The venue also boasts a full-service bar, a retail shop, and a dedicated photo department. “Most of our castles can have 1,000 guests dining at once, with some castles being even larger,” says Mary Soltys, Vice President of Merchandising at Medieval Times. “With up to three shows a day, this means we can easily have over 3,000 guests in a day.”
Business case
Because there is a limited timeframe for the guests on-site, the company needs to be efficient and ensure that their team members have the tools they need to provide the best service.
Before adopting LS Central, Medieval Times faced significant operational challenges from the utilization of multiple, disparate software systems. The company operated with four distinct software platforms – an ERP system, a retail management software, and two other systems for the bar’s front of house and back of house. None of these systems talked to each other, creating challenges in managing inventory, purchases, and sales across different departments. “We had no live inventory in our bar,” says Soltys, “We would create purchase orders in the system, then, when we did an inventory, we would just compare it to last month to see if there was a large discrepancy. It was not an efficient way to work.”
Solution
As Medieval Times expanded its business and opened more castles, the need for a comprehensive software solution became evident. The company sought a solution that could seamlessly integrate finances, retail, food services, bar operations, photo, and bookings under one platform. After a thorough evaluation, the company identified LS Central, LS Retail's POS and ERP software solution, as the perfect fit for their diverse requirements.
"LS Central was the only software solution that could meet our needs while being user-friendly for everyone in our organization," says Soltys. They were particularly pleased that LS Central not only addressed their current operational challenges, but also offered functionalities tailored to their future plans, including replenishment, bookings, and order-at-the-table capabilities.
Benefits
By implementing LS Central, Medieval Times was able to streamline its operations and bring all its processes together. The company now manages inventory, purchases, and sales across different departments more efficiently and accurately.
Now empowered by LS Central, the company enjoys several key advantages:
- Real-time inventory tracking which significantly impacts bar operations. “In LS Central, you can save recipes and connect them to inventory, so when we sell a drink, for instance, the system immediately deducts two ounces of gin and one of lemon juice from inventory, keeping it up to date,” says Soltys.
- Cross-training and internal promotion opportunities made possible by standardized processes across all departments. Previously, navigating through four different systems for data was time-consuming. Now, with everything centralized, accessing necessary information is quicker and more straightforward. “By having one system for the bar, retail, and back of house, it’s easier to move people around,” says Soltys.
- Shorter queues and faster customer service. “In the past, all items in our gift stores were tagged with a barcode, and if a barcode was too small to scan, we had to have the SKU memorized and type it in,” says Soltys. “When you have long lines and people with many items, all this typing in numbers can really slow down the line. With LS Central, we just need to touch a button, which had a huge effect on expediting sales.”
The implementation of LS Central has optimized operations for Medieval Times and enhanced the guest experience. The company has great plans and is actively exploring additional functionalities for its operations. Currently, they are in the testing phase of new features in select castles.
