in Red Wine X11 | 30 | 2.03 | 7.00 | 4.97 | 42 | |
| Lobster Montecristo X12 | 30 | 7.00 | 9.00 | 2.00 | 30 | |
| Grilled Pork Slices X13 | 30 | 2.32 | 12.00 | 9.68 | 74 | |
| Lobster and Shrimp Skewers X14 | 28 | 2.90 | 12.00 | 9.10 | 80 | |
| Shrimp Sauteed with Garlic and Pepper X15 | 30 | 2.79 | 12.00 | 9.21 | 65 | |
| Grille Fish Fillet X16 | 30 | 2.15 | 12.00 | 9.85 | 70 | |
| ClothesOld X17 | 30 | 2.86 | 12.00 | 9.14 | 61 | |
| TOTAL | 508 | 798 |
Source: Own elaboration according to data registered January / 2015
The variables that will represent each plate are shown in red within the table
In that month the totals were according to the reference table:
Total Costs $ 2203.61
Total Sales $ 8502.80
Total Profit $ 6299.19
The proposed model for optimizing profit based on the supply and sale of dishes in the Vuelta Abajo Restaurant is as follows
Condition of non-negativity X J ≥ 0 J = 1,2,…., 17
Linear constraint system
X1 + X2 + X3 + X4 + X5 + X6 + X7 + X8 + X9 + X10 + X11 + X12 + X13 + X14 + X15 + X16 + X17 = 798 (number of dishes to sell, equal to the total number of dishes sold in the month of January according to the objectives set at work)
8.50X1 + 10X2 + 25X3 + 7.15X4 + 6.50X5 + 8X6 + 16X7 + 10X8 + 7X9 + 13.50X10 + 7X11 + 9X12 + 12X13 + 12X14 + 12X15 + 12X16 + 12X17 ≥ 8502.80 (revenue based on total dishes sold, at least the of the month of January)
2.59X1 + 3.13X2 + 7.16X3 + 2.07X4 + 1.50X5 + 1.75X6 + 4.27X7 + 2.76X8 + 1.72X9 + 3.21X10 + 2.03X11 + 7X12 + 2.32X13 + 2.90X14 + 2.79X15 + 2.15X16 + 2.88X17 ≤ 2203.61 (costs according to the total of dishes sold, at most that of the month of January according to the objectives set in the work)
The following are the restrictions that regulate the quantity of dishes to be sold of each type, at least, according to criteria discussed in the brainstorming, taking into account the degree of preference, profit margins and other aspects of a logistical and production nature.
X1 ≤ 50
X2 ≤ 50
X3 ≤ 5
X4 ≤ 2
X5 ≤ 50
X6 ≤ 50
X7 ≤ 50
X8 ≤ 60
X9 ≤ 50
X10 ≤ 30
X11 ≤ 60
X12 ≤ 60
X13 ≤ 90
X14≤ 120
X15 ≤ 80
X16 ≤ 90
X17 ≤ 90
Objective Function
Max Z = 5.91X1 + 6.87X2 + 17.84X3 + 5.08X4 + 5X5 + 6.25X6 + 11.73X7 + 7.24X8 + 5.28X9
+ 10.29X10 + 4.97X11 + 2X12 + 9.68X13 + 9.10X14 + 9.21X15 + 9.85X16 + 9.12X17
Whose solution is shown below, using the solution report provided by the WINQSB program for these applications which required 26 iterations for the optimal solution.
