Analysis of the use of the Redis in the distributed order processing system in the restaurant network

The object of research is a distributed order processing system for a restaurant chain. The subject of the research is the analysis of the use of Redis for managing event queues in distributed systems. When implementing a distributed order processing system in a restaurant chain with a possible load of up to 20,000 users per day, the Redis system was used. Management of 9 distributed subsystems was organized through Redis. This solution showed an increase in the performance of the system under heavy load (from 50 transactions per second), but the response time of the system in some cases of its operation was longer than without using Redis. When working systems using Redis, it is necessary to take into account the amount of data with which Redis will work, since it does not exceed the amount of RAM, the absence of differentiation into users and groups, and the absence of a query language, which is replaced by a key-value scheme. This research is aimed at analyzing the operation of the system during trial operation under real load. We compared the operation of a configured system with Redis enabled and disabled. The main indicators for the analysis were the system response time and the maximum request execution time. The research was carried out for 2 weeks, the first week using the system settings with disabled Redis, the second – with enabled Redis. We selected 2 days with a similar load on the system to each other. Especially indicative are the results of comparing the durations of the longest queries, which show an almost constant value of the duration for the system in the mode of enabled Redis. The hypothesis of an increase in the system response time at low loads was confirmed, but this value not only leveled off at a load of 500 unique users but also became less at loads of 1000 unique users.

Call to Duty: Just-in-Time Scheduling in a Restaurant Chain

Just-in-time scheduling has become ubiquitous in the service industries. Although effective in reducing staffing level, hence labor cost, the potential impact of just-in-time scheduling on workers’ productivity and the firm’s revenue is not well understood. Using a data set of 1,444,044 transactions from 25 stores of a full-service casual dining restaurant chain in the United States, we study how just-in-time scheduling impacts worker productivity. We consider two types of just-in-time schedules: (1) short-notice schedules that are assigned to servers shortly before the day of service (mostly two days in our data) and (2) real-time schedules that are assigned to servers on the day of service. We show that short-notice schedules do not harm server productivity overall, but real-time schedules do by 4.4%. Our analysis indicates this may be because servers reduce their up-selling and cross-selling efforts when working on real-time schedules. We then propose an analytical scheduling model that accounts for both the value of staffing flexibility created through just-in-time scheduling and its impact on server productivity to inform the firm how to use just-in-time scheduling to improve profitability. Through a case study, we demonstrate that with the 4.4% productivity loss during the real-time schedules, the managers should shift from the heavy use of real-time scheduling toward scheduling more servers with longer advance notice. Such a shift not only provides more predictable work schedules for the workers but can also improve restaurants’ expected profit by up to 1%, a significant number for the low-margin restaurant industry. This paper was accepted by Vishal Gaur, operations management.

Multi-product multi-vehicle inventory routing problem with vehicle compatibility and site dependency: A case study in the restaurant chain industry

We study an inventory routing problem (IRP) for the restaurant chain. We proposed a model a multi-product multi-vehicle IRP (MMIRP) with multi-compatibility and site-dependency (MMIRP-MCSD). The problem was formulated as a mixed integer programming (MIP). This model is difficult to solve because it is a problem that integrates MMIRP, a multi-compartment vehicle routing problem (MCVRP), and a site dependent VRP (SDVRP), each of which is difficult even by itself. Therefore, in this study, we proposed three-stage Math Heuristics based on the cluster-first and route-second method. In the numerical experiment, verification was performed using actual data, and knowledge on the decision making of the optimum vehicle type was obtained.

Orders of Healthier Adult Menu Items in a Full-Service Restaurant Chain with a Healthier Children’s Menu

This study evaluated orders of adult menu items designated as healthier at the Silver Diner, a regional full-service restaurant chain serving over 4 million customers annually. This restaurant implemented a healthier children’s menu in April 2012. Orders of adult menu items were abstracted from before (September 2011–March 2012; PRE; n = 1,801,647) and after (September 2012–March 2013; POST; n = 1,793,582) the healthier children’s menu was introduced. Entrées, appetizers, and sides listed as healthier options on the menu were coded as healthier. PRE to POST changes in the percentage of orders of healthier items, soda, and dessert were evaluated using McNemar tests of paired proportions. Orders of healthier entrées, appetizers, and sides on the adult menu increased PRE to POST (8.9% to 10.4%, 25.5% to 27.5%, and 7.3% to 9.3%, respectively), and soda and dessert orders decreased (23.2% to 21.7% and 29.0% to 28.3%, respectively). All shifts were statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Our findings demonstrate improvements in orders of healthier adult menu options during the same time frame as a healthy children’s menu change. Future research can help elucidate mechanisms to inform future health promotion efforts in restaurants in ways that have the potential to impact both adults and children.

Stories or Expositive Messages? Comparing Their Effectiveness in Corporate Social Responsibility Communication

In the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication, we explore whether consumer perceptions and responses differ when the message content is based on storytelling or exposition. The conceptual model that we propose in the article includes five attributes of CSR message content (i.e., issue importance, CSR impact, CSR motives, CSR fit, and CSR commitment) and their relationships to two types of consumer responses (i.e., purchase and advocacy). We collected data from 444 participants who evaluated the website of a fictitious restaurant chain that included information about its CSR activities using (a) storytelling or (b) expositive CSR messages. The findings suggest that the use of storytelling notably improves perceptions of issue importance, CSR impact, CSR fit, and CSR commitment. On the contrary, the type of CSR message does not differentiate consumer perceptions of corporate CSR motives. The use of storytelling or an expositive CSR message also has a significant impact on the conceptual model, with consumers responding more or less intensively to each attribute of the CSR message content depending on the type of message they are exposed to.

Working environment as a knowledge management stimulator

This article aims to analyze knowledge management strategies as a stimulator of job satisfaction for workers dedicated to fast food sales in the city of Montería. It was framed in the descriptive studies, for which a Likert-type questionnaire (validated and reliable) was applied to 8 restaurant chain sales assistants. The main results show the misuse of strategies for knowledge management and the consequences in terms of job satisfaction and its effects on work productivity.

Public health investigation and response to a hepatitis A outbreak from imported scallops consumed raw—Hawaii, 2016

During the summer of 2016, the Hawaii Department of Health responded to the second-largest domestic foodborne hepatitis A virus (HAV) outbreak in the post-vaccine era. The epidemiological investigation included case finding and investigation, sequencing of RNA positive clinical specimens, product trace-back and virologic testing and sequencing of HAV RNA from the product. Additionally, an online survey open to all Hawaii residents was conducted to estimate baseline commercial food consumption. We identified 292 confirmed HAV cases, of whom 11 (4%) were possible secondary cases. Seventy-four (25%) were hospitalised and there were two deaths. Among all cases, 94% reported eating at Oahu or Kauai Island branches of Restaurant Chain A, with 86% of those cases reporting raw scallop consumption. In contrast, a food consumption survey conducted during the outbreak indicated 25% of Oahu residents patronised Restaurant Chain A in the 7 weeks before the survey. Product trace-back revealed a single distributor that supplied scallops imported from the Philippines to Restaurant Chain A. Recovery, amplification and sequence comparison of HAV recovered from scallops revealed viral sequences matching those from case-patients. Removal of product from implicated restaurants and vaccination of those potentially exposed led to the cessation of the outbreak. This outbreak further highlights the need for improved imported food safety.