Technology

Modernized ordering, inventory essential to restaurant success

inventory management restaurant

In today’s challenging economic climate, every restaurant faces a battle for margins. Those margins are getting squeezed by spiraling labor and food costs as well as tougher competition from other restaurants and retail outlets.

More efficient purchasing is a proven strategy to preserve profitability. Thanks to technology, restaurant operators can leverage digital tools to more accurately forecast, order and maintain supply levels. Harnessing these tools can save time, identify inefficiencies and reduce the risk of having products sit on the shelf or running short of a key ingredient on a Saturday night.

Although multi-unit foodservice operators have long utilized inventory management technology to boost operational efficiency, these tools are now available for independent restaurants as well.

MySysco Order offers Sysco customers a convenient way to create their own orders, track delivery and manage inventory in real time, anytime.

With MySysco Order, operators can use guided search options to find exactly the right product, searching by item class, category, brand or item attributes. For each item, the system provides product specifications, nutritional information and the restaurant’s purchase history.

Restaurant owners can set up custom shopping lists, curating their own list of must-have ingredients and frequently purchased items that can be checked each time an order is made. Ordering can also be set up to account for par levels, another way to ensure the right products in the correct amounts are always on hand.

The MySysco Inventory app tackles another important but sometimes overlooked strategy for controlling expenses: inventory management. No operator relishes counting and tracking stock, but large restaurant systems understand the value of immediate feedback from weekly or monthly inventories. Every time a Sysco order is entered, inventory is automatically updated. Non-Sysco items can also be tracked within the platform.

Without a regular inventory process, most operators have no way of tracking food costs until an accountant reviews P&L statements—often weeks in the future. But MySysco Inventory helps operators take control of those costs much sooner by providing real-time management and tracking of inventory, vendors and expense categories. The app analyzes purchases, costs of goods sold and excess inventory. This functionality gives restaurant managers the power to optimize inventory, better manage food costs and reduce over or under ordering.

Because restaurant managers and owners need to be everywhere, the MySysco suite of tools provide powerful functions and features. Collectively, these essential tools can help restaurant operators run more smoothly and profitably. 

This post is sponsored by Sysco

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