Analyzing the difference between the optimal solution reached and the sales data for the month of January we have:
| *
Dishes and their Variables |
January month
(one) |
Optimal solution
(two) |
Difference
(2) Less (1) |
|
| Pork Rolls in Fruit Sauce X1 | 52 | fifty | -two | |
| Shrimp Sautéed with garlic and peppers X2 | fifty | fifty | 0 | |
| Great Grilled Villanueva X3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| Steamed Mussels Garnished with Confit Tomatoes X4 | two | 0 | -two | |
| Griot of Pork to the Creole X5 | 35 | 0 | -35 | |
| Chicken Supreme alRomero X6 | 43 | fifty | 7 | |
| Cut of Beef Fillet in Malt Sauce X7 | 37 | fifty | 13 | |
| Fish Fillet with Colonial Trapiche X8 | 61 | 60 | -one | |
| Roasted Chicken with Peanut Layer X9 | 53 | 33 | -twenty | |
| AsopaoBack Down X10 | 38 | 30 | -8 | |
| Pork Escalopines with Red Wine X11 | 42 | 0 | -42 | |
| Lobster Montecristo X12 | 30 | 0 | -30 | |
| Grilled Pork Slices X13 | 74 | 90 | 16 | |
| Lobster and Shrimp Skewers X14 | 80 | 120 | 40 | |
| Shrimp Sauteed with Garlic and Pepper X15 | 65 | 80 | fifteen | |
| Grille Fish Fillet X16 | 70 | 90 | twenty | |
| Old Clothes X17 | 61 | 90 | 29 | |
| TOTAL | 798 | 798
|
0 | |
|
GAIN |
$ 6299.19 |
$ 6951.84 |
$ 652.65 |
|
|
SALES REVENUE |
$ 8502.80 |
$ 9126.00 |
$ 623.20 |
|
|
COSTS |
$ 2203.61 |
$ 2174.16 |
- $ 29.45 |
As can be seen, the optimization model expresses a higher profit result than the one reached in January.
Analyzing the averages: of the sales, costs and profit achieved in the month of January and compared with those that would be obtained through the optimal solution, we would have the following result
Sales Income Costs Earnings
|
January |
S. Optima |
January |
S. Optima |
January |
S. Optima |
| 10.65 | 11.43 | 2.76 | 2.72 | 7.89 | 8.71 |
| Difference | 0.78 | Difference | -0.04 | Difference | 0.82 |
As can be seen, the sales averages, such as costs and profit, express better results due to the optimal solution than those achieved in the results of the month of January.
Therefore, keeping the same number of dishes sold (798) and with a somewhat lower cost, it is possible to obtain an increase in the average of Revenues and profit,. For this, sales by dishes must undergo another sales structure.
Analyzing the optimal solution and comparing them with the real sales of the month of January, there are not many important differences in some of the dishes since most of the sales that are proposed in the optimal solution are quite close to the real one and correspond in general sense with the indices of preference and benefit, making the optimal solution according to the proposed model constitute, in our opinion, an element of comparison and analysis regarding the economic results of the restaurant.
Let us now compare the results proposed by the model, with the Menu Engineering study that was carried out in the restaurant during the month of January 2015 in order to know the convergence relationship between both techniques.
Below we show a table where the popularity and profit indexes are indicated, the classification of the dish according to the names used in menu engineering and the number of dishes per type, which the optimal solution indicates.
Classification according to
Menu Engineering
| Number of Dishes Sold | By index
popularity |
Optimal solution |
|||||||
| DISHES | January / 2015 | / benefit | Classification | ||||||
| Pork Rolls in Fruit Sauce |
52 |
TALL SHORT | COW |
fifty |
5.91 | HIGH | LOW | ||
| Shrimp Sautéed with garlic and piquillos |
fifty |
TALL SHORT | COW |
fifty |
6.87 | HIGH | LOW | ||
| Great Grillada Villanueva |
5 |
LOW HIGH | UNKNOWN |
5 |
17.84 | LOW | HIGH | ||
| Steamed Mussels Garnished with Candied Tomatoes |
two |
LOW / LOW | REMOVE |
0 |
5.08 | LOW | LOW | ||
| Griot of Pork Creole |
35 |
LOW / LOW | REMOVE |
0 |
5.00 | LOW | LOW | ||
| Rosemary Chicken Supreme |
43 |
TALL SHORT | COW |
fifty |
6.25 | HIGH | LOW | ||
| Cut of Beef Fillet in Malt Sauce |
37 |
HIGH / HIGH | STAR |
fifty |
11.73 | HIGH | HIGH | ||
| Fish Fillet with Colonial Trapiche |
61 |
TALL SHORT | COW |
60 |
7.24 | HIGH | LOW | ||
| Roasted Chicken with Peanut Layer |
53 |
TALL SHORT | COW |
33 |
5.28 | HIGH | LOW | ||
| Asopao Back Down |
38 |
HIGH / HIGH | STAR |
30 |
10.29 | HIGH | HIGH | ||
| Pork Escalopes with Red Wine |
42 |
TALL SHORT | COW |
0 |
4.97 | HIGH | LOW | ||
| Lobster Montecristo |
30 |
LOW / LOW | REMOVE |
0 |
2.00 | LOW | LOW | ||
|
Grilled pork slices |
