Alternate Purchasing Strategies

As you explore your school cafeteria equipment purchasing options, you may want to take advantage of alternate methods to acquire equipment. An alternate purchasing strategy may be cost effective and efficient.

The standard purchasing process should continue to be followed even as you explore these alternate options. The options that are brie?y described below are: pre-owned equipment, leasing, and cooperative purchasing.

Pre-Owned Equipment
Very popular among restaurants and for-pro?t foodservice operations, pre-owned equipment often reduces capital outlay before an operation becomes established. Pre-owned equipment deserves serious consideration by school foodservice professionals.

The pre-owned equipment may be on the market due to:

* Under-capitalized business having to sell it
* Failed business venture
* Menu change
* Output (performance, capacity) requirements changed
* Upgrade/trade-in

Note: Mismatching voltage is a problem in pre-owned equipment. If you have a piece of pre-owned equipment that has never quite worked like you thought it would, check the voltage. The difference in heat output, energy consumption, and production on a 230 volt piece of equipment operating on 208 volts is 25% less. In each of these cases, there is nothing wrong with the equipment. It is just not right for the situation.

Pre-owned equipment may be a good value for your school and it may be a good decision if:

* It is in excellent working condition
* It is partially or totally refurbished (i.e., new parts, repainted)
* It is non-mechanical (this equipment is usually a good value, as there are no electrical or motor parts)
* It meets CNP needs

Examples include:

* Work tables
* Reach-in cooler/warmer
* Metal shelving
* Ovens
* Kettles/braising pans

In other words, some equipment requirements lend themselves to the purchase of a pre-owned model more than other pieces of equipment.

When considering purchasing pre-owned equipment, be careful of:

* High-maintenance equipment
* Electro-mechanical controls may be a better choice compared to solid state or micro processor base
* Equipment using water, such as steam cooking equipment, ice machines, dishwashers

All of these pieces of equipment should be carefully examined by an expert.

Be sure to choose pre-owned equipment that is safe to use and for which current operator safety devices are still usable or available (safety guards on slicers). Always use a reputable dealer who may offer a 30-90 day warranty. They may even provide a history of the equipment. It is recommended that you have a service agency verify credibility of equipment before you make a commitment to purchase it.

Check equipment to be sure it is a good investment. Ask if parts are still available. Manufacturers are required to make parts available for 10 years. Remember to check environmental and local code regulations. For example, there are new regulations on coolants/refrigerants.

In summary, pre-owned equipment, especially pieces without mechanical parts, may make sense for your program. Identify the reputation of pre-owned equipment companies in your area. Put each piece through its paces. If they measure up, these pre-owned pieces may provide good value.

Leasing Equipment
Another option to consider is the lease of certain pieces of foodservice equipment or lease purchase.

The bene?ts of leasing include:

* Method of ?nancing may be less than a traditional loan
* Relinquishes responsibility of ownership (i.e., maintenance, both routine and scheduled)
* Reduces risk of ownership for experimental menu offering and special events
* Disposition is automatic

The downsides of leasing include:

* May be more expensive than traditional loan process in ?nal total fee
* Obligation of products such as chemicals, coffee, soft serve yogurt, or ice cream machines
* At the mercy of the leaser for ongoing maintenance

Before you lease a piece of equipment, be sure to know all the facts. You will want to calculate total cost, maintenance plan, and buyout. If you are in doubt about leasing equipment, procurement experts in your area should be able to give you guidance.

Cooperative Purchasing
Cooperative purchasing options may be available with a neighboring school. Perhaps you are currently participating in group purchasing for food and supplies. If not, you may discover that this method:

* Enhances buying power
* Saves some of the time involved in the procurement process
* Provides you with additional resources or ideas

In summary, you will ?nd that a little extra effort or creative exploration may lead to a different method of acquisition of equipment for your school's lunchroom. Remember, all other steps in the process remain the same.

This article is courtesy of the National Food Service Management Institute, www.nfsmi.org .

