Let’s get straight to the point – there’s no way you’re running a successful restaurant if you don’t have visibility into your spend. Being a multi-unit restaurant operator, you need to a centralized location that breaks down your spend management per location.

By having access to detailed reports on things such as food cost and operational expenses, spend management technology can help foodservice operators identify areas where they can cut costs or negotiate better deals with suppliers.

Spend management technology can help you monitor and improve cost control, providing insights into areas where costs can be reduced and helping to ensure that expenses are aligned with the budget.

By leveraging spend management technology you get access to real-time visibility into your restaurant’s financial data, making it easier to identify trends, make informed decisions, and track the performance of the business.

Having visibility into your restaurants spend management can provide a number of benefits, including:

By having a clear understanding of where and how the money is being spent, operators can identify areas where they can reduce costs and increase efficiency.

With visibility into spend, you can create more accurate budgets and better plan for future expenses.

By tracking and managing expenses in a centralized, transparent manner, you can ensure compliance is met with internal policies and external regulations.

With visibility into spend management, you can provide stakeholders with greater transparency into how money is being used, leading to increased trust and accountability.

By having access to real-time data on spending, organizations can make more informed decisions about where to allocate resources.

Overall, spend management technology can help foodservice businesses improve their financial performance by providing the tools and information they need to make better decisions about purchasing, inventory management, and cost control.

At Consolidated Concepts, we use data visualization and technology to give you a bird’s eye view and insight into your purchasing so you can make more strategic, more profitable business decisions. Connect with our industry experts at RLC at booth #210 to learn how we can help you optimize the supply chain and boost profitability, or schedule a meeting with Luis Lara, our SVP Business Development, here!

You’ve spent the last year adding a tech stack of solutions to your operation in hopes of getting a better look into the health of your brand.

The most important piece of technology you should be investing in is supply chain management technology. It’s impossible to navigate the chaos that is the supply chain and technology can be a huge asset to your brand success.

Supply chain management technology can bring a wide range of benefits to restaurants, helping them to streamline their operations, reduce costs, and improve the overall customer experience.

How Supply Chain Management Technology Can Help Your Restaurant:

Improved Efficiency

By automating various supply chain processes, such as ordering, invoicing, and payment, restaurants can save time and reduce the risk of errors. This can help to free up staff to focus on other tasks, such as customer service and food preparation.

Better Inventory Management

Supply chain management technology can help restaurants to keep track of their inventory in real-time, allowing them to know exactly what they have on hand at any given moment. This can help them to avoid running out of key ingredients, which can be frustrating for customers and lead to lost sales.

Enhanced Forecasting

By analyzing data on past sales and customer demand, supply chain management technology can help restaurants to better forecast future demand and adjust their ordering accordingly. This can help them to avoid overstocking, which can be costly, and ensure that they have enough product on hand to meet customer demand.

Better Supplier Relationships

Supply chain management technology can help restaurants to establish better relationships with their suppliers by streamlining communication and making it easier to place orders and track deliveries. This can help to ensure that restaurants receive the products they need in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Reduced Costs

By automating various supply chain processes and improving inventory management, restaurants can reduce their overall costs. This can help them to boost their bottom line and remain competitive in an increasingly challenging market.

Enhanced Customer Experience

By ensuring that they have the products they need on hand and reducing the risk of errors and delays, supply chain management technology can help restaurants to improve the overall customer experience. This can help to drive repeat business and positive word-of-mouth, which can be crucial for success in the restaurant industry.

Overall, it is clear that supply chain management technology can bring a wide range of benefits to restaurants. By streamlining operations, improving inventory management, and reducing costs, restaurants can improve their efficiency, boost their bottom line, and enhance the customer experience. As such, it is worth considering the adoption of supply chain management technology for any restaurant looking to stay competitive and succeed in today’s market.

At Consolidated Concepts, we have supply chain technology to support your purchasing team with strong contract management and actionable information to help optimize procurement and increase your margins. Not yet a member? No problem! Sign up today for free!

