Client Success Story - Iowa State University

The Value of Integration

According to Nancy Levandowski, Director of ISU Dining, integration is a key component of any successful technology implementation at ISU.

“It is crucial for us to have systems that integrate,” says Levandowksi. “When you find systems that work together to allow expansion of your financials and give you the information you need at a millisecond's notice—when I usually need it—that's a huge advantage.”

Dining

Integrated CBORD solutions help ISU Dining run efficiently, reduce errors, and better serve its customers. Foodservice Suite manages menu items, recipes, nutritional information, purchasing, inventory, and more. NetNutrition provides online access to nutritional information, along with filtering capabilities for allergens or dietary preferences. The BarTender labeling program is a recent addition, empowering the university to create ingredient labels for items produced in its commissary directly from service menus. Lastly, CBORD's Webfood online ordering solution lets students place orders in advance from the convenience of their computers. Working together to share data, these integrated solutions help ISU operate efficiently and accurately while keeping food costs in check.

“We don't have a food cost problem here, and when people ask me how, I say it's CBORD,” says Levandowski. “I believe if you give people the right tools, they can do anything.”

Catering

EventMaster PLUS! streamlines catering operations by simplifying event logistics, menu management, scheduling, and billing. Its integration with Foodservice Suite means menu items are always current, and the university's production unit can use order schedules and recipes to provide food for catering. NetCatering^® is planned to enable customers to request and manage catering orders online. EventMaster PLUS! is also used to manage catering orders for the 50 suites in ISU's legendary Jack Trice Stadium.

“At Iowa State University, sports is king. Cy rules!,” laughs Levandowski. “So we really focus on our service to our 50 suites, our club sections, and the students themselves. We have all of the information for the suites in EventMaster events which tells us what to purchase, what to make, and what to deliver. It greatly improves our efficiency and accuracy.”

ISU Card

Iowa State uses CS Gold to manage its one-card program, known as the ISU Card. Students use their ISU Cards to access meal plans and declining balance accounts; pay for vending, laundry, and copying; and make purchases at the bookstore and many other locations across campus. MICROS 9700 powers the point-of-sale operations at all retail locations, along with Aero^® card readers.

“The flexibility of configuring meal plans, and their easy operation with Aero readers and MICROS registers, is a huge benefit,” says Levandowski. “Every aspect of our operation needs a little personalization, but everything stays in one system and all of the data is maintained. That's a big part of why the integration works for us.”

Focus on the Customer

“At Iowa State, our focus is on the customer. We try to make it convenient for our students to eat what they want, where they want, and when they want,” says Levandowski. “I think that's one of CBORD's strengths—the programs do not operate in a box, so we can use them in an expanded way.”