PAR Technology : How Restaurants Can Combat Food Supply Issues

No restaurant wants to 86 a menu item simply because they don't have enough ingredients available to make it. Today's guests expect convenience and accuracy at a great price, so if they hear, 'I'm sorry, but we're out of pickles,' that likely isn't going to cut it. Accurate inventory measurements keep everyone in the loop so operators, owners, and cooks can get the ingredients they need when they need them.

'Under-ordering can leave your guests high and dry, where you run out of ingredients to satisfy the demand,' Rood said. 'Worst-case scenario, if your menu isn't updated to reflect what's out of stock, guests try to order items for which you're out of the ingredients and you run the risk of losing the guest permanently,' Rood explained.

Inventory isn't only about not having enough of something, either. Restaurants can easily order too much of an ingredient, expecting it to sell out, but it never does.

'Over-ordering will eventually lead to waste if you aren't careful,' Rood noted. 'If you don't use all the product and it expires, you're just throwing money in the trash.'

Despite ongoing food system shortages across the United States, restaurants not only can weather the storm but improve their bottom line. Investing in the right technology, including a robust inventory tracking system, helps reduce the number of mistakes that occur and helps maintain more accurate stocking levels over time.

While that isn't to say keeping better inventory will make it easier to find chicken wings, it will give you a better idea of how and when to pivot if you need to.

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