Hot Trend Wraps R&D, Menu, Purchasing and Profits

In the new food service workplace, multi-unit operators are creating lean organizational teams that can react quickly to competitive challenges through a dynamic management process called "culinary-purchasing (CP) ".

Many restaurants outsource technical expertise to develop products and join group group buying organizations to leverage lower product pricing. This new CP structure coordinates the efforts of highly experienced and motivated professionals resulting in new sources of supply, exciting products and higher profits, all delivered with cost effective results.

This Chain-Link-Services model introduced by Chef Paul Ladouceur and Fred Favole of Strategic Purchasing Services (SPS), combines the talents and expertise of procurement, culinary and supply-chain to deliver successful profitable outcomes. The unity of purpose is achieved by combining individual profession skills which provides food service organizations or manufacturers turning to SPS for client menu ideations with products perfectly matched to menu, kitchen equipment, price points and operational capabilities.

The CP process when incorporated into the national account chain selling program by manufacturing companies delivers the knockout punch that makes the customers culinary-purchasing process rock!

When you consider broad line distributors are withdrawing value added services and suppliers are reducing support staff, most companies have more Product Development, Recipe Development, Product Utilization and Menu Ideation projects than they are staffed to handle economically.  Now with chain-link services by SPS, all that changes!

SPS manage and implement the entire program for food service chain, or can assist with the individual steps in the process;  from the CP dynamic “ menu ideation ” and spend management (costing & logistics) analysis process through focus groups, staff training and introduction into the restaurant/hotel's distribution network.

Here’s a sad fact that based on our 18 years transforming decentralized purchasing programs;  less than 15% of all food service chains ever achieve the efficiencies of their competition.

How can things be improved to guarantee that products fit both form and function while still making a profit?   “ Culinary-Purchasing is the next logical extension and development trend that will integrated into the business outsourcing process, as older models continue to fail", states Chef Paul Ladouceur, V.P. of Culinary-Purchasing.

Lets take a look at 5 traditional ways most chains use to make bottom-line improvements. Then,  ask if culinary-purchasing management is what's missing in your process:

• Decreases in Food Cost
• Change in Sales Mix
• Increase in the Number of Covers (Customers)
• Increase in check average (often via price increase)
• Reduction in Overhead

Because of the resource-intensive nature of developing cross-functional teams, the hot new process is to use specialized services companies with motivated procurement and culinary professionals to assure profitable and successful outcomes. By bringing in your extended  “team” early on in the menu engineering or sales process, you save development time and the creative process is improved. 

Not only will this help functionality, but it will help lead to more profitable product introductions with fewer cost, operational and profit ” surprises” later on in the process. 

To Higher Profits!
Fred

Fred Favole is President of Strategic Purchasing Services (SPS), America’s most experienced outsourcing firm and innovator of the dynamic "chain-link services" program. Ask Fred about a solution for your business. Contact: Fred@StrategicPurchasingServices.com  Office: 912-634-0030