Master Li nodded and said thoughtfully, “Well, this is indeed a good idea. However, you have to control the amount you prepare in advance. It can’t be too much or too little. If you prepare too much, the ingredients will not be fresh, and if you prepare too little, it will not be enough.”

Chen Yu continued, “Master Li, we can analyze the approximate demand for each new dish based on the order data from the past few days, and then prepare the ingredients in advance according to this quantity. In addition, we can develop a detailed operation flow chart so that each chef knows what to do first and what to do next, so as to improve efficiency.”

After hearing this, Master Li immediately called a meeting for the chef team. He told everyone Chen Yu’s suggestion, and the chefs agreed. “Guys, from today on, we will prepare dishes according to the new process. Xiao Wang, you are responsible for making the bak kut teh soup in advance, paying attention to the heat and the ratio of seasonings; Xiao Li, you marinate the barbecue in advance, and make sure the ingredients are fresh…” Master Li arranged the work in an orderly manner.

In the following days, the pace of the kitchen was significantly accelerated. The chefs followed the new process and made all preparations in advance. After the customer placed an order, the originally cumbersome production process became smooth, and new dishes were quickly served from the kitchen to the customer’s table.

One day, a customer walked into the restaurant and said to Chen Yu, “Last time I came to eat the new dishes, I had to wait for a long time before the dishes were served. This time I came at the right time and I didn’t expect to eat them so quickly. The taste is still as good as before. You guys are improving very quickly!”

Chen Yu smiled and replied: “Thank you for your feedback and support. We just want you to taste the delicious new dishes as soon as possible. If you have any questions in the future, please feel free to let us know.”

Looking at the satisfied smile of the customer, Chen Yu and Master Li finally felt relieved.

……

With the full implementation of the promotional plan and the official launch of new dishes, Wang’s full range of restaurants has once again become the focus of the local catering industry. Brand-new promotional posters are posted all over the restaurant entrances and the surrounding busy business districts, and they can be seen everywhere on online platforms. On the posters, the highly recognizable local elements and the attractive pictures of the dishes complement each other, and passers-by are often attracted and can’t help but stop to take a few more glances. The advertising video has set off a wave of communication on social media, with likes and reposts soaring, and the comment area is full of curiosity and expectations about the restaurant’s new dishes.

At noon that day, the restaurant was bustling with people. A young customer walked into the restaurant, looked around the store, and finally fell on Chen Yu who was busy at the front desk. He walked up and said with a smile: “Hello, I saw your promotion on the Internet, saying that you are a local original Korean-Singapore fusion brand, so I really want to try it. I just ordered a few dishes, the taste is really good, very unique!” Chen Yu heard this and smiled warmly, and quickly responded: “Thank you for your support! We are very happy to get your recognition. We will continue to work hard to bring you more delicious dishes!”

Although the hotel’s business is booming, with daily customer traffic and orders continuing to grow, Wang Jianye has not let down his guard. He knows that market competition is like a war without gunpowder, the situation is changing rapidly, and new challenges may arise at any time. Recently, he has been thinking about the future development direction of the hotel and striving to open up a new growth path.

At a meeting of core team members, the atmosphere in the conference room was lively. Everyone sat together with various documents and materials in front of them. Wang Jianye cleared his throat and spoke first: “We have already laid a certain foundation in the local market, and the feedback from customers is also very good. However, we cannot be satisfied with this, we have to look further. I am thinking about developing online e-commerce business, making our special dishes into semi-finished products, and selling them through e-commerce platforms, so that more people who are not local can also taste our food. What do you think?”

Chen Yu’s eyes lit up and he said excitedly, “Boss Wang, this is a great idea! E-commerce is developing rapidly now, and many traditional industries have achieved rapid development with the help of e-commerce platforms. If we can catch this express train, we will definitely be able to expand our market share. However, there are many issues to consider, such as packaging, logistics, and food safety. Each one must be carefully considered.”

