From Data to Decisions: 3 Steps to Unlock the Full Potential of Your Restaurant’s Operational Data

At Ops Summit 2024, Crunchtime brought together leaders and innovators across the foodservice industry to explore the tools and strategies shaping operational excellence. One standout session, “Accessing Data to Impact Operations”, gave attendees a practical deep dive into how to fully leverage inventory data to improve both restaurant and cruise operations to help organizations make smarter, more timely decisions through a simple but powerful framework for optimizing data usage:

1. Identify Your Data Needs
2. Access Your Data
3. Export Your Data

This approach equips operators to understand not just what data is available, but who needs it, when they need it, and how they can act on it.

Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Identify Your Data Needs

Every operation is unique, but they all rely on impactful, timely data to succeed. Operators should ask three critical questions:

• Who needs access to data?
• What type of data is most impactful?
• When do decision-makers need that data to be most effective?

Who Needs Data?

From the kitchen to the corporate office, consider a wide range of roles when answering this question:

• Operations Personnel
• Inventory Managers
• Fleet Manager Provisions
• Procurement & Supply Chain Teams
• Directors of Operations
• General and Restaurant Managers
• Chefs
• Purchasing Managers

What Type of Data Drives Impact?

Some of the most critical metrics include:

• Procurement lead times
• Price fluctuations
• Sales vs. projections
• Actual vs. theoretical usage
• Inventory on hand
• Consumption and movement of product (transfers, commissary, etc.)

When Should Data Be Accessed to Be Most Effective?

Timing is everything. Depending on the role and the decision at hand, data may need to be accessed:

• Daily
• Per voyage
• Weekly or bi-weekly
• Monthly, quarterly, or annually

Knowing when to access which metrics ensures that every decision is backed by the right data at the right time.

Step 2: Access Your Data

Once your data needs are defined, Crunchtime makes it easy to access the right data through powerful tools:

The Crunchtime Dashboard: Instant Visibility

The dashboard is your quick-glance gateway to critical operational metrics:

• Performance summaries for sales, labor, and inventory
• Top 10 AVT (Actual vs. Theoretical) cost items
• Real-time operating metrics in 15-, 30-, and 60-minute increments
• Inventory Value Trends
• Posting Dependency Checklists

All of this data is designed to be location-specific and actionable, enabling on-the-ground teams to stay responsive.

Step 3: Export Your Data

When it’s time to take your data further, whether into external systems or custom analytics, Crunchtime offers flexible export tools:

Mappable Exports

These allow for GL-level exporting with custom formatting and scheduled delivery to meet specific needs.

User Defined Exports (UDEs)

With UDEs, users can customize and automate data flows into external systems. This is ideal for organizations with tailored reporting needs or complex backend integrations.

APIs: Integration at Scale

Crunchtime’s APIs support both exporting and importing data. These integrations allow for:

• Real-time data transfer to third-party platforms
• Seamless synchronization with procurement, finance, and analytics systems
• Enhanced automation and reduced manual effort

The Takeaway: Operational Excellence Through Data

This Ops Summit session was a clear reminder: data is only powerful if you know how to use it. With Crunchtime, operators have a robust toolkit to access, analyze, and act on the data that matters most, at the exact moment they need it.

By aligning the who, what, and when of your data needs, and using Crunchtime’s dashboard, reports, mobile tools, and export capabilities, your team can unlock new levels of efficiency, accuracy, and impact across operations. To learn more, visit: www.crunchtime.com/operational-intelligence