Effective restaurant inventory management involves daily inventory counts, custom inventory sheets, staff training on portion control and cost awareness, and storing inventory counts in a computer database to track cost analysis and order products. It helps reduce food waste, streamline ordering, and spot potential problems.
There are many good systems to assist a professional with restaurant inventory management. Keeping a daily inventory count is one way to track food costs, and preparing a designated count sheet with each product on it simplifies this process. Training each staff member to be aware of food cost and proper portion control is another essential aspect of restaurant inventory management. Storing inventory counts in a computer database also makes it much easier to track cost analysis, order products, and track weekly usage.
Store inventory is often the easiest way to spot problems such as theft, misuse of food, ordering errors, and over-preparation. A fundamental key of restaurant inventory management is always knowing what products are available to consumers and this task can be greatly simplified by generating a custom inventory sheet. Pages should contain each item in a separate column and include items such as the previous day’s total and inventory numbers that correspond to the food dispenser. Items should also be counted with the same value each time to ensure as accurate as possible. Implementing this method will help reduce food waste, streamline ordering, and hopefully help the manager spot potential problems.
Training staff to be aware of the cost of food is another key factor in restaurant inventory management. If a cook doesn’t know the exact portions that each appetizer and side item should be, then at the end of each shift, a great deal of food ends up wasted. Not only does this cost the company money, but it also encourages staff members to frequently check the kitchen for extra food for snacking during their shifts.
All of this information would need to be transferred to a computer database to partially automate the restaurant inventory process. By allowing the software to deduct daily inventory counts from the weekly total, a manager can spot any problems on each shift of the week. For example, if the store used 100 pounds of chicken on a busy night and 70 pounds when the store was slow, the manager could go directly to the responsible parties and make the necessary corrections. Using a computer for restaurant inventory management also allows users to see exactly how much of each product was used for the week, making ordering with grocery retailers much easier.
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