A 4-Part Weekly Series by Buyers Edge Platform: Part 3
Increased Focus on Food-Based Margins, Overall Spending and Accounting
Operators are paying attention to their margins and accounting more than ever. In an industry that was always running lean, the pandemic has forced operators to scrutinize every single penny spent.
Operators are spending more money in areas they didn’t spend before. Operational costs are higher with increased sanitation processes, staff dedicated more to sanitation, mask and PPE inventory etc. which is eating into their bottom line.
Our data shows that as a percentage of their overall purchases, orders for disinfectant and sanitizer products soared 36% during the pandemic.
That’s likely to continue to be a heightened expense as customers say they want to see proof that the restaurant they are visiting is keeping conditions safe.
From a food cost perspective, operators had to deal with major supply chain issues as COVID forced shutdowns of major meat processing and agriculture operations. As a result, operators are paying more attention to their Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), Inventory, Food Waste, Shrinkage – which they may not have paid attention so closely to before the pandemic.
The good news is, there are tools available to help manage costs. Operators are turning to technology to help identify those key insights that help them make better business decisions. Buyers Edge Platform is one solution that has seen tremendous attention from operators looking to use technology and data to help manage their costs. In 2020 more than 20,000 new restaurant locations enrolled in Buyers Edge Platform, and growth is expected to continue in 2021.
If you missed part 2 of this series, you can see it here: Four Ways the Pandemic Changed the Restaurant Industry that Won’t Change Back – Part 2.
Main image photo credit: Scott Graham on Unsplash
Tune in next week for part 4 of this series.
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