ASI and MCR Systems form Trans-Atlantic Partnership

Birmingham, England (January 20, 2003): ASI, a software design firm with significant market presence in the United States, has entered into a strategic partnership with MCR Systems of Leicester to market ASI’s point-of-sale applications throughout Great Britain.

ASI’s Restaurant Manager™ POS system has been the touchscreen POS system of choice for U.S. restaurants since 1987. With the release of their revolutionary new Write-On Handheld POS system in May 2002, ASI now offers a cutting-edge POS technology that promises to radically change the way computers are used in the foodservice industry. ASI’s Write-On Handheld™ relies on handwriting recognition and pocket PCs to create a handheld POS system as easy to use as a pencil and pad. Waiters use the Write-On Handheld to jot down orders and send them to the kitchen right from tableside. Managers use the Write-On Handheld to check the status of open orders, view real-time sales reports or receive alerts when a VIP customer arrives.

“A restaurant can realize astounding benefits from a handheld POS system like ASI’s Write-On Handheld,” said Ray Morrison, owner of the Royal Mile Pub in Wheaton, Maryland, one of the first restaurants to use this new point-of-sale system. “We have seen a direct impact on our bottom line from faster table turns and from the sale of more drinks and desserts by waiters who never leave the restaurant floor to send an order. The system is so intuitive and easy-to-use that my waiters loved it from day one. And I love it, too. It really helps me run the business when I can check on up to the minute sales reports at any time from any place.”

With the collaboration of their new British partner, MCR Systems, ASI plans to introduce the Write-On Handheld throughout the United Kingdom in 2003. ASI CEO Alex Malison explained, “Wireless handheld technology is already more widely accepted in Europe than it is in the U.S. So ASI’s intuitive new approach to wireless technology should be an even easier sell in Great Britain than it is on the other side of the Atlantic.” Malison added, “Five years from now, I predict handhelds will be as ubiquitous in full-service restaurants as the touchscreen is today.”