Automated Canteen Ordering System

Abstract

\"Today, customers have little time to squander while waiting for a server to take their order at a cafeteria. A lot of clients come to the canteen during their lunch or recess, so they only have a short amount of time to eat before heading back to their workplaces or educational facilities. They can save time by ordering meals anytime they want without having to contact the waiter many times, thanks to this programme. With manual systems, you\'ll have to deal with a lot more files and manuals. It\'s a risky and time-consuming operation to save critical knowledge in files and manuals. The project includes a framework that shows how internet technology may be used gradually as abilities and confidence build as a progression from modifying materials to establishing an online environment. An e-menu card is available for end customers to utilize to read and pick food, and they may order food online by choosing the items they want. An E-menu card with your selections appears near the chef preparing your meal, so you can see what you\'ve ordered right away. Android and iOS components coexist with a web application in this hybrid architecture. This system was built using PHP, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, and HTML.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Almost every piece of information can now be accessed by computer, making computers an essential component of our daily lives. The twenty-first century is full with technological advancements, and it is incredibly impossible for any organization to remain in this technological era without using technological advancements. An ever-expanding global knowledge database may be created thanks to the internet's contributions. It might also be utilized for internal communication. Canteens are focusing more on fast meals and takeaway in this day and age, rather than delivering a comprehensive eating experience. Once upon a time, all orders for delivery were made through phone with the waiters; this approach has various downsides such as the requirement to have someone answering phones and taking orders, as well as an inconvenience to customers who need a paper copy of the menu. It is our goal to create a system that can be utilised in any meal delivery business, such as a canteen automation system. With this approach, the ordering procedure is substantially simplified for both customers and cafeteria staff.                                          

II. BACKGROUND

Most fast food chains and school canteens in the West have begun using an automated ordering system for their automated canteens. Delivered food is ordered online and picked up by the consumer. With the help of an electronic payment method, this may be done. Even though customers may be serviced before they pay with cash or cheque, credit cards are the preferred method of payment. Customers will be able to purchase meals online as a result of this project's development.

There are a slew of new possibilities on the internet as more people become aware of the internet and its related technology. Many new enterprises are now able to get off the ground thanks to the internet.

Automatic canteen order systems are one such internet-based company. Because of the prevalence of fast food and take-out in our society, many restaurants and canteens have opted to place an emphasis on swift preparation and order delivery rather than on offering a satisfying eating experience.

Prior to the advent of online ordering, the bulk of delivery orders were done over the phone. However, this technique has a number of drawbacks. Almost everything can be ordered online and delivered right to your home.

However, while discussing the transfer of goods and services, emphasis is attracted to the payment mechanism. When it comes to purchasing products and services over the internet, how practicable is it?

This opens the door to a debate of the economic ramifications of digital currency.

Are the implementations going to have an economic impact?

It is also vital, since the world is fast becoming a global village; communication, of which telecommunications is a major component, is a crucial component in this process.

There are two types of wireless phone systems: fixed wireless headphone lines and a worldwide network of wireless phone lines (GSM). The key advantage of this method is the ease with which customers and canteen staff can place orders.

There is no need for canteen employees to manually process orders, as the technology handles everything for them. Canteen staff may obtain orders from a database in near-real time using a desktop application created for the website or mobile application. It is possible to see all the goods in the order, as well as their related choices and delivery information, in this application.

When orders are made immediately, the least amount of delay and confusion is created, allowing the canteen staff to handle them promptly. The system's versatility is its most important selling point.

III. LITERATURE REVIEW

The computerized canteen ordering system has received a lot of attention. Previous studies and products in the subject of automated ordering systems for canteens are shown in this section.

A. Self-Ordering in Restaurant

In the restaurant (canteen) industry, self-service or self-ordering refers to restaurants that accept orders from customers via various technologies such as the internet and others. Self-service or self-ordering is a successful concept in many other countries when implemented in restaurants/canteens. Self-service or self-ordering technology has been shown to benefit the majority of investors.

According to Odesser-Torpey (Odesser-Torpey, 2008), the majority of Americans despise waiting for an order. As a result, they prefer self-service technology, such as text messaging, the internet, or a kiosk. Generally, customers prefer self-service due to the speed and convenience of placing orders and completing transactions, which means that self-activated terminals are more likely to serve as a future ordering innovation. Alternative ordering can increase check size, free up counter space and staff required to serve customers, and remove money handling from the service equation.

