Hospital Foodservice Directors
Hospital Foodservice Directors
Equipping every foodservice operator for success through automation.
Food incurs a considerable amount of expense throughout the healthcare supply chain. Regardless, hospital foodservice directors must ensure sufficient supplies to meet daily demands for nourishing patients, guests, employees, and community patrons. Often, foodservice operators lack traceability of data and are therefore unable to track food spending and regulate costs effectively.
Excess on-hand inventory, underproduction, and rising food waste are all significant concerns for hospital foodservice directors. Another important challenge that operators face is the need for real-time data. Production relies on up-to-date data, such as current stock levels and cost of goods; hence, the dilemma of manual processes.
To properly assess a foodservice operation’s performance, there needs to be instant accessibility and measurability of data. After all, actionable data helps drive intelligent decisions, leading to operational improvement. Therefore, having a foodservice management system equips operators to automate their processes and achieve data standardization.
Inventory Control
It is easy to overlook the impact of ingredients, recipes, and menus on the overall success of a foodservice operation. Furthermore, all these components rely on adequate inventory. To effectively manage their facilities’ budgets, hospital foodservice directors must prioritize tracking throughout the “life” of the inventory. That means tracking items from the moment they are ordered and received until they are used or served.
Considering extensive production data, foodservice automation streamlines inventory management (perpetual or just-in-time) and requisitioning items in and out of inventory. Additionally, inventory worksheets or “pull sheets” help to procure the right amount of ingredients for retail and/or therapeutic menus.
Vendor Ordering and Menu Planning
Inadequate ordering can drain precious resources. Budget-conscious operators equipped with automated resources have current and historical order data needed to make menu-based ordering decisions.
By automating the menu planning process, foodservice operators can accurately determine food items to order based on actual menu requirements. Staff can then scale recipe and menu quantities according to the production needs. Consequently, this reduces over- or under-production of food.
In the healthcare supply chain, managing food costs is vital for successful foodservice management. During ordering, ensuring quality purchases at the most cost-effective prices is crucial, and automatic price updating makes that possible. Properly maintained pricing allows foodservice operators to view and track items’ price changes over time, identifying concerning increases. With this information, operators can consider replacing high-cost products with less expensive options.
Forecasting and Reporting Tools
Imagine accessing post-meal count data to predict the total patron numbers and future menu item quantities to order. Or what about generating a report that can pinpoint discrepancies between what was ordered and what was received? Foodservice management systems provide the dynamic reporting capabilities that make these types of functionalities a reality.
When it comes to setting goals, metrics are key. Automation provides useful reporting to help establish critical expectations, such as food or floor stock costs per patient day. Fundamentally, reporting offers visibility on the financial performance of the foodservice department and the hospital overall.
Hospital foodservice directors can rest assured they don’t have to use an outsourced model for tools that provide needed metrics. Automation supports foodservice operators with the necessary knowledge to manage foodservice processes themselves while protecting data ownership.
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