How to Avoid the Top Seven Restaurant Inventory Management Mistakes

Inefficient restaurant inventory management practices, improper storage, gaps in inventory logs, theft, and waste can cause even the most successful kitchens to struggle or fail. Fortunately, all of these can be prevented by knowing the top mistakes and implementing best practices to avoid them.

Below are the top seven inventory management mistakes restaurants are making, and how to correct them.

Mistake #1: Inconsistent CountsTo ensure inventory information is useful and accurate, schedule routine counts. Always count on the same day of the week, same time, and either before or after service. Maintaining a consistent cadence helps identify inventory anomalies much quicker whereas sporadic counts make it difficult to notice when something unusual happens.

Be sure to also count prepped items to improve theoretical variance. Prepped items are technically product sitting on the shelves; not counting those items means the theoretical variance will increase since there is no record of…