According to Bhatnagar (Bhatnagar, 2006), the innovation of the kiosk and computerized table top ordering screen will force the restaurant industry to re-define the frequently used acronym quick service restaurant. The kiosk and the internet allow customers to obtain information and search for recipes. Additionally, the kiosk and internet accept orders and payment via credit and debit cards. As a result, incorrect orders and long queues can be avoided, and order staff can be reassigned to other tasks in order to focus on expediting delivery orders. On the other hand, a table-top touch screen order system can accept customer orders, handle additional customer requests such as refilling drinks, summoning a waiter, and accepting payment via credit or debit card.

Bytes, a restaurant in Canterbury, has successfully differentiated itself from competitors by implementing online service ordering and payment concepts. Bytes' system enables customers to place an order via touch screen, which is then routed to the bar or kitchen. Additionally, the system offers games after a customer places an order, and in the future, customers will have access to the internet. Ordering via touch screen eliminates the need for a waiter. Additionally, the system maintains a database of customer habits and preferences, generates management reports, conducts analysis, and enables the menu to be uploaded instantly. (Brickers, 2006).

According to the study, it is possible to implement an online food ordering system in Nigeria's fast-food restaurants and canteens. This is because the system can increase workplace efficiency, restaurant sales, and order accuracy. As a result, it is worthwhile to invest in the system, as this can reduce the time required for a return on investment.

Additionally, the system should be backed up by the taste and services of the food's origin to ensure customer loyalty and satisfaction. However, widespread adoption of automated canteen ordering systems may result in an influx of labour as wait staff is eliminated in the restaurant industry. While the system is critical to implement, there is still some risk associated with other factors such as direct interaction and restaurant design concept that must be considered in order to ensure the system's success.

Gan (Gan, 2002) suggested developing an automated canteen ordering system that would enable customers to place orders at any time and from any location.

The system assists in managing customer orders as well as advertising promotions. It enables kitchen staff to view orders, management to manage raw materials efficiently, and staff to search for customer delivery and profile information. This system contributes to the reduction of queues during peak hours, the acceleration of food preparation, and the increase of customer volume. As a result, the market share of fast-food restaurants/canteens can be increased, which increases the investor's return on investment. According to De Leon (De Leon, 2008), there are several components that should be included in a well-designed, automated ordering system.

The system should be straightforward to navigate, devoid of clustering, and simple to order. (Sharma, 2007) was created for professionals with search engine optimization capabilities and is available 24 hours a day. Additionally, the system should include a secure payment gateway that allows them to protect their customers' credit card information, track orders and sales history easily, and generate a comprehensive sales report. (Sharma, 2007).

B.  E-Commerce

The trade of products and services through the internet and other computer networks is known as e-commerce, or electronic commerce, according to Garrett (1996). In e-commerce, consumers and sellers trade products and services using computer networks. Aspects of electronic commerce also include the transmission of business data across communication networks, the management of business connections, and the execution of commercial transactions. It includes interactions between companies and their consumers, as well as between businesses and their customers (business-customer).

In contrast to the dominance of B2B e-commerce in the present market, customer-oriented e-commerce accounts for less than 10 percent of total volume, despite the fact that they are all increasing rapidly (Vladimir, 1998). E-commerce benefits consumers. They may compare prices and make purchases from the comfort of their own homes or workplaces 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Businesses may save costs and expand their markets thanks to online sales. Employees, a store, or the production and distribution of catalogues are not necessary.

Sellers are not constrained by the physical location of a business because of the worldwide nature of the internet. There are, however, certain downsides to e-commerce. Customers who buy things online aren't enamoured with some of them. Consumers prefer to try out pricey items like sofas before they buy them, which is why online furniture manufacturers have struggled. Buying may be a great way to spend time with friends and family, which is something you can't do when you're shopping online. Customers also want reassurance that their credit card information is safe and private. 9 E-commerce not only broadens the range of goods and services available to customers, but it also spurs the creation of new enterprises and requires existing ones to adapt their business models to the online world.

