Anyone who drives from Munich to Austria or Italy should plan in time for a short stop at the Irschenberg service area directly on the A8. A true catering jewel is located right next to the fast food temples typical for motorway service areas. The Dinzler mega-concept with coffee shop, bar, restaurant and coffee roasting operation offers a relaxed feel-good atmosphere - and wonderfully aromatic, fresh-roasted coffee specialities.

It's already apparent from the outside that something very special awaits the visitor here. The building built in 2009 is the flagship of the family-owned and operated company. Before the backdrop of the alpine panorama, the building seems like an imposing mountain itself. And from the outside visitors can also climb over the sloped roof to the inviting terraces that wind around the upper section of the building.

Guests are not only pleasantly surprised on their first visit. The interior decoration is based on a concept of the well-known interior decorator Luis Mock. Old authentic furnishings also give the building its unusual charm on the inside. The café area is characterised by leather-covered benches and dark kitchen tables. In the light-flooded restaurant, galleries made of old window shutters provide for a specific room division. Access to the kitchen and service area is concealed by an old shelf for milk bottles from a dairy. All these details divide up the huge area of 4,500 qm into pleasant, clearly laid out areas.
And a particular highlight is the adventure path through the coffee roasting area. A special visitors' bridge, which spans the roasting area, provides guests with a view directly over the shoulder of the master roaster. Those who also want to drink it at home can purchase the freshly roasted coffee in the adjacent coffee shop, where many interesting objects for the home coffee table can also be found.
As different as the catering concepts and the retail concept are, all the more do the requirements differ for the POS systems used. In the coffee shop a Vario provides for efficient billing at the POS. It offers the management of a continuous, precise overview of sales via the network connection.
In both the café and the restaurant, six Vectron POS SteelTouch are used as classic stationary solutions. Their size and the clearly laid out entry surfaces help with fast selection of the products from the extensive product range. The elegant stainless-steel housing excellently adapts to the well thought-out design of the various areas by reflecting the ambient light. In the café the focus is on self-service. Therefore, the POS systems are equipped with a customer display matched to the housing concept here.
The Vectron POS SteelTouch systems in the restaurant area are strategically distributed at five positions and - like all other POS systems in the building - interconnected and networked with the back office area. Current figures on visitor frequency, an averages receipt or the sales percentages of beverage and food are therefore available at all times and are included in the purchasing and event planning. The operating concept is rounded off by three mobile Vectron POS systems, which are primarily used in the inviting terrace area or in the three elegant training and seminar rooms. With their help the orders are already transferred to the counter and kitchen according to the respective product group during entry at the table. With the expansiveness of the building, that reduces the amount of time and walking required by 50 %. That's a decisive factor with 500 seats indoors and 300 seats outdoors and an average frequency of 2,500 guests a day. The food products have meanwhile assumed the lion's share with 65 %, which is among other things due to the excellent cuisine. It was awarded the silver palm of the Leaders Club at the end of 2011, and therefore took second place in a competition in which the 6 best restaurateurs receive prizes every year.

The proprietors are accordingly satisfied with the sales figures in the restaurant area. And the initiatives to increase sales in the bar and café area are accordingly strong. With a share of 20 % of customers from the motorway and 80 % customers from the surrounding area, the direction for the sales-increasing measures is already mapped out. In the long term, a share of 40 % is to be achieved for customers from the motorway.
With total company sales of Euro 17 million a year, a thorough sales analysis is essential as a planning basis, especially as a McCafé in the immediate vicinity is a major competitor at first glance. However, the general mood on the situation is a relaxed one. A synergy effect is expected from the increase in the number of visitors at Irschenberg.
At Vectron Systems AG, which has intensively accompanied the installation, people are sure that this success is also due to the dual platform strategy. The uniform software platform, on which all POS systems operate jointly and which provides the entire functionality for all sectors, is the guarantee for smooth processes even in complex situations. Only in this way can different stationary POS systems adapted to the respective sales situation work together seamlessly with mobile POS systems. And only in this way can different shop concepts like the café area, the expansive restaurant area and the retail coffee business be combined in an overall network.
This is an ideal solution not only for the demanding concept at Dinzler.

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