What are the problems in e-commerce in catering industry?

"Food is the most important thing for the people". Due to the low entry threshold, the catering industry has always been a booming industry. With the development of social economy in China, more and more people are engaged in the catering industry. According to statistics, there are more than 3 million restaurants in cities and towns nationwide, and the total sales in 1999 reached 3 1996 million. However, only 40% of enterprises in the catering industry are profitable, 30% can break even, and the remaining 30% are at a loss.

The fierce competition in the catering industry and the low proportion of profitable enterprises are mainly due to the high intermediate cost of the supply chain procurement system and the backward marketing methods of catering enterprises. First of all, the intermediate cost of supply chain procurement system is high. Generally, small and medium-sized catering enterprises rely entirely on middlemen when purchasing, and there is a problem of buyers' kickbacks. The price difference of raw materials from the place of origin to the restaurant is almost 3-8 times. Since 2003 10, the price of agricultural products in China has risen sharply, and the cost of catering enterprises has become higher and higher; However, due to the large number of restaurants and fierce competition, enterprises dare not raise prices at will. This makes the average profit of the catering industry lower and lower. Although some restaurants have good business, they do not make money. There are frequent transfers of restaurants. When the competitiveness of modern enterprises constantly emphasizes the management of supply chain logistics, the catering industry, an ancient industry, needs to work hard on the innovation of supply chain procurement, thus reducing intermediate costs, and developing e-commerce is a good way to solve this problem.

Secondly, at present, the marketing concept of China catering industry is still very old, and the operators' understanding of consumer demand is still insufficient. Therefore, operators only guess what consumers need by feeling, and consumers change dishes very quickly. At the same time, consumers are also in a very passive position and can only choose what to eat on the basis of what the restaurant does. At the same time, the information between restaurants is very closed, and there is very little communication between restaurant operators on information, management experience, chef and waiter recruitment, restaurant sales and so on. Therefore, the development of network marketing is of great significance to broaden the traditional business model and improve competitiveness.

First, the catering industry is suitable for the development of e-commerce.

The catering industry gives people the impression that it is an old industry, while e-commerce is a newly developed technology with high technology content. However, if we study the characteristics of the catering industry, we can find that this traditional industry is suitable for using e-commerce technology.

First, the catering industry in China is centered on small and medium-sized enterprises, of which the state-owned component only accounts for more than 1%, so most catering bosses hope to reduce costs and increase profits through e-commerce. . Fast food industry is the most sensitive modern catering industry. With the introduction of technology, formula, equipment and talents, its turnover is increasing by more than 20% every year. The wealth effect of technological innovation has greatly stimulated many traditional catering enterprises, and everyone is looking for a safe, stable, green and fast value-added way.

Second, e-commerce is essentially a service economy, and no other industry in China or even the world is more proficient in service economy than the catering industry. The remarkable characteristics of service industry are flexible management mode and customer-centered, which can be said to be in the same strain. As a new marketing concept, green marketing is an important feature of e-commerce and is gradually accepted and valued by modern catering industry. Green marketing requires catering enterprises to strengthen technological transformation, actively carry out catering e-commerce while introducing environmental protection equipment, give full play to the characteristics of e-commerce, such as environmental protection, wide audience and matching with other tourism services, and realize the unity of environmental protection, social benefits and economic benefits.

Third, the catering industry is a big and small industry. The big one is that food is the most important thing for the people, and the small one is all over the streets, with diverse catering methods, flexible operating mechanism, rich and thrifty prices and personalized characteristics. E-commerce is a production mode of flexible customization and personalized service, which are isomorphic in economic sense. Franchising, chain stores, brand effect and electronic logistics distribution are all strengths of e-commerce. It is precisely because of the dispersion of catering that it is particularly suitable for network gathering, so the catering industry is not only suitable for developing e-commerce, but also likely to become the first profitable industry.

Second, the application measures of e-commerce in the catering industry

The application of e-commerce technology in traditional catering industry has had a revolutionary impact on catering enterprises. First of all, the application of supply chain technology in e-commerce can greatly reduce the procurement cost of catering enterprises. Secondly, the implementation of network marketing in e-commerce can provide catering enterprises with broad customer channels. Third, the application of logistics technology can expand the sales model for catering enterprises.

The following analysis of e-commerce technology in the catering industry application measures.

First, introduce science and technology into the catering industry to realize the modernization of cooking technology. This is very obvious in the modern fast food industry characterized by chain operation. For example, automatic control equipment is used to control the production and processing process of products, electronic cash register is used to improve the accuracy and speed of sales and service, Internet is used for long-distance information transmission, ordering machine is used to provide convenient and accurate service for customers, and computer software system is used to help customers conduct nutritional analysis and guide their consumption. The application level of scientific and technological products will largely determine the competitive strength of a catering enterprise. To realize the modernization of cooking technology is to realize the standardization of cooking technology, such as the transformation of old products and the innovation of new products, the redesign of processing procedures, the development and application of new seasonings, the development and application of modern processing equipment, and the application of equipment with temperature control, time control and quantity control functions, etc. E-commerce first emphasizes technical content and standardization construction.