A restaurant master distribution agreement is a contract between a restaurant and a distributor that outlines the terms of the distribution relationship between the two parties. This type of agreement is often used in the food and beverage industry, where a restaurant needs to source its products from a distributor in order to operate.

Key Components of a Restaurant Master Distribution Agreement

1. The agreement should outline the specific products that the distributor will be responsible for providing to the restaurant. This may include a wide range of items, such as food, drinks, and other supplies. The agreement should also specify the terms of delivery, including the frequency and method of delivery, as well as any associated fees.
2. In a restaurant master distribution agreement, if not the most important, is pricing. The agreement should outline the cost of the products being provided, as well as any discounts or promotions that may be available. It may also include provisions for price adjustments based on market conditions or other factors.
3. In addition to the terms of the distribution relationship, a restaurant master distribution agreement may also include provisions for the handling of any disputes that may arise between the two parties. This may include provisions for mediation or arbitration, as well as clauses outlining the consequences for breach of the agreement.
4. A restaurant master distribution agreement provides a clear and formalized relationship between the restaurant and the distributor. This can help to ensure that the restaurant has a reliable source of products and can operate smoothly, as well as helping to minimize the risk of disputes or misunderstandings.

A well-drafted restaurant master distribution agreement can provide protection for both parties in the event of any issues that may arise. For example, the agreement may include provisions for the termination of the relationship in the event that the distributor fails to meet the terms of the agreement, or if the restaurant experiences financial difficulties.

Overall, a restaurant master distribution agreement is an important tool for any restaurant looking to establish a reliable and effective distribution relationship with a supplier. By outlining the terms of the relationship and providing a clear set of guidelines, the agreement can help to ensure that the restaurant has the products it needs to operate and grow, while also helping to minimize the risk of disputes or misunderstandings.

Interested in learning more about Master Distribution Agreements? Download our FREE e-book!

Nothing beats a warm meal indoors at your favorite restaurant. Even with the cold winter season approaching, restaurant dining remains in full action.

Give your customers the ultimate dining experience that’ll be sure to bring them back. From high-quality uniforms and take-out solutions to delicious, easy to prep food items, tackle cold winter months in ways that save you both time and money.

Let’s take a look at solutions you can use to prepare your operation for the upcoming winter season:

Off-premise dining is just as popular as on-premise dining. To keep your to-go orders blooming and your profits increasing this winter season, secure your customers’ takeout with high-quality disposables.

Consolidated Concepts partners with top manufacturers like Dart, Sabert, Huhtamaki, Fabri-Kal, and StrawFish that give you access to savings opportunities on takeout and delivery solutions. Protect food orders with the right packaging that’ll satisfy customers and give your operation a safe, successful winter season.

Making a good first impression to customers is essential when running a restaurant operation. High-quality uniforms will reflect your brand and please your staff while presenting professionalism and cleanliness.

From slip resistant shoes perfect for battling slippery winter days to customizable uniforms from Cintas that keep your staff looking pristine and feeling warm, you’re guaranteed savings on items that your employees wear every shift.

With uniforms built with moisture-wicking Cool Vent™ technology, your staff can overcome the battle of hot and cold from stepping indoor to outdoor while serving customers through our Chef Works Program.

Warm, comfort foods are key to bringing in profits during the winter season. Keep your customers delighted and back-of-house pleased with quality, easy to prep food and beverage items. We’ve partnered with popular brands to bring you cost-effective food and beverage solutions that are sure to boost sales and help you tackle winter.

Did you know that Barilla is the world’s number one pasta? When you add Barilla pasta to your menu, you’re adding quality, variety, and consistency. Imagine the array of dishes you could create with such a versatile food item that can be enjoyed by everyone, even those with special dietary needs. From protein packed pasta to gluten-free, the options are endless this winter for the perfect, warm, pasta dish.

Another winter staple is a good ol’ bowl of soup. Increase your profits and reduce labor when incorporating Campbell’s soups to your menus! Delight your guests with speed-scratch solutions guaranteed to give them that fresh, homemade taste they’re longing for. Offer soup as a stand-alone or a side to entrees and watch guests line up for this crowd-favorite.