C. History of Automated Canteen ordering system

1. Pizza Hut was the first restaurant to accept online orders in 1994. In the United States, 40% of individuals have ordered food online at least once, demonstrating the growth of the online meal ordering sector. Meal made by establishments and by people are both available on the online food ordering market. There is also the option of having groceries delivered or picked up at the convenience of your home.
2. The first online meal ordering business, Worldwide Waiter (now known as waiter.com), was created in 1995. The service, which began in northern California, has now grown to include cities throughout the United States.
3. Several large pizza companies had built their own mobile apps by the end of the 2000s and were doing around 20%-30% of their business online at that time. Food delivery start-ups have become increasingly popular as a result of the rise of apps like uber and the sharing economy.
4. In 2010, snap finger, a restaurant ordering website, saw a 17 percent increase in mobile food orders in a single year.
5. Ordering food over the internet has overtaken ordering by phone by 2015. From 0.15 billion yuan in 2014 to 44.25 billion yuan in 2015, China's online food ordering and delivery sector has grown significantly. The percentage of all restaurant transactions in the United States that were completed online in September 2016 was 61 billion.

D. Related Works

Using the Swiggy app, you can order meals from local eateries at the touch of a button. There is an additional charge for delivery to distant locations. QR codes are not generated by Swiggy. Deliveries are sent straight to customers' homes once an order has been placed online. There are both online and physical options for making payments. Prior to the meal being produced, a Swiggy delivery partner is assigned to pick up the cooked food from the hotel, which receives notified once an order has been placed and gets to work on it. Swiggy-registered eateries serve as the basis for this application.

QORDER was the next step in the process. As a result, it is a device-independent ordering platform. The QOrder, a portable gadget, is used by the waiter instead of the customary notebook. It is done through a touch screen and then sent to the kitchen for processing in real time. For billing reasons, the POS system also gets sales data. All of the tablets placed at QOrder may be accessed easily thanks to the restaurant's Wi-Fi. When the client is ready to go, the waiter prints the receipt and processes the payment using the handheld device, exactly as he would on the POS system.

Numerous issues, on the other hand, need prompt treatment. It is hoped that the adjustments to the menu card would minimise the pile of paper records, reassure the consumer that he will get what he has requested, and gather customer feedback. In order to do this, the institution must build up a separate WIFI network that is not linked to the institution's own assets, data, and resources.

 IV. ANALYSIS

In order to create functional requirements for the proposed system, an in-depth investigation of end-user information is carried out throughout the system analysis.

Website visits and document examination are used to acquire information about the current ordering system at this point of the process. The data acquired throughout the data gathering procedure is essential for a thorough investigation. Research on the present system is carried out using the data gathered.

Consequently, the proposed system's user requirements have been established. At the conclusion of this phase, a deliverable is the requirement definition.

A. The Existing System

All procedures are conducted manually by a waiter carrying paper and noting down the customer's order or ordering over the counter under the non-computerized operating system currently in use. Because of this, the waiter may offer the client food from a different menu than what the customer intended. This might generate a lot of embarrassment for the waiter if the client takes it personally.

B. Problems of Existing System

Because of the manual menu, it is extremely difficult to satisfy the wants and needs of the customers.

The majority of the issues are as follows:     

1. Customers' orders are taken incorrectly, and mistakes are made.
2. Customers' purchase orders which is a time-consuming process. It is impossible to deliver goods on time as a result of   this.
3. It results in a lack of communication between customers and employees.
4. The system's record-keeping is inadequate. As a result, there have been reports of vital records being lost in the past. Furthermore, preventing unauthorized access to the system file system is a problem with a muddled solution.
5. Unnecessary time is spent passing information up the of command.
6. Management occasionally requests a copy of the customer's order form, which can take a long time to obtain.
7. It reduces the flow of production

V. DESIGN

Specifically, it's intended to deal with food service in a canteen. This makes it easier to keep track of consumer orders. The system should include the following features in order to support the canteen's business processes and fulfil the goal:

Before placing an order and paying for the item(s), clients should have the ability to make adjustments to their orders and examine their orders.

A. To Offer A Platform For The Production Of Promotional Materials And Menus

Reporting tools that may aid in making judgments.

In addition to managing user, system menu, and promotion data, this application enables management to make a variety of changes to food-related information, such as changing prices or adding new menu items.

New system's purpose is to fix all the present system's issues. This system is capable of analyzing and storing data either automatically or manually. PHP-MYSQL will be used. Reports created in response to particular information sought by management through the monitor will look somewhat like this. Data input and a record of food orders and deliveries from the canteen are required for this, and a report will be created as a result.

