Benefits of Suggested Ordering for Restaurant Inventory

No one wants to run out of inventory — Learn how your restaurant can optimize inventory levels with Suggested Ordering

Telling customers "sorry, we're out," is not ideal, especially during a busy period. At the same time, while it's important to be prepared, you don't want to be over-prepared with too much inventory on-hand. A quality inventory food operations for your back-of-house can help you order the exact right amounts to keep your inventory levels balanced. Here's how...

How does the Suggested Order work?

Using your sales forecasts and current inventory levels, Crunchtime automatically calculates a suggested order amount that you can approve or modify in minutes. By ordering the exact quantities needed to meet demand, your restaurants will reduce on-hand inventory and boost their cash flow for greater profitability.

These recommendations are calculated beginning with your current on-hand quantity. That amount is then subtracted from either a static or dynamic par level, which stems from consumption patterns and upcoming sales forecasts. The resulting value is then compared against delivery dates to provide the optimal quantity needed to order to ensure stock will be replenished before it runs out. 

With this innovative feature, all team members who place orders are presented with system-generated recommendations for ideal vendor order quantities for each item. By following these recommendations, restaurants can ensure they have the optimal quantity of each item on hand at all times. 

A Step Further... Automate the Ordering Process 

Automating the ordering process can help eliminate potential hiccups in the back of the house. A system that not only recommends optimal order quantities, but executes those orders automatically based on set parameters, can serve as a built-in safety measure for busy operators. It's one thing to order the optimal quantity, but it's another to place those orders and have them delivered on time. A system designed to place orders when the operator forgets will ensure stock is replenished in a timely manner.

Save Money with Suggested Orders

While you don't want to run out of inventory, having too much on hand can be even more detrimental to your bottom line. Imagine ordering twice the quantity that you needed of a particular ingredient. If the ingredient has a short shelf-life, some of it will likely go to waste, which hurts your food costs. This happens frequently at restaurants, and it's often due to placing purchase orders without all of the pertinent data needed to inform order quantities.

The Bottom Line

It is possible to mitigate the risk of carrying too high (or too low) inventory levels for all of your stores. Suggested Ordering is a critical tool within your inventory management platform that can help you save costs and optimize stock levels. 

PRO TIP: Read the Hickory Tavern case study.

Learn how The Hickory Tavern reduced inventory levels by 25% and achieved a sustained 3% reduction of costs of goods sold.