What are Restaurant Inventory Management Solutions Missing?

• By Tyler Boykin
• 10-06-2022
• Software

The restaurant industry is constantly adapting to customer demand and technological development. Something has sparked the need for innovative and up-to-date solutions that help them meet the influxes of demand while maintaining brand quality and accurately buying the Economic Quantity (EQ) that’s accurate to business.

Many pain points need to be addressed by inventory management solutions, from excess food costs surrounding over and under ordering to sitting inventory, usage, waste, and more.

These are pain points that restaurants can no longer endure; they need a solution to tackle these effectively and get them past such outdated problems. It’s crucial that restaurants know how much stock they should be ordering in and what they already have plenty of. The main consequence of lacking this information is evident in wasted stock and a loss on the investment made in the goods.

By tightening up on inventory expenses and having accurate numbers on their inventory status, restaurants will have ensured they know their EQ and can optimize their operations to eliminate waste and overhead.

Since the call for such a solution has only gotten louder, it’s clear that current solutions trying to answer are missing the mark. But what is missing, and why must it be included?

What is needed for the Recipe to Success?

A Restaurant Inventory Management system needs to offer as much insight and control over a business’s stock as possible. Not only does real-time insight into inventory aid in making informed changes to stock orders, etc., but also in streamlining processes for an overhead-free future.

For instance, restaurants need software that will provide statistics on their most and least popular dishes. This software should provide actionable insights for adjusting future stock orders by showing how much of each ingredient needs restocking. In other words, each restock order adjusts to current inventory levels, eliminating over/under ordering.

Here are the must-have aspects necessary for your solution to ensure this:

Predictive Order Management Software
Also known as forecasting, predictive software ensures restaurant groups and owners will no longer need to fret over guessing what they need to order/stock, what may go to waste, etc. Not only this, but they will also not need to manually maintain complex spreadsheets, which is a repetitive and tiresome task prone to human error.

Utilizing an ERP system, this software can count and track inventory and quickly pull data from historical records to determine trends and patterns of a business’s inventory. The ability to accurately predict what stock is needed or not is essential for any business seeking to improve its financial outcome.

Automated Inventory Management Software
Sometimes called Control Software, it is the integration of rule-based purchasing engines that automate processes such as replenishments, payments, and distribution.

The premise of such automated management is for inventory tracking, anticipating quantities, resolving the time-consuming repetition of rescheduling orders, and even automating processes like par levels, supplier relations, and more. The most significant benefit of implementing this software is its assurance of reducing food wastage.

Utilizing innovative AI technology, restaurant businesses can effectively cut food costs and wastage with this automating software, helping them run their businesses sustainably and efficiently.

Streamlining multiple inventory operations, automated inventory management software offers benefits such as:

Saving time, and reducing human error, as manual tasks and managing SKUs are automated.

Improving efficiency with smart ordering.
Offering real-time updates from the back-end of the POS.
Finally, it also provides franchise possibilities as it can be compatible with a franchise POS software that offers the freedom of control over royalties, production of custom reports, a consolidated loyalty program, and automating orders directly through the franchisor.

POS Integration
The aforementioned digital systems can be easily synchronized with POS tools, connecting every aspect of the business to improve net revenue. Intertwining all of this within a single platform, POS ensures that restaurant businesses have a real-time understanding of their inventory levels, orders, sales, customer sales, etc.

Other POS benefits include:

A safe reliance on the cloud for data storage
Maintaining a live inventory count
Improving overall accuracy
Loss prevention (waste and investment)
Greater forecasting ability
Efficiency across multi-channels
It also allows for remote management as, even if there are multiple stores, it keeps track of inventory across all locations.

A practical example of what POS system integration can do for restaurants is its use in automating invoicing processes and updating the information in the ERP system.

The Secret Ingredient to a Superior Solution
The demand for food inventory management software solutions has yet to slow down or stop progressing. This is why software proprietors need to ensure that their solutions are up-to-date and built to withstand anything the future may hold.

By outsourcing experienced insight, solution upgrades can be seamlessly integrated with existing systems ensuring that your solution is top-of-the-range.

Hiring vendors specializing in your desired field can make all the difference in your software being the innovative solution restaurant businesses are looking for. For instance, with restaurant inventory management software specialists, complete access to data and operations (like upstream and downstream device traceability) will be seamlessly added.

Ensuring your solution provides restaurants with their current solution expectations is a sure way of keeping relevant and ahead of the competition. With custom insight, integration, and guidance, your software solution is sure to be ahead of the curve and meet the high demands of your customers.