How you manage your inventory can make or break your business. Effective inventory management control requires that your restaurant accurately tracks inventory stocks to make the appropriate purchasing decisions and to obtain stock at the optimal level of demand. If you’ve been side-sweeping your inventory management, here are five inventory control basics you might be missing that can increase your profits and performance levels if you master them.

Location Labels

Labelling your products is necessary, but marking them with the location of where they should be stored is equally as important. If you skip this step, your team could end up wasting time looking for things that people have stocked in the wrong area. The labels should also be easy to read from at least two feet away and be simple enough to understand – this way you won’t slow down operations.

Using Consistent Units

You should always be giving your products the same units of measurement. For instance, if you start classifying your produce by pounds instead of bags, you should keep this consistent from ordering to inventory to stocking. This will help make it easy for everyone, including your suppliers, when you’re ordering.

First In First Out

FIFO is a control method where inventory is based on the time and date it was delivered. Those items acquired first should be sold first to ensure that your food does not go bad. It is a highly effective method to control food costs and save your restaurant money. If your team is not following this process, there will likely be more waste and spoilage.

Inventory Software Systems

Excel spreadsheets just don’t cut it anymore. They are okay if you only handle a few inventory items that don’t move quickly, but for a restaurant, it’s not an efficient platform. A good inventory software system will help you easily keep track of your inventory, calculate recipe costs, upload orders to suppliers online, keep produce reports on your profit and loss, compare pricing between suppliers, and calculate the cost per person for any event to make your operations more efficient and organized.

Training Staff

Employees you hire will have different levels of inventory experience. If your staff are untrained and you don’t have detailed policies in place, you could be losing thousands of dollars a month in wasted goods. Inventory management training can ensure your staff understand the importance of the entire inventory process, from supplier management to performance metrics. And each of your team members should also understand how to operate your inventory software to ensure things are being ordered at the right time.

If you’re ready to fix all your inventory control woes, it’s time to implement Optimum Control Software into your restaurant business. It’s everything you need to maximize your profits, organize your inventory, and forecast for success.