1. Accuracy in data handling is another element of the suggested system.
2. There will be a significant reduction in the quantity of paperwork.
3. Ordered food is quickly made accessible and delivered on time because to this service's quick operation.
4. Flexibility (i.e., it can be accessed at any time)
5. If data is lost, it's easy to duplicate files on CDs.
6. An improved mechanism for storing and retrieving information
7. Reduction in the number of errors in reports.

B. System Design

System design is the most significant and efficient part of software development. Designing software that satisfies the needs of most users is exceedingly challenging without a good plan in place.

To put it another way, overseeing the design component of an organization is a vital task.

All members of the development team must understand the design that a designer generates. In order to successfully apply the system development plans, a programmer needs a well-designed framework in place. Database administration is an essential part of every system's backend, as well. Therefore, the staff working here must have a good knowledge of databases and related tools.

PHP, HTML, CSS, MySQL, and other web technologies will be used to build this system.

Users will be able to manage and modify the automated canteen ordering system with ease thanks to the product produced.

C. Constraints in General

1. The cost constraint involves purchasing extra hardware to operate the new system;
2. There is no existing website;
3. Online search security must be improved.
4. For the sake of argument, let us make the following assumptions:
5. The CPU should have at least two cores, although it might be the newest or any other.

D. Assumptions

1. The system will support all browsers
2. The processor must be at least dual cored and can be any other latest one etc.

E.  Application Architecture

Using a diagrammatic depiction of an app's structure, developers may see how the app could appear, with each page related to the others. Application architecture.

VI. METHODOLOGY

The agile technique will be used in the development of this system. Rapid delivery of working software is at the heart of agile methodology, which combines iterative and incremental development methods.

Allows the team to provide pieces of the finished product in stages, rather than all at once. Staggering feature releases allows the team to better understand the market and keep pace with the competition.

If a concept or a solution isn't immediately evident, regular input from the customer at all levels supports the creation of iterations in the form of iterative software development.

The agile technique combines iterative and incremental methods and encourages a more flexible workplace. With this approach, work is provided iteratively, with each iteration building on what came before, and full work is supplied incrementally, with each new iteration.

As a lightweight framework for aiding teams in focusing on the quick delivery of business value in the face of an ever-changing functional and technological environment, agile development is a useful tool.

An advantage of agile software development is that organizations may lower the total risk associated with software development by focusing on the quality of the product.

Agile is predicated on the premise that in today's fast-paced business and IT environment, end users' expectations are always shifting. Feature additions and deletions may be considered and implemented in response to user input. As a result, the consumer receives the final product they want or need.

Agile methodology's advantages include: increased quality, a focus on business value, a focus on users, involvement of stakeholders, transparency, early and predictable delivery, predictability of costs, and flexibility to adapt.

Conclusion

Customers would be able to make meal orders without having to wait for a server if a completely automated canteen ordering system is implemented. E-menu cards may be seen on the company\'s website, and customers can order meals by choosing products from them. The chef can see the results on the screen and begin processing the order after the client has selected the food item they want. This programmer removes the need for a waiter or decreases the waiter\'s duty greatly. For example, in a busy cafeteria, wait staff may get overwhelmed and unable to satisfy the customer\'s demands. This is an advantage. Because of this, customers can order meals and have it delivered right to their door using this app.

References

[1] Tejas Raibag , Ashwin Vishwakarma , Jahnavi Naik , Rujata Chaudhary and Geetangli Kalme ,” AI-based Food Ordering Application “, 2021 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Systems (ICAIS), 25-27 March 2021 [2] Prashant Avhad, Harsh Bhanushali ,Keval Bhatt , Mansing Rathod ,”Canteen Automation System with Payment Gateway”, 3 rd ed. International Conference on Advances in Science and Technology(ICAST),2020. [3] K Kanath ,Isha R Yadav , Uzama S Shaikh ,”Online Canteen Automated System”, International Conference on Advances in Science and Technology(ICAST),2020. [4] Rupali B Kale , Ruchika K Balwade ,Vipin B Gawal,”Online Food Ordering System for College Canteen”, A Journal of physical Sciences , Engineering and Technology 12(SUP 2) ,64-68,2020.

Copyright

Copyright © 2022 Namrata Pandey, Shatakshi Sharma, Vidushi Sharma, Tushar Garg. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.