The vendor is required to provide for a comprehensive menu management application that will be the source of truth for the food served across agency for residential, retail, bakeshop, and catering purposes.
- The primary objective of the new menu management system is to improve the business operations management of menu planning, inventory, dietary accommodations, and menu presentation as the primary dining provider for all meal plan participants and catered events.
- An ideal solution would automate and optimize the entire process of planning, offering, and managing food services on campus.
- It will simplify operations for dining staff while improving the dining experience for students, staff, faculty, and visitors.
- System requirements:
• Data security
• UM systems integration
• No and low-code configuration after initial setup (ex., point & click)
• Cloud-based solution (preferred)
• User-friendly interface
• Meets accessibility requirements
• Ability for future growth
- Goals:
• Centralized menu management
o Streamline the menu management process for dining staff using one central system for making changes and managing menus that provide real-time changes across all dining locations and for multiple types of online and digital platforms.
• Operational efficiency
o Integrated solutions with pos, digital tools, production displays, inventory management, vendors, and procurement.
o Partnership with conference and event services to consolidate event management software and integrate seamlessly with menu management
o Minimize or eliminate the need for custom applications (e.g., for printing menus)
• Inventory and supply chain management
o Optimize inventory use by integrating with inventory systems to track the ingredients and supplies from vendors in real-time
o Help forecasting demand, managing food costs, and reducing waste by aligning menu
offerings with stock levels
• Data management, reporting and analytics
o Deliver robust agency reporting framework that is customizable and includes financial insights, consumption trends, cost and waste analysis, perpetual inventory, and helping optimize budgeting and financial planning
• Adaptable and scalable
• A cloud-based and hosted solution capable of staying abreast of new trends and technologies in the campus dining landscape and handling growth seamlessly
o Process automation and ai integration with menu forecasting, data collection, and menu management
• Compliance, safety, and accessibility features
o Nutritional and allergen compliance: ensure all dishes meet nutritional guidelines and provide transparency for food safety
o Health and safety audits: tracks compliance with food safety regulations
o ADA-compliant and multi-language support: ensure that the menu management system and digital menus are accessible to all staff and students.
- Features requirements
1. Customer facing services
• The enhancement of the dining experience by streamlining menu navigation for users, offering detailed nutritional and allergen information and enabling personalized meal planning.
• It ensures customers have easy access to clear and accurate information, helping them make informed choices that fit their dietary needs, both online and in person.
o Online interactive meal planner
o Real-time menu updates to all online platforms
o ADA-compliant point of service signage
2. Ingredient management
• The creation and maintenance of items and ingredients, which are the building blocks to support operational functions such as inventory management, recipe management, menu design, production, and purchasing.
• Agency has approximately 3,000 ingredients within the current system.
o Designate multiple purchase options with accurate costs reflected
o Pre-approved ingredient substitutions
o Isolate ingredients for specific departments or locations
3. Inventory management
• The comprehensive monitoring and management of ingredients and finished goods across multiple storage locations by tracking real-time expected and actual inventory levels.
• Received goods update the expected inventory, and together with actual counts, this results in perpetual inventory.
o Track expected vs. actual inventory in real-time to identify discrepancies and prevent theft
o Record deliveries accurately, reconcile billing, and manage deliveries
o Track and report on various KPIs like shrinkage rate, idle stock, and waste volume by reason code
4. Menu design
• The data-driven creation of diverse and balanced menus across all locations, utilizing user-friendly building features like drag-and-drop and template copying. location managers ensure menus offer a comprehensive selection that meets diverse dietary needs while aligning with financial, operational, and dietary objectives.
o Dynamic menu-building features for cycle and static menus
o Organize menus by meal periods, events, and service stations to improve clarity for staff and customers
o Provide predictive forecasting based on post-production data to reduce food waste and prevent shortages
o Insights into key metrics such as menu pricing, recipe usage, dietary coverage, carbon impact, and demand forecast accuracy
5. Production
• The organization and optimization of kitchen operations to ensure efficient food production for service and accurate post-service usage recording, with workflows designed to minimize waste and improve resource allocation.
• It also supports multi-stage production planning and centralized operations across locations for streamlined efficiency.
o Flexible data collection and reporting for post-production including options such as portion and weight
o Task and production efficiency utilizing production schedules and prep lists
o Centralized commissary production and forecasting
o Paperless kitchen operations
6. Recipe management
• The creation and maintenance of recipes to support culinary operations, incorporating workflows for approving new recipes and adhering to food safety protocols.
• It also provides customer-facing details on nutrition and allergens, specifies where and how recipes can be served, and ensures compliance with operational standards.
• Agency has approximately 8,000 recipes within the current system.
o Food safety and temperature tracking
o Recipe creation, approval process, and costing
o Sustainability and nutritional transparency
o Categorization flexibility for ease of searching
- System requirements
• Data security
o Robust security features to protect sensitive data, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations.
• um systems integration
o UM SSO via SAML and LDAP/etc.
o University websites and mobile app
a. Public-facing websites (dining.umich.edu & catering.umich.edu) via json feed, rest API and embeddable code
b. State mobile application via json or xml feed
o Campus systems and agency vendors via rest and/or sftp protocols.
a. If functionality is not built into the system, other menu management-related university systems
• label design and management system such as seagull scientific bartender
a. University enterprise systems
• PeopleSoft financials (m-pathway financials)
• UM data warehouse
•  Four winds content manager
a. University adjacent systems
• Newly selected event management system
• Transact cloud point of sale and mobile ordering
• Food temperature tracking system, such as Digi international smart sense
a. Vendor adjacent systems
• USDA database
• EDI 850, 832, and 810
• No and low-code configuration after initial setup (ex., point & click)
• Cloud-based solution (preferred)
o Automatic version updates
• User-friendly interface
o Ability for clients to easily request space and provide event details that are pulled into the system
o Mobile friendly for user accessibility
• Meets Accessibility Requirements
• Ability for Future Growth
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: April 25, 2025