Dine Catering

Dine Contract Catering runs a countrywide operation of over 200 units dedicated to supplying a high quality catering service.

The Problem

The reason Dine Contract Catering got in touch with us is because they had outgrown their existing unit entry system; this system was used by their units to enter weekly financial figures and therefore played a massive role in their infrastructure.

However as time went on, they found their existing system to be too slow from a user's perspective; this issue was caused partly by using Microsoft Access, an outdated technology, as the database management system. Furthermore, the front end user interface was in dire need of a facelift to bring it up to modern standards of web development.

The Ideal Candidate

Dine's existing system structure was such that the figures were entered in a web interface. The data captured was then stored in an access database and that information would then be synchronised into an Opera Financial System. As suppliers of Opera, we already have a strong foundation with integrating applications into an Opera back-end, so we were the perfect candidates to redesign Dine Contract Catering's new system.

Modern, Responsive, Fast

When scoping out Dine's requirements, they were considering that in future they may want their units to be able to enter their financial figures through a mobile application, as well as through the new web application. We therefore decided that the most flexible approach to allow this would be to build a Web API as a service and data layer. This meant that both the website and any future mobile applications would interact with a single common interface, thus reducing further development time and costs, as well as making the system more scalable.

The new unit entry web application was built with speed and efficiency in mind. Using ASP.Net Syncfusion controls allowed us to quickly develop features that Dine required, such as complex grid controls. We used the Bootstrap CSS framework in order to develop a clean and mobile-friendly interface. In order to make sure speed was no longer a concern, the application makes strong use of AJAX for seamless updating, providing a better, faster end user experience.

More Control, More Features

Our replacement for the Microsoft Access layer of the application stack was to use SQL Server for the database management system, and a bespoke version of our Opera based Enterprise Resource Planning software - PM Stock. Integrating into our in-house system PM Stock massively reduce development time required, as PM Stock has functionality for synchronising data to an Opera system and provides a business layer that could transform the data captured from the Unit Entry System into the Opera data structure.

This case study shows how the various services that PM IT Systems provides (web applications, Opera, Enterprise Resource Planning software) can be combined to provide a complete business solution.

What can we do for you?

Years of experience helps us to provide the most effective solutions to complex requirements. Our robust team of engineers and programmers have a wide set of skills, helping us to tackle any issues our customers face.

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Get In Touch

  • Address:
    European Offices
           6 - 12 Champions Business Park
           Arrowe Brook Road
           Upton
           Wirral
           CH49 0AB

  • Phone: (0151) 678 1387

  • Sales: info@pmits.co.uk

  • Support: support@pmits.freshdesk.com

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info@pmits.co.uk

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7536804

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