74 |
HIGH / HIGH |
STAR |
90 |
9.68 | HIGH | HIGH | ||
| Lobster and Shrimp Skewers |
80 |
HIGH / HIGH | STAR |
120 |
9.10 | HIGH | HIGH | ||
| Shrimp Sauteed with Garlic and Pepper |
65 |
HIGH / HIGH | STAR |
80 |
9.21 | HIGH | HIGH | ||
| Grille Fish Fillet |
70 |
HIGH / HIGH | STAR |
90 |
9.85 | HIGH | HIGH | ||
| Old clothes |
61 |
HIGH / HIGH | STAR |
90 |
9.14 | HIGH | HIGH | ||
| TOTAL | 798 | 798 |
Conclusions:
In 6 of the 17 dishes, the quantity sold and the quantity proposed by the optimization model coincide. Of the 4 dishes that Menu Engineering proposes to eliminate, the optimal solution in the 4 dishes expresses a value of 0 in its solution, confirming with This is the need to remove them from the menu menu In all those dishes that the optimal solution indicates significant increases in the number to be sold, they were classified as star dishes, and where preference and benefit were ranked high. 2 of the dishes where value 0 is appreciated in the optimal solution and in sales, 30 and 42 dishes sold were achieved (variables X11 and X12) in one of them the classification by menu engineering is to be eliminated, and in both the index profit is low, only 4 and 2 profit respectively.
For all the above, we consider that there is a strong correlation between the results achieved by the model and the sales achieved in the month of January, which, as we have already stated, is a month that responds to the high season and within that season it is the months higher..
Observing the sensitivity in the optimal solution, according to the output table by the WINQSB, we have that those variables that assume value in the solution, the variation is between 5.28 and M for the gain values, variation that would not affect the structure of the optimal solution which provides stability to the solution found and admits equal decreases or increases in the gain values per plate without affecting the solution structure for this reason.. In the same way, the restrictions that indicate the maximum number of dishes to sell according to the brainstorms carried out show a relatively small variability with respect to the real sale of the month of January and other techniques used, which favors the scope of the solution.
Taking into account the results achieved through the linear programming model, whose objective is to maximize the profit of the restaurant without increasing the number of dishes sold and maintaining or reducing its direct cost, we consider that the model's solution satisfies the stated objectives..
The optimal solution expresses sales patterns that establish elements of comparison that allow us to analyze the progress in sales of the types of dishes and their quantity on a day-to-day basis. In the same way, it indicates those dishes that are not appropriate on the menu since they do not express a positive impact on the restaurant's profit.
On the other hand, it shows for the restaurant management and its employees the structure and quantity in the optimal sale for dishes, thus having the possibility of influencing those who are not showing adequate behavior in that direction.
Another aspect in our opinion interesting to point out is that the model and its optimal solution closely correspond to other techniques used, such as menu engineering, in achieving from the menu, the choice by the customer of the dish to request, to obtain a better economic result and greater efficiency.
The application of the model in successive stages is perfectly practicable, it is only necessary to set the maximums according to the season and dynamics of the restaurant and using the WINQSB program to assemble the model in question and obtain the optimal solution. In the visits made to this facility, the computer was discussed with this possibility, indicating the use of the WINQSB. obtaining in learning it a positive result that will allow its future application
All this in turn validates, in both directions, these techniques with the optimal solution found and the solution found with other existing techniques. It is in these aspects, in our opinion, on which the usefulness of the work rests since it gives the possibility of having a sales strategy for each of the dishes and its comparison with the results that are achieved with a view to the possible influence in the sales that are achieved in order to obtain the highest profit
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
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