Running a hospitality business means there is always a long list of tasks to do, where everything is a priority. So how do you decide which jobs get done and which sit on the back burner?
The truth is, many venues aren’t able to prioritise tasks which they know will have a tangible benefit on either business growth or profitability, because of the time required to implement them.
Stock control being one example.
How essential is stock control for hospitality businesses?
Firstly, what do we mean by stock control? Stock control or management is usually defined as the process by which businesses monitor, count and control the levels of stock on a day-to-day basis. In the context of hospitality, stock often refers to food and beverages, but can also mean “dry” items such as merchandise, cleaning products or other supplies which contribute to the day-to-day running of a business.
In companies where stock is well managed there is usually a stock control method which enables regular and reliable methods of counting and controlling which stock is ordered, used and wasted. This may mean using a stock inventory system which does the heavy lifting for you, or even just using pen and paper methods to ensure you have some type of log of stock movement.
The benefit of having a stock control system in place is that you have visibility over your stock. This means you can finetune areas which increase overall business profitability (think knowing the cost of products being ordered and the profitability of your menus), but also help you to reduce losses. Thereby cutting down on items wasted, either by human error or because of expired sell-by-dates, and increasing overall sustainability and profitability.
{{cta-ebook="/cta-components"}}
As growyze customer registered Accountant Hannah Winman MAA, mentions here, businesses not implementing stock control are missing a wealth of information that they don’t even know is available:
“I’ve recommended growyze to a few other hotels and restaurants”, shares Hannah but often, these businesses aren’t doing stocktake at all - manually or otherwise. “I think that’s the thing with bars, hotels and restaurants, a lot of them don’t do stocktake. They should, but they don’t. Most business owners, especially when it comes to hospitality, are so busy that they don’t have the time or they see it as additional work that isn’t needed.”
But, as Hannah explains, this means they’re missing out on crucial information that could improve and affect their business. “I don’t think many understand the importance of doing a stocktake, the information it can give you to build your business”, explains Hannah.
This means that if you encounter any of the below issues within your bar, restaurant or hotel, a stock control system could be the answer:
- Negative cash flow
- Low net profit
- Increased supplier costs
- Issues with items passing their use-by dates before they’re sold
- Discrepancy between actual and theoretical COGS
- Low visibility over which areas of the business are profitable, and which are incurring high costs
- Running out of stock regularly, and last minute
All of which can be better managed, and in many cases prevented or resolved, by having accurate information on the stock being used within your venue.
Stock management: an essential flow of information
Implementing a stock control system requires the implementation of new processes, training and in many cases software, which does require hours upfront. Yet once implemented, it’s the information that’s readily available that can have a huge impact on your business.
For help getting started and onboarded with the right stock control and management system for your bar, restaurant or venue, book a demo with growyze. Our friendly team is ready to help you implement the stock control system you’ve been missing.
