Restaurant inventory management is a process of keeping track of your restaurant’s current and future needs. It helps you order food and other supplies in time so that you do not run out of anything, avoid unnecessary wastage, and ensure that quality standards are maintained at all times.
Restaurant inventory management is one of the essential aspects of restaurant operations, but it can also be a complex process. So, here are the best practices that restaurant owners and wholesale food distributors should follow for better restaurant inventory management:
Analyzing the Inventory Data Daily Inventory data is the most critical information for a restaurant owner. It provides insight into how well your business performs and helps you decide how to manage it best.
Therefore, it’s essential to analyze the inventory data daily and make decisions based on that information. You can use this analysis to change how you run your restaurant or order supplies so that you have enough products at all times without wasting money on excess inventory.
Best Practices in Restaurant Inventory Management
- Review your Reordering Schedule
You risk running out of inventory and losing sales when you order too little. You will be stuck with excess food you can’t sell when you order too much. Review your reordering schedule regularly to ensure it reflects current inventory levels and sales figures. If sales have increased or the restaurant has changed its menu, review the orders accordingly.
- Temperatures must be measured
Measuring temperatures is one of the most important things you can do to ensure proper food safety. The temperature of the food should be checked daily and any deviation from the correct temperature should be corrected immediately. Hot foods should never go below 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 Celsius), while cold foods should never exceed 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius).
- Inventory should be Conducted Regularly
As a restaurant owner, you must conduct your inventory at least once weekly. The process should be completed at the end of each shift and the end of each day. If possible, you should conduct an inventory once a month as well.
- Reduce waste/spoilage
Reducing waste in your restaurant is a crucial part of inventory management. Food waste is a huge expense and can cost thousands of dollars annually. To reduce this expense, you should:
- Measure how much food you throw out each week. Please write it down on a piece of paper, or use an app like MyFitnessPal or LoseIt! that tracks calories consumed versus calories burned (this will be important later).
- Look at what types of food are being wasted most often and then try to figure out why that is the case. If customers don’t like certain items, do something about it! Don’t just keep serving those foods if they aren’t selling well—you’ll be wasting money by buying more than you need from suppliers or throwing them out when they go bad in storage.
- If you feel you have a lot of inventory left, you should try to sell it faster by offering food service rebates.
- Implement A “First in, First Out” System
In this method, the first item purchased is the first one sold. This method ensures that the inventory is always fresh and that you are not selling old products at higher prices.
The FIFO system is an accounting practice in which the oldest unit of inventory is sold first. This means that if you buy 10 units of a product on December 20 and sell five units on January 10 and five units on February 10, your company’s financials for January and February will only count five units as sales, even though ten have been sold. in these months (the other five are not yet sold).
- Create An Employee Training Program
Employee training is an integral part of restaurant inventory management. It provides them with the knowledge they need to perform their job correctly and helps ensure that they follow company procedures. The best way to ensure employees have the right skills is to create a training program.
To create an effective employee training program, you should start by brainstorming what you want your employees to know about restaurant inventory management. Write down everything that comes to mind, such as:
- How to use software for managing your inventory
- How often do certain products need replacing
- How much storage space do certain items require
Must Read: A Guide for Wholesale Food Distribution Industry
In the end
Inventory management is an essential aspect of any business. It helps in managing the stock and avoiding losses. It also helps wholesale food distributors and restaurant owners know how much inventory should be ordered from our suppliers and when they should be ordered. These tips can help you run your restaurant smoothly by reducing waste/spoilage, finding the optimal order quantity, implementing a “first in, first out” system, etc.
