My One Piece of Advice For The Restaurant Industry

As I sat down to write this article, all I could think about was how the foodservice industry is so vital to our daily lives. When we don’t want to cook, we call our favorite restaurant. When we want to celebrate our wins, we gather at our favorite restaurant. When we want comfort in tough times, we order from our favorite restaurant. Some of our best memories include our favorite restaurants. 

As a Content Marketing Professional and restaurant advocate, I always think about how my work is hopefully making it to even one of those restaurant owners. Am I writing about the right solutions? Am I providing value in every word I say? 

And with the industry taking so many hits over the last few years, how are restaurants supposed to make it through these tough times? 

I’m asking myself “If I was a restaurant owner, what would I want someone to tell me?” I can sit here all day and talk about using the right ingredients or cutting back on unnecessary purchases. But when you think about it, where would you get that information from? How would you know if you are over ordering ingredients or overpaying for services? How would you know if you are losing money vs. making money? There are no amounts of spreadsheets or clip boards to support that kind of knowledge. 

With the industry taking so many hits over the last few years, how are restaurants supposed to make it through these tough times? 

The only way you can accurately know the answers to these questions is with the help of technology. 

Think of all the hours you spend counting inventory, placing orders, and managing your accounts payable. Think of all the mistakes you’ve identified and the money those mistakes have cost you because you found the errors a little too late. Think of all the cashback you could be receiving on products you are buying that have rebates you were unaware of or savings you could be leveraging that you didn’t know existed. 

You are a one-person band, and you can’t do it all alone. Technology can be the crutch you lean on to make those smarter, more informed business decisions. 

And with a labor shortage continuing to loom over the industry, let technology work for you. Let technology be the consistent employee you can rely on. Let technology guide you to profitability. 

You can unlock the power of your restaurant data with the help of solutions such as procurement and supply chain technology. 

And I know with things like Virtual Reality and self-driving vehicles, technology can be a little intimidating. The unknown is always scary. But what’s scarier is missing the opportunity to become informed on what you don’t know and gain a deeper understanding of how your restaurant lifeline is performing. 

So If I had one piece of advice for restaurant owners it would be to embrace technology. Embrace the forward thinking it provides you. Embrace the deeper insight it gives you. Whether you are a veteran restaurant owner or a newbie just starting out, technology should be your number one investment this year. 

Your customers want to see you succeed, I want to see you succeed, and your community wants to see your doors stay open. Step out of the darkness of “just getting by” and into the light of “I’m going to conquer these tough times” and adopt technology solutions today.