E-commerce Solution for My Dhabba Restaurant in Coventry

E-COMMERCE SYSTEM
NAME
DATE

Question
Is it possible to successfully use E-commerce in the hospitality sector, where it is used in a
traditional restaurant business?
Explanation
E-commerce, the concept of purchasing goods (and services) through online portals has grown in
leaps and bounds in the past decade; starting with pioneers such as Amazon that set the pace for
such systems (Adamson, 2016). Major blue chip companies such as Apple now use e-commerce
as part of their integrated sales strategy and it has been very successful. E-commerce is a fast
rising business model and the vast potential offered by the internet has made it easier for
organizations to reach out to more customers, more efficiently and with higher margins as it is a
form of direct to consumer sales model. The hospitality sector, despite having its operational
model remaining the same, has not been left behind by E-commerce, with systems available to
enable travellers book accommodations at low costs using web based systems. Fast food retailers
have not been left behind either, as retailers such as MccDonald’s have E-commerce websites for
online orders. However, in the traditional reservation based walk in restaurant, this concept still
remains largely unexploited, despite its numerous potential (Mozeik, Beldona, Cobanoglu, &
Poorani, 2009). The restaurant business is characterized by a model in which patrons walk in to
the restaurant, or make a reservation, place an order which is prepared and then they pay at the
end.
Research Methodology
The focus of this paper is to develop a solution for the Coventry based Indian restaurant, which
at the moment, does not have even a website, although it does have a social media presence on
Facebook. This paper will adopt a secondary research methodology in which peer reviewed
articles, scholarly articles, and other credible verifiable information sources to propose an e-
commerce solution for the restaurant. Articles and content that involve or include case studies
will be particularly useful in developing a solution for the Indian restaurant. An abductive
research approach will be used for this research; this type of research entails explaining
incomplete observations that are specified at the start of the paper. For this case, it’s used to
answer the research question stated at the beginning of this paper. The context of the research is

a remedial study in which the paper will formulate a solution to improve operations at the
restaurant and correct the present challenges faced (Kidd and Song, 2008). The undesirable
condition and their causes as well as its related processes and conditions will be evaluated and
then a detailed plan and strategy proposed to remedy it. The research will also suggest a method
of implementation to achieve the desired goals and objectives.
Secondary research is also used; this is a research method in which findings from other primary
research is used for the purposes of a present research. The advantages of using this method is
that it is relatively cost effective and one can obtain sufficient amount of data in a relatively short
period of time; the research will be a desktop based research where a computer and the Internet
is used for the research. The use of secondary research and information will help provide a clear
context with which to answer the research question (Smith, 2008). The research will start by
formulating a research question to create the context of the study and provide a roadmap for the
research. The case scenario of the restaurant will be introduced and discussed briefly in order to
provide a contextual overview of the problem and justify the selection of the used research
question. The business strategy proposed to solve the problem will then be discussed, with the
expected changes from the implementation of the system explained. An implementation plan
will then be discussed and explained, along with the benefits that will be obtained from the
system.

Research Report
Introduction
This case is about an Indian specialty restaurant located in Coventry, UK named My Dhabba.
The restaurant does not have a website at the moment, although it does have a social media
presence on Facebook (found at https://www.facebook.com/MyDhabbaCoventry/ ). The
restaurant’s food has become very popular in recent times, resulting in the facility remaining
fully packed, with reservations made a week in advance. The restaurants’ management feels they
should better serve their customers and are considering the use of E-commerce to supplement the
brick and mortar restaurant business, offer better customer satisfaction, and increase their
revenue and operational efficiency. The internal operations are also unwieldy, with spreadsheets
and a basic PoS (point of sale) system used for managing client information and accounting.
Orders for supplies are done manually based on availability and use, and often, the restaurant
fails to get their desired ingredients and raw materials on time, sometimes leading to some
popular dishes not being available for some time. The management would like to know their
customers better; their preferred dishes, visit history, and other personal information such as their
birthdays and contact details in order to have an intimate relationship with them and to enhance
service delivery. The management does not have a very big budget for this exercise and would
like a cost effective solution that they can scale in future as funds and needs increase and wpuld
like to have a system in place within eight weeks. This paper proposes the case for an e-business
model for the My Dhabba restaurant, by outlining a strategy and summarizing the required
changes, and then describing a plan for implementation, as well as the benefits from the system
and how they can be measured. Further, the paper identifies some of the risks associated with
implementing such a system and gives recommendations on how these can be overcome.
Strategy
The strategy for enabling my Dhabba to have an e-commerce system requires the development of
a database driven enterprise e-commerce system with accompanying enterprise resource
planning software for business purposes. The business strategies of the restaurant are to provide
better customer services by reaching and serving its existing customer base and improving its
internal operations. The management has a limited budget and would like to have a new e-