Chef Li also nodded and added: “Yes, when making dishes into semi-finished products, the key is to ensure the taste and quality. In addition, we have to develop dishes that are specifically suitable for e-commerce sales. After all, the online and offline sales scenarios are different.”

At this time, Xiao Zhao, who is in charge of operations, raised his hand and said, “I think we also need to consider the operating costs and promotion strategies of the e-commerce platform. Different platforms have different rules and user groups. We have to find the platform that best suits our brand and develop a targeted promotion plan.”

Xiao Zhang, who is in charge of finance, also said: “From a financial perspective, the initial equipment procurement, packaging material customization, logistics costs, etc. are all considerable expenses. We must make good budget planning to ensure a stable cash flow.”

Everyone spoke one after another and had a heated discussion on the topic of developing e-commerce business. Everyone put forward many valuable suggestions and the conference room was filled with sparks of thought collision.

After the meeting, Chen Yu plunged into the preparations for the e-commerce business. He sat at his desk and opened the official websites of several e-commerce platforms on his computer screen. The pages displayed a variety of entry procedures and operating rules. He read carefully and wrote down the key points in his notebook, and repeatedly checked the key information. In order to understand the situation more deeply, he also joined some e-commerce industry exchange groups to ask for advice from his peers.

At the same time, Chef Li and his team of chefs plunged into the kitchen. The kitchen counter was filled with various ingredients and packaging materials, and they were conducting an intense “experiment”. Chef Li picked up a piece of vacuum packaging material and said to the chefs: “We need to find a packaging method that can maintain the taste of the dishes and prevent the dishes from being damaged during transportation. Let’s work together to find a solution and try different combinations.”

Chef Xiao Wang picked up a packet of preservative and asked, “Master, how effective is this preservative? I saw in the instructions that it can extend the shelf life of the food.”

Chef Li took the preservative, carefully checked the ingredients and instructions, and said, “Theoretically, it’s OK, but we still have to test it to see if it affects the taste of the dish.”

In the following days, they kept trying different packaging materials and preservation technologies, and conducted repeated comparative tests. Sometimes, in order to test the effect of a new packaging method under different temperatures and transportation times, they would place the food in a simulated environment for a few hours, then open the package and carefully observe the color, taste and freshness of the food.

Chen Yu was also busy, and he had many talks with logistics companies. On this day, he met with the head of a large logistics company. In the meeting room, Chen Yu said seriously: “Our dishes have very high requirements for freshness. Can you guarantee that the goods will be delivered to customers within the specified time and that the quality of the goods will not be affected?”

The person in charge of the logistics company responded confidently: “Don’t worry, we have professional cold chain transportation equipment, and the temperature can be accurately controlled within a range suitable for preserving the food. In addition, our distribution network covers a wide range and the distribution process is mature, which can ensure that the goods are delivered in a timely and safe manner.”

Chen Yu nodded slightly, but continued to ask: “How can we prevent the dishes from being squeezed and bumped during transportation? This will also affect the quality of the dishes.” The person in charge of the logistics company quickly explained: “We will use special protective packaging, and during the loading and transportation process, we will assign special personnel to ensure that the goods are properly placed to avoid squeezing and bumping.”

After some in-depth exchanges and communication, Chen Yu had a more comprehensive understanding of the services of this logistics company. However, he did not make a decision immediately, but planned to compare several companies and choose the most suitable partner.

After numerous trials and screenings, Master Li and his team finally found a suitable combination of vacuum packaging materials and preservatives. This packaging can not only effectively isolate air and moisture to prevent the food from spoiling, but also preserve the taste and flavor of the food to the greatest extent. When they opened the packaged semi-finished products after leaving them for a while, the food was still bright in color and delicious in taste, almost the same as when it was first made.

“Great! Finally found it!” Chef Xiao Li shouted excitedly.

Master Li also showed a gratified smile on his face: “Everyone has worked hard these days, but our efforts have not been in vain. Next, we have to continue to develop dishes suitable for e-commerce sales and strive to make the e-commerce business prosperous!”

