16 Feb The Benefits of Digital Kitchen Management in Handling Food Inventory

Experts predict the restaurant industry will grow even more in 2022 than in prior years, as digital kitchen technology and online restaurant ordering become more popular. Restaurateurs will use these tools to manage their menus more effectively and provide their customers with a better overall dining experience. With these advancements in technology, the restaurant industry will continue booming in the coming years. Yet, costs continue to climb. As reported by CNBC, “The cost of eating away from home rose 6% over the last year, the highest jump since January 1982. With digital kitchen technology, restauranteurs inform staff about changes in food inventory. This not only saves time and money but also ensures that items are added or removed from the inventory quickly and accurately. Let’s consider the top benefits of digital restaurant management of inventory.

Less Food Waste and Less Wasted Time Tracking Down Missing or Inaccurate Food Inventory Information

Restaurant food waste is a massive problem in the United States. In fact,  U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that around 40% of all food in the U.S. ends up in the trash. This is a considerable amount of waste, and it’s something that we need to address if we want to make our food system more sustainable.

This improved tracking of expiry dates, current food waste, and changing costs of certain food items also helps to improve inventory management. In turn, some measures, like reduced overordering, may actually help to reduce the risk of food-borne illness by ensuring only fresh, safe ingredients are available. This approach helps to save time and money for restaurateurs concerned over the slightest of business hiccups as uncertainty remains. 

Greater Awareness of What Is Selling

Fortunately, online restaurant ordering systems can automatically track food inventory levels and alert managers when they are running low on certain items. In turn, managers can plan ahead and ensure they have enough ingredients on hand to meet customer demand. Digital kitchen management systems also allow managers to better understand that demand. 

Consider this: Digital food inventory management also enables managers to see what is selling most quickly, including popular dishes that may need to be added earlier in the day or why they are not moving at all. It also lets managers know when an item has been ordered multiple times by different customers, allowing for easy adjustments of these digital restaurant menus without waiting for customer feedback. 

Further, by integrating the menu management system with loyalty programs, restaurateurs can be much better equipped when planning future supplier orders. 

Better Communications With Suppliers

Inventory management has always been a problematic issue for restaurateurs, especially when differentiating between stock and sales. However, digital restaurant menu management makes this process easy. A digital kitchen platform can create a virtual inventory that is constantly updated with all of the restaurant’s food inventory, allowing management to stay updated with how much food is in stock and what they need to order. This digital tracking system also makes it easy for restaurateurs to view pending inventory orders, share that information with suppliers, and plan deliveries. 

Menu Item Flexibility for Real-Time Online Restaurant Ordering Trends

This digital restaurant menu management system allows restaurant owners to stay on top of current market demands and adjust their menus accordingly (i.e., “86”) certain dishes as the inventory changes throughout a given shift. 

Managers can view digital menus in real-time, which gives them the power to quickly add or remove certain items depending on customer demand. This digital restaurant menu management system allows restaurateurs to stay ahead of market trends and react accordingly with their digital online menus. 

For example, restaurants can make sure they always have holdovers available if one dish happens to sell out early. At the same time, digital restaurant menu providers can use this digital kitchen technology to offer their customers an easy way to add a “holdover” option on digital menus.

A digital kitchen platform also improves communications with suppliers and allows restaurateurs to plan new orders from within the app itself. By seeing real-time updates on how much inventory remains, restaurateurs, can place orders individually or in bulk based on data, not an arbitrary assumption about future orders. 

What’s Next: Digital Technology Makes Restaurant Menu Management Better All Around

As digital technology advances, more and more industries are moving online. The restaurant industry is no exception, with digital restaurant menu and inventory management systems becoming more and more popular. There are many benefits of using a digital, integrated system for managing your menus and inventory. And restaurateurs can put these benefits to work by choosing the right restaurant technology partners. Connect with Tacit to get started today.