Don’t forget the potatoes! Offer hearty mashed potatoes your guests will love, all while keeping your prep time down, and bottom-line in mind. With Idahoan® Real Mashed Potatoes, you can create signature dishes that’ll thrill both your staff and customers.

That’s not all. There’s nothing better than ending the night with a warm cup of hot cocoa or a rich cup of coffee. Treat your customers and add brands like Folgers 1850® Coffee and Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa to your beverage menus!

Creating a clean and safe environment for guests is key to keeping your restaurant profitable during the upcoming winter months. As a restaurant operator, the last thing you’d want to do is expose your staff and guests to an unsanitary facility, especially during cold & flu season. As a Consolidated Concepts member, you receive exclusive discounts and savings on sanitation products like the Dixie Ultra™ Surface System and Tork® Skincare solutions.

Did you know that cloth towels in the open-bucket environment can lose proper sanitizing strength within 30 minutes? The Dixie Ultra™ Surface System changes everything. Welcome to a new era of surface sanitizing!

Tork® offers a complete line of products designed to meet all your skincare needs for both front and back of house. Whether you prefer foam or liquid soaps and sanitizers, or manual or automatic dispensers, Tork® has the right solution to keep your operation clean and healthy.

Maintenance around the restaurant with hard-to-find items can cause a strain in operations. HD Supply can prepare you for the cooler months with essential items to create a memorable customer experience. Another benefit you get access to is our partnership with Grainger. Take advantage of programs with competitive pricing and savings on all you need to maintain your operation.

Don’t waste any more time, prepare your restaurant today and ensure you’re on the road to tackle a winter season.

Our savings solutions here at Consolidated Concepts are guaranteed to bring your restaurant a clean, healthy, and profitable winter season!

With access to high-quality products and easy to prep menu items, you’ll be able to tackle the winter season while satisfying all your customer and staff needs!

Contact us today!

The supply chain is a complex ecosystem and as an operator, you shouldn’t have to navigate the chaos on your own.

Supply chain efficiency starts with utilizing the data your operation is generating. Every time you purchase something, you produce a multitude of data points. Think about it, there are many data points that go into making a single purchase such as what you purchased, when you purchased, how much you purchased, who you purchased it from, and what you paid for it.

All that data can be used to run your business more profitably. But, how can you do that when the data you are generating is coming from multiple sources and is hard to understand?

By partnering with Consolidated Concepts of course.

We can help you take all that data and unlock savings, insights, operational metrics, and new sourcing opportunities. Here are three ways we can help you turn your data into profits:

Your purchasing department generates large amounts of data every day from invoices and inventory to contract utilization and rebates. Our spend management technology provides “the bigger picture” of where your money is going, what is providing value to your operation, and what isn’t. We utilize over $20 billion in purchasing volume to benchmark our client’s procurement information against the industry at large and assists in answering your most pressing procurement questions so you can reach your purchasing and savings goals.

We take the data your operation produces every day and give you a bird’s eye view of the health of your operation. Easily view your purchasing data so you can make more strategic data-driven decisions. No matter how many sources your data is coming from, we organize it into easy to ready dashboards so you can stay up to date on pricing trends, purchasing compliance, contract statuses, rebate projections, price verification statistics, and commodity price benchmarks in real-time. Our customizable dashboards puts spend intelligence right at your fingertips enabling you to make impactful, well-informed decisions.

Forecasting is important for operators as food costs increase and decrease certain times of the year, but what about discrepancies in supplies costs that occur? Pricing discrepancies are by no means unique to food items — inaccurate pricing occurs across a multitude of different categories. Without cleaned and organized data, it’s unlikely you are making the most accurate business decisions.

Not only can we transform your data into profits, we can also help you maximize the value in other areas of your operation such as Rebates and Deviations, Supply Chain Management, Produce Management, Custom Contracts, and Indirect Spend Savings.

Become a Consolidated Concepts member today for free!

Pre-pandemic, restaurants were doing well! Products were available, prices are stable, and employers had the power. Then an unexpected punch to the gut happened when the supply chain took a major hit due to shortages and price increases.

