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:
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 Data?
From the kitchen to the corporate office, consider a wide range of roles when answering this question:
What Type of Data Drives Impact?
Some of the most critical metrics include:
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:
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:
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:
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