Product Roundup

SmartCombi from Henny Penny
The SmartCombi from Henny Penny uses advanced technology to cook a wide range of high-quality foods in a single unit using convection heat, steam and a combination of the two. The unit has no boiler and so avoids many maintenance and repair issues. The design concept produces as much steam as needed almost instantly, while preserving the efficiencies of both the heating element and heat exchanger.
www.hennypenny.com

Scotsman Prodigy Cube Ice Machine
Smart and innovative, the new Scotsman Prodigy Cube Ice Machine is a self-monitoring ice machine with front-located auto-alert external indicator lights, which constantly communicate information about its operating status and signals when its time to perform maintenance. Prodigy Cubers use less water and energy than traditional ice machines. Additional smart features include Vari-Smart ice level control, which offers the ability to program ice levels for seven days, and Smart-Board, which provides operating data that can be displayed on screen or transmitted remotely. If there is a power outage or water shut-off, Prodigy ice machines automatically restart. www.scotsman-ice.com

Lunch Cashier System by Wordware
The Lunch Cashier System by Wordware, Inc. is a complete, affordable, user-friendly meal accounting system for schools, including back-office and point-of-sale management software. The company provides comprehensive solutions to both school administration and food service staff. For users, a single check pays for all meals, for all family members, for any length of time. Using one student ID number, the system is able to coordinate with other student record applications, making it easy to track and easy to remember. Families can download or received one statement, detailing all family member purchases and family account balances.
www.lunchcashiersystem.com

Meal Tracker from eTritionWare
Meal Tracker software from eTritionWare provides accountability for school cafeterias.  Combining ease of use, great features and strong support, Meal Tracker will bring a school cafeteria operation to a new level of efficiency. No school is too small to use Meal Tracker. The system can be adapted to any size of cafeteria and to fit in any budget. Meal Tracker is relied upon to count more than two million school meals every day, in more than 4,000 locations.
www.etritionware.net

Food Service Solutions
Founded in 1989, Food Service Solutions, Inc. is an innovative software developer and systems integrator, focused on the hospitality and institutional food service markets, most notably schools. The company provides point of sale software for cafeterias, featuring biometric-PIN-care identification, USDA free and reduced lunch application processing and parental, online account review and payment. With more than 85 years of combined experience in institutional food services, the Food Service staff is dedicated to providing customers with state-of-the-art software and hardware systems that are fully integrated to meet the unique needs of food service professionals.
www.foodserve.com

LunchTime
LunchTime is a fully-integrated and centralized school lunch software package written for MMS Generations to streamline the data management process of students and staff alike. The LunchTime School Lunch Software System is ideal for schools of all sizes. The system uses the latest touch-screen technology with pin pad, barcode or finger scan identification methods. Schools can easily track cafeteria transactions and patron information and usage and generate reports on all areas of data maintained by the system: monthly reimbursement, patron list, patron balance, amount tendered, meal counts, terminal transactions, record of cash receipts, and more. Parents can view their child's transaction history through their Web browser and add funds to their account.
www.cri-mms.com/pos

Alulite Table by Southern Aluminum
Constructed of aircraft-grade aluminum, Southern Aluminum's Alulite table will not crack, rust or warp after extended usage or exposure to heat, moisture, or sunlight. With an average weight of only 35 pounds, the Alulite table can hold up to 4,000 pounds of distributed weight. With a finish option of anodized or durable baked-on powder-coat finish, the heavy-duty tables are easy to clean and maintain. The company also offers an antimicrobial and anti-graffiti finish that is perfect for cafeterias. Tables come with adjustable-height legs for children. Table trucks help save valuable storage space and make set-up and take down quick and easy. www.southernaluminum.com

Rediker Software's School Cafeteria Software
Rediker Software's school cafeteria software lets schools easily process cafeteria sales, streamline record-keeping, reporting and correspondence and reduce time spent processing sales, retrieving accounting data and completing reports. As a member of the School Office Suit, the cafeteria program interfaces with the Administrator's Plus student information system. Student demographic information automatically appears in the cafeteria software directly from Administrator's Plus, thus eliminating duplicate data entry by food services staff. Use ID cards produced in Administrator's Plus to let students purchase meals. 
www.rediker.com

Discover Mobile Tables by Midwest Folding
Discover Mobile Tables from Midwest Folding offer the benefits of ergonomically designed seating combined with the operational efficiencies of mobile tables equipped with attached seats. The rib-reinforced, injection molded, structural polypropylene chairs provide support to the lumbar region of the student's back. Discover chairs provide just the right amount of flexibility to accommodate varying seating positions for maximum comfort when used for dining. Seats swivel for easy access to the table and allow all seats to face the same direction. As with all Midwest Folding Products' mobile table units, the tables have undergone exhaustive load and cycle testing to assure that they will withstand the riggers of high-use environments.
www.midwestfolding.com