College and university dining programs have seen dramatic shifts in operations over the last two years. Balancing emerging trends with new safety protocols all while maintaining a consistent level of service can be difficult for operations. Often, the solution is as simple as new technology and systems that enable more efficient, effective, and flexible work.

Cloud solutions are not new to college campuses, but many dining programs are still operating with fully on-premise systems. Foodservice staff members are often tied to a single workstation and software licenses are limited to a select number of users. Cloud solutions eliminate many of the headaches and limitations of on-premise systems, and often create more continuity across sprawling campus locations.

Traditional system updates require scheduled downtime to perform the necessary maintenance and upgrades that keep operations running smoothly. When systems are offline, it disrupts the flow and level of service, and scheduled upgrades are often limited to small windows when students are out on break. However, cloud solutions provide seamless, automatic upgrades, eliminating downtime and ensuring programs are always running the latest software version.

Additionally, the cost of replacing and maintaining hardware and servers can be a significant burden on dining programs. It can consume team members’ time that could be better spent on serving students, faculty, and staff. This is where the cloud again can create more efficient and effective teams. There’s no hardware or system to maintain since everything is done automatically behind the scenes. Cloud solutions also have a lower cost of ownership long term, which benefits programs with reduced budgets or that have suffered from lost revenue due to campus closures. 

CBORD cloud-based food management solutions

CBORD offers a full suite of cloud-based foodservice management tools. NetMenu, our back-of-house solution, provides quick access to the critical data you need to run your business and the tools to reduce costs, improve production efficiency, and increase revenue. NetMenu is easy to use and includes purchasing controls, menu planning, food production and forecasting, sales usage and waste tracking, inventory management, cost analysis, and optional integrated nutritional analysis and allergen tracking.

Mobile Inventory helps teams capture accurate inventory with minimal labor and paper costs. Counts can be done with mobile devices or barcode scanners anywhere, whether a Wi-Fi connection is available or not. The system allows multiple users to be counting at the same time, and employees can perform issues and transfers in the same app.

The new version of CBORD C-Store improves visibility over the front- and back-of-house operations to give managers the information they need to maximize profits and ensure in-demand items are always in stock. It collects and tracks inventory data across your organization’s retail locations and stores it in a secure, redundant Amazon data warehouse, and offers a single point of entry for inventory and POS information.

Data Analytics is a total solution that gathers and warehouses your CBORD data, provides intuitive analytics tools and dashboards, and includes expert coaching services for guidance in customizing your analytics dashboards for your CBORD food and nutrition management system.

Each of these systems integrate with each other, providing food operators a complete cloud solution to manage every aspect of a campus dining program. Our food management systems also integrate with cloud solutions for point of sale, nutrition information, online ordering, and dining reservations. Together, these systems create more agile, efficient teams to handle the demands of an evolving collegiate dining program.