What if we said there were things you can do today in order to keep costs low and improve your margins? That means that in a world where everything was all about marketing, sales, butts-in-seats, new locations…. is now all about cost reduction, streamlining efficiency and driving margin.

The biggest and brightest minds in the industry are shifting their focus from top-line revenue to margins and profitability.

Here are 5 steps that you can begin taking today to reduce your prime and operating expenses by 5% in the next 5 months putting you on the right path to profitability:

Integrate Technology

Are you calling your distributors every day to check on stock levels of your most pressing inventory? Many operators are finding out about substitutions only after the products have already been delivered to their restaurants. This does not work when you have been using the same ingredients since the day you opened your restaurant. By leveraging technology such as InsideTrack, you gain visibility into product sourcing and substitutions so you can prepare for menu changes ahead of time – instead of last minute.

What about carrying out core responsibilities in your restaurant such as auditing and price verification? That takes time and resources that not everyone has these days. Your in-house system of taking multiple spreadsheets and comparing them against each line item is no longer a very efficient way to audit. That manual process is too long and can lead to overlooked overcharges – which cost you money at the end of the day. By embracing technology in both your front and back of house, you can streamline operational tasks and reduce spend all at the same time.

Think About Outsourcing

Today, restaurant operators are having to do more with less and are being forced to outsource certain functions of their business such as Marketing, Legal, HR, Payroll, or Accounting.  So, why not outsource supply chain management and purchasing? This does not mean your current supply chain team is replaced. Instead, by partnering with supply chain experts you expand your resource pool and supplement your current staff. Most operators would love to add to their supply chain staff but the added cost to do so is too much, leaving them scrambling to manage the supply chain chaos on their own.

When you work with a supply chain management partner like Consolidated Concepts, Sundell and Associates, or even Restaurant Partners Procurement, you don’t have to pay for training, salary, insurance, and time off.  This is a popular option for many emerging and national chains, Private Equity firms, and even Publicly Traded restaurants.

Produce Management

Most operators don’t have the bandwidth, volume, or category expertise to efficiently manage their produce programs in-house. By leveraging a third party produce management company, you can reduce your produce spend by 5-10%.  On average, produce spend is about 15% of total food cost, so a 5-10% reduction in produce cost can lead to 100-200 basis points off your total food cost. Produce prices fluctuate throughout the course of a year due to things like seasonality and different growing regions. Yes, it’s true that you can occasionally buy better than the market but locking in contracted prices will protect you from volatility and you’ll ultimately be better off. Produce management companies such as Fresh Concepts or Produce Alliance will not only help you maintain, but improve your pricing, quality, food safety and traceability.

Operational Efficiency

There are many changes you can make, both big and small, within your operation that can help you cut costs without making it so obvious to your customers. Take trash liners for example. If they are too big for your trash cans, you are wasting money on buying bigger bags without maximizing the full value out of each liner. By buying liners that are the correct fit, you can save on costs and extract the full value of each trash bag. What about your TV’s? Are all your TV’s running at the same time – even the ones where no customers are being seated? What a waste of power and electricity. Turn unused TV’s off and save on your electrical bill. Don’t forget about your kitchen burners. If you aren’t making food right away, they don’t have to be turned on as soon as your staff is clocking in. All that is doing is heating your restaurant up, forcing the AC to kick on – using unnecessary energy.

Making changes to your utility usage such as turning of lighting and electronics in unused sections of your restaurant, buying the correct size trash bags, using energy saving light bulbs are all small changes you can make cut costs.

GPO

GPO’s sometimes have a bad rap. They can cost an operator money and sometimes require you to switch products and change distributors. But not all GPO’s are the same. GPOs are widely used in the Healthcare and Hospitality space and the adoption rate for restaurants has dramatically increase over the past few years. Finding the right GPO partner for your restaurant brand can reduce costs and broadliner purchases by 50-150 basis points or more, depending on how contracted you are. Work with a GPO partner that is distributor and manufacturer neutral – one that will not require you to switch products or vendors and will honor your contracts. Work with a GPO partner that you can call on when you are looking for new product suggestions or reporting and analytics on existing purchases.

