There is no doubt in my mind that thinking about MONEY first in purchasing staffing and product decisions is dangerous to the bottom-line health of your foodservice organization. Any CEO today needs to call on an armory of resources to remain competitive and risk free; and, there must be a basis of knowledge and thinking "outside the box" to achieve measurable savings results.
Secondly, there is a dimension of foodservice purchasing that directly links to profitability that is less measurable, but known to top professionals as the difference between acceptable and exceptional spend performance. My firm meets chain clients where they are and proceeds from there to build stakeholder value to achieve the best financial outcome over time.
Here is my quick list for getting started:High-Performance Foodservice Best Practices
- Develop a Supply Chain Purchasing strategy in alignment with the organizations' menu, growth plans and profitability goals.
- Focus on the ability to connect product specifications, menu item with equipment and ideal price points. Shift your thinking from linear ( that's the Chef's job, the owner said so or the buyer makes the decision) to supply network partnerships.
- Simplify processes, controls, and procedures - measure the results
- Instill Total Cost of Ownership mindset and metrics from Chef to Purchasing and Operations; maintain shareholder value.
- Establish key Suppliers, while Improving Strategic Sourcing (beyond regional and distributor financial "walls".
- Focus on spend management: visibility, speed of change and accuracy of pricing – invest in resource.
- Correctly organize the supply chain function and recruit professionals with correct skills or outsource the process to achieve even higher performance
- Focus on menu line item profitability to improve cash flow
To Higher Profits,
Fred
Fred Favole is President of Strategic Purchasing Services (SPS), the foodservice industry's most experienced and accomplished firm specializing in department outsourcing, strategic sourcing projects and spend analytics. Ask Fred or Ron Bay about a solution for your business. Fred@ StrategicPurchasingServices. com, HQ Office: 912.634.0030 St.Louis Office: 636.527.3167
