| For the majority of restaurants, food cost is second | | | | place less value on anything that we have an |
| only to labor in terms of an overall liability. It goes | | | | abundance of. This is true when it comes to restaurant |
| without saying that steps need to be taken and | | | | inventory control and your primary goal here should be |
| measures employed to ensure that this element of the | | | | to ensure that you could train all your workers in the |
| budget does not get out of control. As in any business, | | | | values of portion control. This is also another reason |
| it's all about the bottom line. | | | | why you should not have to much of any particular |
| While every business has its operational costs and | | | | item in stock at any time. |
| most retail establishments have to carry stocks of | | | | If you calculate to have just enough of each type of |
| some kind, restaurant inventory control is particularly | | | | food in the storage room, you'll end up having less |
| important as in this case the goods are very | | | | spoilage, less waste, less theft, better portion control |
| perishable. It is not uncommon to have several hundred | | | | and a better overall net result to your bottom line. |
| different types of raw food product in storage at any | | | | Make sure that you reduce the excess inventory by |
| one moment and with poor management, you can end | | | | proper oversight. |
| up wasting a lot of this. | | | | Did you know that chain restaurants tend to be 2 to 3 |
| Good restaurant inventory control starts and finishes | | | | times more profitable than independent restaurants, |
| at senior management level. It is important not to get | | | | across the board? This is in good part due to the |
| too many people involved in the process, as this by | | | | policies and procedures that they have in place, |
| itself can lead to an overall waste. Delegate, by all | | | | including stringent restaurant inventory control. All |
| means, but make sure that you have a very strict | | | | operators should try and ensure that they do a full |
| procedure in place to account for the oversight, for | | | | food calculation cost once per week and after a |
| measurement and for the ordering process. | | | | period of time they will not come up against any |
| While a good eatery will stand or fall on the quality of | | | | sudden panics when a particular item is very low or |
| its food and it's important to have all your menu items | | | | even runs out. |
| available at all times, remember that all this food | | | | Restaurant inventory control is only one element of |
| represents a cost until it is prepared and delivered to | | | | overall restaurant management and marketing. Those |
| the client. You need to practice the process of | | | | who are new to the business, or even those who |
| containment and come up with a system to ensure | | | | have been "around the block a couple of times," would |
| that you are stocking just the right amount, not too little | | | | do well to seek the services of industry consultants to |
| and not too much. | | | | help them understand the intricacies of this competitive |
| It is unfortunately true, but as human beings, we tend to | | | | business. |