Department - Author 1

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BS in Industrial Engineering

Date

12-2015

Primary Advisor

Karla Y. Carichner

Abstract/Summary

When found on campus all day and in need of a quick meal before the next class what are the options for you as a Cal Poly student or faculty? Campus dining is the only option that can meet the typical demand you have of speed and convenience. Restaurants with food delivery often don’t have the variety or take to long for delivery. The goal is to provide a delivery service with the speed of getting a meal on campus but with the variety and quality of the restaurants found in downtown San Luis Obispo. Looking at existing businesses providing this service there is definitely a market for multi-restaurant delivery services but maybe not with the demands of busy students and faculty on campus. People on campus that are using the dining options are often in a rush or just getting food on the go. For them it is a quick meal that will hold them over until they get a more substantial meal.

The ideal solution to this problem was to have a service that will deliver your order to you from your favorite restaurants downtown in the same time it would take to walk to a restaurant on campus. There are three main goals for this service; the first is a delivery time in less than 15 minutes, the second is the convenience of campus dining options and the third is to have it be financially reasonable to use. The way about solving the problem was to first determine if multi-restaurant delivery is possible in less than 15 minutes for delivery. After market research, time studies and simulations it was determined that delivery in less than 15 minutes was both not feasible and financially flawed.

For the goal of making a multi-restaurant delivery service with the specified demands a solution was unable to be discovered at this time. While the initial design failed its goals, through the research already gathered and a potential change in scope a financially profitable company could develop. The main issue with the initial design was that it wasn’t fast enough and cost too much for the potential market of Cal Poly students and faculty. With a different market one relying less on speed and more on convenience and quality the business plan could have succeeded. With a change in scope by increasing the delivery time and providing higher end meals a whole new market is reached that will pay a delivery fee for the convenience provided by this service. Partnering with the right restaurants with specific agreements could provide a great service for the restaurants and a financially sound multi-restaurant delivery service business.

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