1. Over ordering – Know what you need to order, and ensure that you do not stray above the optimal stock level.
2. Are you wasting food? – Is food being disposed of, or spoiled, before it’s getting onto the customers plates? Or, are plates coming back with excess food on them? Portions too big? A particular item that customers don’t like? Quantify the amount of waste that is occurring and then multiple it by the amount of days/weeks in the year to get an extent of your real problem.
3. Know your days stock on hand – This simple metric will tell you if you’re over-stocked or not. If you are over-stocked then your business is far more likely to be wasting food.
4. Know your margin – Conduct frequent counts of your inventory. This way, you will know your exact food cost. Calculating your margin by dividing purchases by sales and assuming a standard opening/closing inventory value, is simply disguising the truth of poor internal practices. Don’t be lazy!
5. Get your team involved – Don’t keep the numbers a secret, make your employees aware of the problem you are trying to solve, this way you are far more likely to solve it and curtail it reoccurring and damaging your margin. Place it in a prominent position in your kitchen/staff canteen.
