The International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA) recently reported on several leading indicators of a general decline in the business cycle that will last at least through late 2019. In particular, analysts expect the growth of retail sales in the food and drink industry to slow through 2020. Managing consumption is likely to be the most effective strategy for managing costs in the food service sector since the price of crude oil is unlikely to fall during the next year. This strategy will require food distribution companies to use software like Prime Food Service ERP software to maximize their profits during this challenging period.
Minimizing Food Waste
Three out of five restaurants in the U.S. already use technology to reduce food waste, according to a recent US Foods survey. An inventory management program can help keep a restaurant’s inventory records current, eliminating unnecessary orders. This software can also cut waste by analyzing a restaurant’s operational details. Tablets and smartphones are particularly useful for tracking inventory in the food service industry due to the mobility these workers require.
Food distributors also need to achieve a competitive advantage by minimizing food spoilage, just as restaurants do. Specialized software can help food distributors accomplish this by anticipating customers’ needs and tracking orders more accurately. This type of software can also increase the overall efficiency of their operations.
Warehouse Management
Prime interfaces with BFC’s Dakota Warehouse Management System (WMS), which is a leader in the food service industry. The Dakota WMS can operate as both a standalone and bolt-on system specifically designed to provide foodservice distributors with information in real time. It includes tools based on scanning and voice inputs that allow users to perform advanced selection tasks. The BFC WMS’s production control module also enables built-in compliance with Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations.
Catch Weight
Catch weights are incredibly common and food distributors must be able to track these quantities throughout the delivery cycle. It’s also essential for distributors to tie catch weights to their ordering and accounting systems. Prime allows distributors to change the measure for an inventory item, so they can easily price catches by weight.
Route Management
When oil prices are high, optimizing your delivery to save costs is especially important. That’s why Prime will intuitively help you build routes that consist of multiple deliveries (called “trips”) at multiple customer locations. Prime also automatically selects the next trip available for new orders based on its cut-off times and selects an appropriate ship date for orders placed after the cut-off time.