Systems In Retailing
25 mins, 2002 Bar-codes, electronic point sale systems, hand-held terminals… information technology has transformed UK retailing. At Marks & Spencer’s IT centre, mainframe computers monitor what’s been sold in all its stores and order up new stock. Computers control every step of the M&S national distribution system. And IT isn’t confined to inside the supermarket,… Read more »
Systems In A Hotel
27 mins, 2000 This demonstrates the systems in a large hotel. The hotel’s booking system shows the rooms available and helps maximise income from the rooms, discounting prices when things are quiet. For each guest the system records a guest history, with details of their likes and dislikes. When a guest feels a room is… Read more »
Systems In A Cinema
27 mins, 2000 How do cinemas use information technology? We compare two very different examples. The huge Film Works multiplex, in Manchester, has its own web-site. The much smaller Gate cinema, in London, uses e-mails to keep in touch with its customers but otherwise has much more limited IT. The Gate still issues tickets manually,… Read more »
Starting A Business: The Café Bar
30 mins, 2000 The film tells how Dave and his brothers set up a cafe-bar. They get planning permission, they design the interior, open up and customers pour in. But six months on, there’s a crisis. Money’s going out as fast as it’s coming in. And a lack of control means they don’t know where… Read more »
Staying There
23 mins, 1991 Setting up a company is one thing – but how do you ensure it survives in the long term? Rose Toys, once a highly successful manufacturer of model trains, is in crisis. Sales of its traditional products are falling. Harold Rose, its founder, is on the verge of retirement, but is reluctant… Read more »