In a consumable product business like restaurants, quantifying the use of salt and pepper and revenue modeling for the use of hot sauce can be a challenge. However, unless you can control the number of napkins going out the drive thru window, you may just go out of business. Inventory control management may seem almost impossible to implement but the cold hard facts that result in your not bothering to deploy some quantifiable measure of control are bleak enough to make you think twice.
There are three elements in inventory control management critical for any restaurant. Understanding these and being able to apply them to your business may not be a skill that you, the chef or the investor who loves restaurants and wanted to try your hand at running one, have experience with. That is when experts like Atlantic Restaurant Consultants can assist you in getting a handle on inventory control management and increasing your profit margin.
Know What You Have Ordered and Compare it to What You Have Used
The creative genius in the kitchen may not have any idea what quantity of saffron they used in tonight's pilaf, but the business manager knows how often he has had to reorder it. If he has to consistently order saffron and it is not appearing in the menu, then you have a situation. Either someone is pocketing the delicate herb for their own use, or the chef forgot to let you know that it is the main ingredient that is directing salivating clients through your doors and needs to be added to the inventory control management process.
Once you know that it is a part of what is being sold, you can add that to the cost of your operations; a key ingredient in your inventory control management. If your creative genius wielding the Chinese chopper fervently demands a supply of saffron for his masterpieces, you better let him have it and price the dish accordingly. However, if it is being added by the waiter because it looks pretty, your inventory control management will successfully issue a report that restricts waiters or servers from adding it to the plate.
Skimming the Fat off the Top of the Rice Bowl.
On the other hand, if your chef raises an eyebrow and looks down her nose at you, disdainfully querying "Moi?" you may have a thief in your midst. Restaurants and bars have a challenge in keeping their employees' spoons out of your rice bowl. Security cameras may be effective in mall kiosks and department stores, but unless you plan to place a camera in every nook and cranny in your restaurant, you need to shore up your inventory control management and count your spoons daily.
"How Many Would You Like?".
There is a true story of a restaurant that went out of business because they did not count their paper napkins. They had trained their staff well to accommodate the customer, but did not account for napkins in their inventory control management. That resulted in the difference between profit and loss and resulted in closing their doors.