Management Restaurant Inventory Wisely
Feb 1, 2010 Inventory Management software
Inventory management is a necessity in all businesses, but more and more restaurants are realizing that they can be the difference between success and failure.
Inventory management is the process of controlling costs and waste through the effective use of the hand in the product. Combine this with a reliable forecasting model and restaurants can realize a dramatic reduction in your monthly expenses.
Every company faces the sad reality that employees steal from their employer. An effective inventory management combined with secure storage and locking of the procedures will result in less loss due to employee theft.
In the restaurant industry that there are mainly three types of inventory management systems: POS Integration Manual or limited, mixed or partial integration and fully integrated.
Manual or limited integration
Manual inventory management refers to the process of physically counting each item every week for restaurant costs. This system is more suited to small, independently owned operators who purchase fewer items and maintain record keeping easier.
Once all the counting is completed, then the data can be transferred to the accounting system of the restaurant. If no errors, the inventory is complete. If there are errors but the whole inventory process must start again to find the errors.
POS mixed
Mixed Point of Sale (POS) or partial integration, the system combines the restaurant outlets with manual inventory procedures. Point of sale refers to the system used to order food and drinks as well as resolution of all controls.
Each time an item is ordered through the outlet is removed from the current inventory. When items are counted during the inventory on-hand value must match the inventory listed in point of sale. However, if there are discrepancies between the two lists, one physical inventory count should begin.
This method of inventory management is more effective than the limited system, and when combined with strong loss prevention procedures may result in large cost savings per month.
Fully integrated
A fully integrated inventory management implemented three different elements in your system. Combine the system with a restaurant POS system / ordering shipping, and an electronic system for physical inventory. This is the most sophisticated and accurate of the three systems and results in the fewest monthly losses and general product and benefits.
Some suppliers of restaurants offering major restaurants with an online ordering system. This system is integrated with the restaurant point of sale and can accurately predict what is in inventory, and forecasting the size of the next supply order.
Once a week or even every month there is a physical inventory conducted with portable electronic bar code readers and electronic scales. All data are automatically sent to both the supplier and the restaurant.
Some are so sophisticated that incorporate the breakdowns of the recipe for ingredients and then calculate the inventory. This type of system allows you to save money in the long term, but also help you run a restaurant business more agile and efficient.
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