Food Supply Chain Management for Restaurants

Abstract 
Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of planning, coordinating and controlling goods, services, information flows, and financial exchanges from suppliers of raw materials to the end consumers. Because of its broad scope and inherent complexity, supply chain management is a truly cross-discipline subject. In terms of the hospitality industry, an integrated enterprise (Restaurant) approach considers the flow of food and services, information and financial flows from suppliers to customers and how foods and services are distributed in integrated supply chain environments in order to reduce and/or eliminate the duplicative process; thereby reducing/eliminating wasteful process and ultimately improve overall enterprise performance (profitability). This paper examines the control process of Food Supply Chain Management for a restaurant and argues that a well-structured process will aid in enhancing the attractiveness of the restaurant to customers by providing an environment that is organized, where each member of the staff is cognizant of their role in the functioning of the restaurant and the guests’ needs are anticipated and realized. In order to achieve this, facets of a restaurant’s best practices are analyzed and examined. Among some of elements focused on in this paper are menu planning and the need for feedback from chefs, managers and staff; food supplier considerations, from quality, availability and compatible attitudes; and record keeping and inventory. Included in the section on record keeping procedures is a formula obtaining accurate food cost. The paper concludes with a reminder of guests’ expectations and the staffs’ obligations to the guests. Following an integrated restaurant enterprise approach will ensure guest satisfaction and repeat customers and improve a restaurant’s overall enterprise performance (profitability).