Restaurant inventory management is crucial to the success of the business. Accurate inventory numbers can help you identify and reduce food waste, prevent under-ordering, and monitor the overall success of the business, not to mention tell you which items are in short supply and need to be reordered. When 25-35% of your operating budget is devoted to food supplies accurate counts are a must for controlling costs and reducing waste.
The challenge in restaurant inventory management is simply getting the job done. It’s a task that few employees every look forward to and more often than not gets done on a slow night or maybe once or twice a month. While this technically gets the job done, it’s not a very effective approach, especially if you are trying to better manage costs.
Truly effective inventory management happens every week, preferably on the same day each week, and always before your inventory orders are placed. This will help ensure accurate, consistent counts that managers can use to better align their inventory orders with their actual needs.
If this sounds like more work that you really don’t have time to add to your list of to-do’s, a restaurant inventory management system can make it simpler and more manageable.
Restaurant Inventory Management Tools Ease The Task
Modern restaurant inventory management tools have made this task easier than ever. Cloud-based tools like Synergy Suite’s Inventory program integrate with Point-of-Sale (POS) systems for real-time data tracking. Once integrated, the tool can be used to generate reports on a daily or weekly basis and can even be set up to send you alerts when inventory levels fall to a specified amount. This automatic inventory tracking reduces the amount of time spent counting inventory while the report features make it easier to track current inventory numbers. The tool is available for use on mobile devices and includes conversion tools to account for multiple units of measure so you know you’re always getting an accurate count. Additional features allow users to track inventory by location and even by recipe, including supplier cost adjustments, for accurate cost projections and product margin analysis.
Restaurant profit margins are slim enough, don’t let inaccurate inventory numbers erode those margins even further. Synergy Suite’s Inventory tool is designed for ease-of-use to encourage greater inventory control which can drive higher profits.