If you implement any of these suggestions, you will reduce cost and improve your margins.  It’s just a matter of how much. At Consolidated Concepts, we can help you tackle each of these steps, reach your business goals, reduce your costs, and streamline your operations. Become a member today for FREE and start making smarter business decisions.

When consumers are in a rush and looking for something to eat quickly on-the-go, their options are limited. If only their favorite restaurant had a drive-thru window… all of that hunger could be quickly satisfied.

If you’re looking for ways to upgrade your restaurant and increase your bottom line, consider adding a drive-thru window. Maybe this has been a long-awaited goal of yours and you just need that extra push.

More and more restaurant chains are adding drive-thru’s models to their operations. Schlotzsky’s and Tim Horton’s have both hopped on the drive-thru trend and debuted new location designs.

Our restaurant experts at Consolidated Concepts say it’s time to invest in another profitable revenue stream.

Here are four benefits to adding a drive-thru window to each of your restaurant locations:

Not everybody has the time to sit down and enjoy a meal at a restaurant. Sometimes they’re just looking for a quick bite during their lunch break, while traveling, or running a handful of errands. Whatever the reasoning may be, adding a drive-thru window to your restaurant chain will not only benefit the consumer but you the operator as well.

Off-premise dining is slowly making its debut again, especially with the cold weather ahead. Consumers aren’t always going to want to leave their house or dine-in. Sometimes it’s just easier to sit in your car and head through the drive-thru.

With cases on the rise once again, there may be consumers who are hesitant to dine-in at their favorite establishments. They may be immunocompromised, caring for an elderly, or just being extra cautious. Having the option of going to a drive-thru to enjoy a delicious meal from their desired restaurant will give them one less thing to worry about. This will even help boost brand awareness and loyalty.

Drive-thru sales are booming. There’s no doubt that adding a drive-thru window to your restaurant establishment is a worthy investment. The pandemic has helped increase the popularity of drive-thrus’, but even before COVID, these windows have always been revenue boosting machines.

When you have a drive-thru window, you can take more orders at once, which means profits are always coming in. This doesn’t mean you won’t have consumers who dine-in, it just means you’ll now have a wave of both, which is beneficial for you.

One key point to mention, if you are considering adding a drive-thru window to your restaurant chain, is to be sure to create a strategy and identify the best way to incorporate the new design into your operation without taking away from what you already have. According to QSR Magazine’s Drive-Thru Study, 89% of survey-takers say that order “accuracy” was “somewhat” or “most” important with their experience. Followed up by “speed” at 88%.

Consumers are looking for something quick and easy, whether they’re eating their meal in the car or taking it back home with them, their food should be served fast and stored properly to eat on-the-go.

While we all know that mistakes can happen, as stated above, accuracy is what’s most important to consumers when utilizing the drive-thru window. This is why it’s crucial to train your staff to ensure their efforts are both efficient and effective.

Don’t forget, you need to make sure you have enough staff to cover each station because your drive-thru will be busy and may get hectic at times.

In addition to staffing efforts, you want to make sure meals are properly packaged in a way that makes it easy for the consumer to enjoy their food without making a huge mess. Whether this means extra napkins, cutlery, or containers that will keep their food fresh, warm, and well-put together – going above and beyond in your packaging will make consumers want to buy from your establishment again.

Join Consolidated Concepts

Fortunately, for Consolidated Concepts members, we help with everything you’ll need to make sure your drive-thru window is well-equipped to increase your bottom line and bring repeat customers.

Become a member today to help steer your drive-thru window to success!

It’s officially summer which means diners are starting to crowd restaurants again. Is your operation prepared to take on the rush?

At Consolidated Concepts, we offer savings programs that will help you revamp your restaurant with infinite solutions!

Need to liven up the atmosphere with a new paint job? Replace those light fixtures you’ve been putting off for years? We’ve got you covered.

Any HVAC and plumbing needs? Fountain maintenance? Cleaning supplies? Our programs are secured to help you fix, replace, and/or maintain all of your operational needs from A to Z.

