Food service company Compass Group will have installed web enabled management software at 2,000 sites across the US by the middle of next year. The company has signed a five year deal with Radiant Systems for its Wave package of e-business applications.

The Wave software will enable Compass to perform procurement, inventory management and employee management functions via the internet. The product serves as a single access point for retail business applications and provides user access anywhere with any device that has a Web browser.

"We expect to see enormous benefits from the efficiencies to be gained by using the web to link our food service sites with our supply chain," said Gary Green, Chief Executive Officer of Compass Group’s North American Division.

"In addition, we are confident that the web enabled architecture of the Radiant systems solution will allow us to install sophisticated software applications much more effectively across our geographically dispersed operations."

"Our focus in this relationship is to drive significant bottom-line benefits to Compass," said Andy Heyman, Division President of Radiant Systems. "The web is a great foundation for our clients to build more efficient processes. We expect this architecture and our approach to software application deployment to be widely accepted throughout retail." Radiant Systems has a marketing and development agreement with Microsoft.

Compass Group is the world's largest food service company, with operations in more than 70 countries. Its operating units, including Eurest, Chartwells, and Medirest, provide hospitality at airports, hospitals, and schools. Its Eurest subsidiary provides corporate services for clients such as Microsoft, British Airways, and MCI WorldCom.

Compass operates some 4,500 company-owned eateries such as Upper Crust and Ritazza, and franchises several Pizza Hut, Burger King, and Sbarro outlets. The company also has the food service contract for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Richard Byatt