How to choose tech solutions for your foodservice operations

Q&A with Director of Project Management for Data and Digital Waseem Mango

Inflationary pricing pressures and product shortages are diminishing, but best-in-class supply chain management has never been more critical than it is today. Thoughtful operators know they need a laser-like focus on purchasing to avoid unnecessary menu price hikes and to develop value-category items, as inflation-weary consumers pay greater attention to discretionary spending.

Every day, Director of Project Management for Data and Digital Waseem Mango helps foodservice operators drive savings across their business with vetted tech solutions to manage the purchasing cycle. We sat down with him in this month’s Q&A to learn how.

Q: In what ways can operators expect a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) to help mitigate inflationary and supply chain challenges using tech solutions?

A: A GPO should be able to introduce you to technology platforms that are part and parcel of your GPO relationship. As a trusted advisor, the right GPO can help you evaluate different platforms and plug-ins at varying price points.

At its heart, a GPO helps hospitality-driven businesses like restaurants, hotels, university dining and senior-care facilities save money on almost every purchase they need to make to run their businesses.

With costs at near-all-time highs, most businesses can’t — and shouldn’t — recreate the wheel when most GPOs have an army of people negotiating deals daily with suppliers and manufacturers. And no matter the size of your team, you won’t have the same purchasing power to capitalize on the economies of scale to help drive down your costs.

Q: How can operators determine what tech tools they might need?

A: While there are as many tech solutions as there are problems to solve, you should set clear goals and establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and use them as your road map. We recommend identifying the areas of your business that need improvement and building a framework around those to do things like control purchasing, manage ingredients and recipes, put purchasing under one umbrella or whatever else you want to achieve.

Ultimately, the data and digital platforms you select should help you make decisions with confidence.

Q: How should an operator select a technology partner for their restaurant, hotel or other foodservice business?

A: We always start with what problem you’re trying to solve and work our way backwards to identify the right solution that fits your budget. Are you trying to:

• Gain greater visibility into your spending activity across units?
• Manage ordering and lock in savings?
• Automate your cost-of-goods analysis to develop menus and recipes?
• Audit your spending to find savings opportunities?

You may want to think through the areas of your procurement journey where you need the most help:

• Pre-purchasing (where you create and lock down an ordering guide and manage what your units can consider buying)
• Purchasing (selecting items based on cost and quality)
• Post-purchasing, auditing and analyzing your margins

Q: What are the most important considerations for an operator who wants to join a GPO and partner with them on tech solutions for their procurement?

• Find a GPO that matches your value proposition i.e. is it transactional or customizable service? Do you need menu preparation ideas, SKU optimization?
• Choose transparency from any vendor relationship
• Decide whether you need to optimize your setup or completely change to a new tech solution
• Find a partner who can tailor a solution to fit your needs
• Ensure that there is wide coverage of products and categories that are important to you

Watch Entegra’s Waseem Mango and Nation’s Restaurant News go into more detail in the webinar, Don’t go it alone: How supply chain partnerships can better your business.

Entegra offers a one-stop GPO platform built to help procurement professionals make decisions with confidence while improving their business performance. Additionally, Waseem and his team partner with clients to recommend and implement vetted add-on tech solutions for a range of needs.

Let’s connect about data and digital solutions that can take your business to the next level. Contact an Entegra representative today.