One of those things that's not exactly thrilling, but is super, super important in running any restaurant, is inventory management. 📦
This is a task that restaurant owners often put off thinking about, and many of them are actually a bit intimidated by it...
But, in a fast-paced and ever-changing field like the food sector, organization is one of the most crucial skills for anyone working in a restaurant. Make sure you're managing your inventory correctly, and this will guarantee you'll reduce stress, cut down on errors, and save a lot of time in the long run.
In this article, we'll talk about all the details of restaurant inventory management – what it means and how restaurants can really boost their inventory management process.
What Does Restaurant Inventory Management Mean?
Before we give you the most important tips and best practices for inventory management, we need to agree on what this concept actually means.
Restaurant inventory management is the process of tracking every single ingredient that enters and leaves your restaurant to avoid spoilage and unnecessary losses. It keeps an eye on a bunch of important metrics – like the quantity of products you're ordering, how much is actually used in the kitchen/bar, and what's left over as "sitting" stock afterwards.
As you can see, inventory management is a time-consuming, precise process, and there's no room for error. But, when you master inventory management, you'll see your restaurant operating with higher efficiency, and that means more profits and lower costs over time.
How Can Restaurants Improve Their Inventory Management?
Now that we know what inventory management means, let's talk about how restaurants can improve their system. In this section, we'll go over the top 5 best practices for inventory management.
1. Set a Specific Time for Full Inventory:
Make sure you record and track every single item your restaurant uses – from food and drinks to staff uniforms and tableware. Sticking to a complete management system means there won't be any confusion among staff about what needs to be recorded. From there, you can set a schedule for inventory management. The schedule will vary depending on the item. For instance, some perishable products might need weekly tracking, while things like staff uniforms might only need to be recorded annually.
2. Staff Accountability:
To achieve maximum efficiency, it's best to assign two staff members to lead the entire inventory management process. The more familiar they get with the tracking process, the faster they'll become. The benefit of having two employees instead of one is that each can review the other's work. Mistakes are easy to make in a precise process like inventory management, so you need to do your utmost to reduce them through accountability.
3. Create a Waste Sheet:
You can do this manually or digitally, depending on what you prefer – although digital inventory management generally cuts down on errors. Monitoring food waste will help you find ways to reduce these losses, which saves you money and time.
4. Monitor Sell-Through Rate:
Your "sell-through rate" is how many times you sell a specific product within a defined period. For example, if you have a steakhouse in Riyadh, and you order 200 steaks a week, and you sell 80 of them, your sell-through rate is 40%. Tracking the sales of all your inventory using this metric will help you better determine the necessary supply to avoid spoilage and waste.
5. Use Technology:
Investing in a digital POS system or inventory management software will help you forecast demand based on factors like seasonality.
