Keeping track of your restaurant’s inventory is one of the easiest ways of increasing your profit margins and allows you to quickly identify any stock problems and identify trends in food waste before it’s too late.
The problem is, ask your staff to take inventory and they will go running off in all different directions. When you’re finally able to get them to go around and count products, chances are they are doing it half-heartedly and not being as diligent as you would have hoped.
The reason for your staff hating the inventory process is because it’s typically a long laborious process of searching for products, counting and entering spreadsheets. Inventory tends to get put on the back burner the second something else comes up which ultimately is not good for your business as there could be underlying issues eating away at your margins. The goal is to ultimately identify these issues before it’s too late!
Below are a few ways to help streamline your inventory process to make it a more consistent process in your kitchen!
Organize Your Stockroom– Looking into an unorganized fridge or dry goods room is daunting. One of the easiest ways for restaurants to keep track of inventory is to organize their stockroom! Organizing shelves in a way that makes sense to your team allows you to easily see what is low on your shelves, what you have too much of and when items need to be replenished!
Set par levels for different items- Setting par levels ensures that you never run out of product while at the same time ensuring your team isn’t over ordering tying up precious storage space and dollars. Par levels allow you to easily replenish when needed and have a basic understanding of the number of items you consistently have on hand.
Take inventory Often- This sounds counter intuitive but the more you take inventory the easier it will be. Taking a quick inventory at the end of each night will be much easier than attacking the task at the end of the month. Consistency is key!
Have the same Staff Take Inventory: Elaborating on the consistency aspect, think of having the same staff members take inventory every week. This staff will be able to identify the patterns and nuances involved in your inventory over time.
Invest in Software- Like most other aspects of your life, technology plays an important role in taking mundane tasks off your plate. Inventory Management tools like our free Food Cost Management software allows you to control inventory in as little as 5 minutes a day. Mitigate time-consuming inventory counts and quickly resolve shrinkage and spoilage issues. Easily track on-hand amounts with up-to-date dollar values for each ingredient. Get Set up for Free!