After comparing several logistics companies, Chen Yu identified a partner with the strongest comprehensive strength and services that best met his needs. He signed a preliminary cooperation agreement with the other party, laying the foundation for the logistics and distribution link of the e-commerce business.

With the steady progress of various preparatory work, the e-commerce business of Wang’s entire hotel chain has begun to take shape.

……

On the e-commerce platform, the semi-finished products of Wang’s entire line of restaurants, including Korean and Singaporean fusion dishes, are neatly arranged, with attractive pictures and detailed and vivid descriptions of the dishes, which have attracted many diners to place orders. Customers can purchase a variety of creative semi-finished products, such as the ingredients package of bak kut teh seaweed rice rolls, the combination package of laksa barbecued rice, etc., by simply clicking the mouse, and take them home for simple processing, and they can easily taste the restaurant’s specialties.

In the early days of the e-commerce business, the order volume showed a gradual growth trend, and the team members were very encouraged. However, the road to growth is never smooth, and various problems followed one after another.

One day, Chen Yu’s desk was piled with documents. He was concentrating on his work when suddenly, his phone alerts started ringing. He picked up his phone and saw that it was a message from the customer service of the e-commerce platform. He opened it and saw that the screen was full of customer feedback. One customer said, “The semi-finished food I received was not enough to eat. This is too bad!” Another customer complained, “The packaging broke during transportation and the food inside spilled out. How can I eat it?” Chen Yu’s brows instantly wrinkled into the shape of the Chinese character “川”. He realized the seriousness of the problem and immediately got up to find Master Li.

Master Li was in the kitchen instructing the chefs to prepare ingredients. Chen Yu walked quickly into the kitchen and shouted, “Master Li, something bad has happened. There’s a problem with the e-commerce company.” Master Li stopped what he was doing, turned around and looked at Chen Yu and asked, “What’s wrong? Tell me slowly.” Chen Yu showed Master Li the customer’s feedback on his mobile phone, and Master Li’s expression became serious.

“That won’t do. Insufficient food quantities and damaged packaging will seriously affect our customers’ trust in us,” said Chef Li.

“Yes, we have to solve it quickly.” Chen Yu responded.

The two immediately began to discuss solutions. Chen Yu returned to the office and immediately contacted the customer service of the e-commerce platform. “Hello, I am Chen Yu from Wang’s All-in-One Hotel. We attach great importance to the feedback from customers about our e-commerce business. Please give me the information of those customers who reported the problem. We will contact them one by one to apologize and provide compensation.” Chen Yu’s tone was sincere and firm.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Yu called a meeting with colleagues in charge of order review and management. “From now on, we will strengthen the review of orders. We will carefully check the quantity and packaging of each order before delivery. Everyone should be alert and we must not let such problems happen again.” Chen Yu said seriously.

Chef Li was busy in the kitchen. He called together all the chefs who were responsible for weighing the ingredients and said, “Our previous weighing standards may not be accurate, resulting in insufficient ingredients for customers. Now, we have readjusted the weighing standards, and each ingredient must be weighed with a scale accurate to grams to ensure that the amount is sufficient.”

A chef asked, “Master, how can we ensure that each portion is weighed exactly the same?”

Master Li replied: “I will arrange for someone to supervise and calibrate the scale before work every day. Also, everyone must concentrate when weighing and not be careless.”

After solving the problem of food quantity, Chef Li started to deal with the packaging. He found the staff in charge of packaging and said, “Recently, customers have reported that the packaging is easily damaged during transportation. We have to strengthen quality control. From now on, every package will be strictly inspected to see if the sealing and pressure resistance meet the standards.”

The staff member said aggrievedly: “Master, we packed it according to the requirements before. It may be too violent during transportation.”

Master Li thought for a moment and said, “This is also our responsibility. We will optimize the packaging method and add some protective measures.”

So, Master Li and the packaging staff began to try different packaging materials and protection methods. They found foam boards and bubble films of various thicknesses and tested the packaging repeatedly. After many experiments, they finally found a packaging method that was stronger and more protective of the ingredients. (End of this chapter)