There are a number of reasons why restaurants and food service providers may have more than an ideal amount of food waste as a result of poor inventory procedures.  Those include not having a clear idea of consumer demand, over ordering, poor menu planning, improper storage and also damage that might occur during transport. Combine that with rising ingredient and production prices, and you’re left with a recipe for ever-increasing expenses that will adversely affect the cost of running a profitable business.

As all seasoned operators already know, foodservice is a business that is very unforgiving when it comes to achieving bottom line profits. A restaurant that stocks too much food inventory will inevitably have higher food costs than it would otherwise. Too much food sitting in your walk-in cooler, your freezer and your dry goods shelves will result in excess waste, over-portioning, reduced product utilization, theft and will also tie up your most valuable asset, your profits.

The task of taking inventory involves a lot of careful planning and execution. Writing and placing orders, interacting with various vendors, receiving and inspecting deliveries takes a lot of time, effort and attention to detail. It’s important to invest time in properly training your kitchen staff to inspect all deliveries and immediately transfer all perishable items into proper containers to help facilitate and enhance ongoing inventory efforts.

Our storage specialists are well aware of inventory challenges and want to make things easier and more affordable for food service professionals with smart food storage products and resources. Efficient inventory management not only saves money but also reduces food waste, keeps kitchens better organized and encourages smarter menu planning.

Inventory Master Class

Hear from Beth Bornoty, Co-owner of The Big Salad as she shares her creative methods for inventory management. By implementing a customized inventory system specific to their operation, they have been able to hold their produce fresh longer, maximizing its shelf life and helping them achieve a 2% overall in waste levels. This is far lower than the industry-average of 8%.

See-thru Results

With imprinted graduations, you can see at a glance how much of each food you use at a meal or in a day and track inventory effectively and accurately. As a result, it becomes possible to save on food costs and reduce spoilage over time. To best accomplish those goals, it’s important to transfer products from corrugated boxes into the proper storage containers as soon as possible after receiving them. Date any storage containers that are holding perishable products, and keep track of spoilage and waste amounts, as well as new and fresh inventory.

Inventory management is one of the most challenging aspects of running a restaurant. But taking the time to properly order, store, plan and serve is well worth the effort and will contribute to building a business that runs efficiently and successfully. The Storage Team at Cambro continues to support foodservice operators worldwide not only by providing storage products for every application, but also tried and tested recommendations on how to best store their produce for extended shelf life.

Counting You In

To help up your inventory management game, we are giving away a major inventory reboot (worth $500) to two lucky winners! Kick your inventory management up a notch with a starter mix of CamSquare Containers with matching lids.

Enter here to get inventory prepped for the upcoming holiday season by sharing your dislikes and challenges with your current inventory management. Be specific and share how Cambro containers could help solve these issues for you.  2 Lucky Winners will reap the benefits of managing inventory like a pro!

About the Author: Patricia Guerrero is the Senior Marketing Communications Manager for the Food Storage category. To see more posts related to Food Storage, click here.