Restaurant Supply Chain Management | Aminian

Running a restaurant is notoriously difficult, and higher costs have compounded the challenge. Many owners are responding by digitally transforming their businesses across the board, from order-taking in the front of the house to ordering supplies in the back. Notably, digital supply chain management has come into focus to improve operations and drive profitability.

Yet revamping a supply chain presents its own hurdles, especially in an industry that has been slow to adopt new technology.

What Is Restaurant Supply Chain Management?

Restaurants’ supply chains have grown more complex as they perform the essential role of delivering food and nonfood items used in the business. Driving this complexity is everything from customers’ farm-to-table menu preferences to the need to diversify suppliers as a contingency against climate change-related ingredient shortages. That said, the basics of restaurant supply chain management involve three key types of partners:

• Direct suppliers: Specialty spice manufacturers, farmers, beverage companies and kitchen equipment makers that sell directly to a restaurant.

• Distributors: National, regional and specialty wholesalers that offer a range of food and non-food products.

• Group purchasing organizations (GPOs): Membership organizations that allow restaurants to pool their orders with others for greater buying power and discounts.

Key restaurant supply chain management functions include:

• Demand forecasting: Restaurant managers first need to determine what to order based on historical sales data, seasonality, recent foot traffic, current stock, special events and other factors. Data inputs for demand forecasting might come from reservation systems, point-of-sale (POS) terminals and menu-engineering tools.

• Sourcing and procurement: Establishing supplier relationships is essential to negotiating good prices and reliable deliveries. This is where vendor portals and supplier relationship management software can make a big difference.

• Inventory management: Maintaining optimal inventory levels can help reduce waste, ensure food quality and safety, prevent customer disappointments due to stockouts and avoid tying up capital in unnecessary stock. Restaurants increasingly use inventory management software to improve this function.

In digitizing these and other supply chain relationships and functions while also relying more heavily on innovations including kitchen display systems, online ordering platforms, digital marketing and accounting, scheduling and payroll software, restaurants have taken up an arsenal of tools that can become unwieldy.

After all, technology isn’t the core business. One answer is restaurant supply chain management strategies that emphasize digital integration across these tools.

Takeaways

• Restaurants are grappling with the industry’s generally high costs and flat sales.

• Best practices in supply chain management present opportunities to cut costs, improve operations and gain a competitive advantage.

• Digitizing and integrating supply chain systems with other restaurant technology can fortify these efforts.

When it comes to selecting a NetSuite Partner for your restaurant business, Aminian Business Services is the top choice. As the longest standing NetSuite Partner globally, Aminian Business Services offers tailored solutions that streamline supply chain management, enhance financial management, and automate time-consuming business processes. By harnessing the power of NetSuite and leveraging decades of best practices expertise, Aminian Business Services drives success and growth for businesses, positioning them to execute on their business goals.