Savings on ACE Hardware Products and Solutions

Did you know that Consolidated Concepts members get a 10% discount on products and solutions from ACE Hardware? That means you could be saving with top national brands on paint and supplies, lighting and electrical, hand and power towels, outdoor equipment and supplies, janitorial and sanitation, plumbing and HVAC, hardware, and much more!

Solutions on Water Management and Supplies

If your operation has an outdoor pool or fountain, you’re in luck. Consolidated Concepts partners with Leslie’s Pool to give you exclusive savings on water management and maintenance. You get access to discounts on pool and spa chemicals, equipment, cleaning and maintenance solutions, and more, to ensure your water management needs are secured.

Save on HVAC Systems with Carrier

Nobody wants to be sitting in their own sweat while enjoying a delicious bite at your restaurant this summer. Your HVAC system needs to be running efficiently so that your operation is properly climate controlled and at a suitable temperature for your diners. We’ve partnered with Carrier, the experts in HVAC, to give you exclusive savings and benefits on air conditioning, heating, and building controls. Satisfy your guests by setting the standard for performance, sustainability, and energy efficiency.

Join Consolidated Concepts Today!

Whether it’s fixing the light fixture you’ve been putting off or maintaining your HVAC, at Consolidated Concepts, we offer our members exclusive savings and solutions to help revamp your operation to ensure boosted profits and repeat customers.

Join today!

According to Tork, 60% of consumers have higher expectations on restaurant hygiene due to Covid-19. Hopefully by now your operation has implemented a new cleaning process and invested in the right sanitation solutions to support the increased awareness your customers have when it comes to how clean a restaurant is – or is not.

Your guests want to see that you have taken the necessary steps to ensure their cleanliness. It builds trust and lets them know you care about their health and well-being. This can include staffing a full-time employee whose soul purpose is to clean the front-of-house at all seconds of the day or replacing all your high contact appliances and tools with solutions to ensure a more sanitary dining experience.

Tork Matic® Hand Towel Roll Dispenser with Intuition Sensor

You can make changes in every area of your restaurant – including the bathroom. Take hand towels vs. air dryers for instance. Tork reports that 70% of visitors wish more facilities offered paper hand towels as an alternative to air dryers. Why? Because jet air dryers can spread up to 10x more germs. Another reason customers prefer hand towels is that over half of consumers say they stop drying their hands before they are completely dry because air dryers take too long to dry their hands.

When you’re ready to swap out your restroom air dryers for hand towel dispensers, Tork has made the process easy by creating the Tork Matic® Hand Towel Roll Dispenser with Intuition Sensor. With a one-at-a-time automated dispenser, less hand towels will be used meaning less waste, clutter and best of all – cost.

Tork Xpressnap & Tork Xpressnap Fit Dispensers

Embrace new front-of-house technology solutions to provide a more contactless dining experience. How many of us have gone to our favorite fast-food restaurant or ordered to-go, saw the napkin holder, and thought “let me just grab a few extra”. Then you grab a bunch of napkins, and some fall out of your hands and boom – now you have touched someone else’s napkins. This is not very sanitary.

Whether napkins are needed for your drive thru, dining room, or carry out windows, customers sometimes take more – and touch more – then they actually need. Tork has created solutions to help prevent customers from touching too many napkins at once with the Tork Xpressnap Dispensers. With one-at-a-time dispensing, guests always have a fresh napkin because they only touch the napkins they use. This controls waste with 50% less leftover napkins lying around giving a better guest experience and promoting hygiene.

When it comes to choosing the right sanitary and hygiene solutions, Tork has products to help you improve every area of your operation. As a Consolidated Concepts member, you get access to exclusive savings on Tork solutions you need to make your operation a safer and cleaner environment.

Back-of-House restaurant operations have never been just easy. Especially now, post-pandemic, when many operators are struggling with staffing and labor shortages, supply chain shortages, inflation…the list goes on.