Second, strengthen the network construction of catering industry, especially the construction of catering website. Chain operation is the main symbol of modern catering industry, an effective way for catering enterprises to achieve cross-regional scale expansion, and a good form of catering e-commerce. Because the products of catering enterprises are "short-legged", they cannot sell their products to the whole country or even the whole world through various sales channels such as wholesale, retail and direct sales, like other industrial enterprises. Only by opening a shop outside can we achieve the goal of large-scale cross-regional expansion. On the contrary, only by building a good network of catering industry can the procurement, take-out and distribution of this chain operation proceed smoothly. At the same time, we will vigorously strengthen the characteristic construction of catering websites, and carry out extensive services such as publicity, advertising, ordering, consultation, complaints and legal relief. With the help of this operating platform, we will achieve the goal of improving the networking level of the entire catering industry.

Third, pay attention to the brand building and characteristic management of the catering industry, and improve the cultural taste of the catering industry and the cultural characteristics of online catering. To engage in e-commerce, we must improve the cultural taste of the catering industry, abandon the low-level service model of the traditional catering industry and take the road of characteristic catering culture. With your own website or virtual storefront, you can't simply introduce the hotel address, reservation phone number or a few pictures of cooking, but you must highlight the deep-seated services of catering, such as enterprise spirit, special dishes, leisure, culture and entertainment, unique advantages in the same industry, complaint handling, feedback and even interactive communication. In short, if the catering industry wants to touch the internet, the most important thing is to enhance the taste of characteristic culture, pay attention to cultivating customers' loyalty to brands at all levels, and reflect the consideration of "love, joy, cleanliness and freshness" for customers everywhere; At the same time, we should also take into account the characteristics of network culture, so that consumers can smell its fragrance, seduce its color, follow its will, eat its food and get drunk on the Internet.

Third, strictly control the logistics of catering (procurement, sorting, preservation and distribution) to achieve integrated e-commerce services. As mentioned above, the cost of the catering industry remains high, and the main problems lie in procurement, sorting, preservation, material distribution and other links. The big market doesn't understand, the small market monopolizes, and the logistics cost is naturally high. With the help of e-commerce, e-logistics is realized, which has a broad market, well-informed information and convenient and fast ordering in catering materials procurement. Distribution (including sorting, storage, transportation, etc. ) can be handed over to a third-party logistics agent, which has a safe, stable and green guarantee in terms of temperature technology, shelf life, material demand forecast and delivery time. , has a great role in promoting catering enterprises to become bigger and stronger, with distinctive features and remarkable benefits.

Fourth, with the guidance of e-commerce and professional associations, strengthen the exchange and enjoyment of information, and move from industry competition to strategic alliance. Nowadays, many enterprises are friends of the same trade, and they don't communicate with each other, and catering enterprises are no exception. Too much emphasis on your own business characteristics is actually rejecting friendly cooperation between peers. Actually, it's not necessary A major feature of e-commerce is that it can * * * enjoy information resources and * * * enjoy consumers. We can run a professional network platform. Under the guidance of catering professional associations, restaurants should strengthen information exchange and sharing, realize the transformation from industry competition to strategic alliance, and make China catering enterprises bigger and bigger in the world.

Fifth, strengthen the cultivation of e-commerce talents in catering industry. Talent has always been the bottleneck restricting the development of e-commerce in catering industry. According to the traditional practice, the entry threshold of catering industry is low and the quality of talents is generally low. It is an indisputable fact that few people know information technology. I think it is necessary to strengthen the cultivation and introduction of talents in this field. Tourism professional schools, cooking professional schools and e-commerce professional schools should make corresponding adjustments in this respect, so that people who know information technology can understand catering and those who know catering can operate online, and compound talents can adapt to the trend of market development, realize the innovation of ideas, decisions and incentives, and eliminate the adverse effects of family concepts, blood relations and family forces on enterprise development. Without modern operators, there would be no modern catering industry.

Sixthly, develop in step with other service industries such as cultural tourism, leisure and entertainment, and give full play to the openness and inclusiveness of network services. Catering e-commerce cannot be carried out alone, but must develop together with other service industries such as cultural tourism, leisure and entertainment, and give full play to the openness and inclusiveness of network services. Catering websites should rely on their own catering characteristics, but they should also develop in a comprehensive and coordinated way with other leisure services, go deep into other industries, and truly highlight "food is the most important thing for the people."