As a restaurant operator, you want to make sure you’re leveraging technology to help save you both time and money. At Consolidated Concepts, we can help you do this by using a little something called Artificial Intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence

The future of Foodservice and Supply Chain lies in the hands of Artificial Intelligence.

What is Artificial Intelligence you ask? It is the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions.

It may seem like you’re completely unfamiliar with AI, but rest assured, you see it every day—even when you don’t know it.

Did you know that every time your Google Maps reroutes you as you’re driving to your destination, it uses AI? It monitors your phone as you drive to make better decisions for you based on where you are and where you’re going.

Or have you noticed that every time you type a letter on your touch screen keyboard, the area in which you’re clicking in expands a bit and the letters become bigger? That’s because your phone knows what you’re about to type based on the sensitive area your fingers are clicking in! That’s AI too.

As humans, we are always looking for ways to solve problems in a more efficient and timely manner. Whether it’s transporting from one place to another or beating your partner in a game of chess.

With Artificial Intelligence in the foodservice industry, you can make better business decisions. In short, a lot of it is classical optimization. This means, by looking at either past or present data, you can determine what the best possible solution is to the problem you’re facing right now.

Back of House Technology

The truth is, you’re most likely already using AI in the front-of-house tablets on tables for order taking and payment of checks. You’re probably even using it for reservations, restaurant seating and digital QR codes for menus.

If you’re doing marketing or serving any Instagram ADS, that’s also AI. If you have an online ordering engine or displaying product recommendations, or maybe your HR department is screening candidate resumes. What about your finance department forecasting? That’s all Artificial Intelligence!

The problem is, technology has been slower to be adopted in the back-of-house.

In the front-of-house, AI helps you control variables such as menu costs, table numbers, hours of operation, etc. It’s a lot easier to control.

Although you should be taking control of your back-of-house, too! That starts by utilizing the purchasing data your operation generates. Unfortunately, the amount of data your restaurant produces is so complex and time-consuming for the human mind to manage, this is where AI and technology come into play.

In the back-of-house, your variables are constantly changing. Pricing, inventory levels, quality. It’s hard to manage and keep track of every single situation, whereas in the front-of-house, your variables are limited—making it a lot easier to handle. Plus, almost everything is in your control.

The current challenges within the supply chain makes it extremely difficult for operators like you to manage a successful restaurant. You’re facing roadblocks left and right, and almost every day has become unpredictable.

Now, imagine if there was a way to identify new savings opportunities, optimize pricing, handle product substitutions, and do much more with little to no effort. Because there’s only so much we as humans can do, Artificial Intelligence is the future of our industry.

You as an operator need to focus on what you are good at and the real reason you opened a restaurant in the first place to create great food and memorable experiences for your customers.

Leave the time-consuming, laborious part to technology…

How Can AI Help Me?

Artificial Intelligence can solve all your problems. How do you adapt to the supply chain? AI. How do you deal with product shortages? AI. How do you deal with things like price fluctuations and inventory levels? AI.

For instance, artificial intelligence can identify thousands of substitutions for items you’re already buying within a matter of minutes. Humans don’t work as fast as technology.

How many analysts would you have to hire to identify over 1,000 similar items in two minutes? A lot. That’s why it’s important to embrace technology and AI.

But that’s only one of many things Artificial Intelligence is capable of.

Forget about your spreadsheets and long nights spent in the office. Our technology analyzes, normalizes, and cleans your data for you.

An AI engine (if you ask it to do so), can help you find similar or the same products at a lower price. It can also uncover what products are in stock or out of stock.

AI analyzes high volumes of data, provides visibility into purchasing, and helps you improve your partnerships. When you have a better understanding of your operation, you save money, time, and labor. AI provides consistency, stabilizes your pricing, and alleviates the supply chain strain.

How Can I Get Started?

If you’re ready to embrace technology and implement AI into your operations, you first need to work with a data partner that leverages AI, such as Consolidated Concepts.

Our cutting-edge technology was designed to identify areas where emerging, growing, and established restaurants may unlock additional opportunities to save money and increase profitability.

Start leveraging AI to streamline operations and put money back into your bottom line, by becoming a member today!