Hello, and welcome to this lean path and US foods webinar, honing your inventory management skills to avoid food waste. I'm Sam Smith. I'm the director of marketing here at lean path. This webinar is part of our chef's round table series, where we share best practices in food waste prevention. But one of the best parts about these webinars is hearing from you. You've got best practices as well, and we want to hear about them. Please chime in in the chat as we go with any input or questions. I'll be monitoring that throughout. We are LeanPath. We're the leader in enterprise food waste management, empowering the world's leading food service and hospitality organizations to reduce food waste, cut costs, and drive operational efficiency at scale. We are proud to host today's webinar with US Foods. US Foods clients get a special discount on LeanPath's food waste solution to make it even easier to drive ROI by cutting your food waste in half. But you don't need to be a LeanPath or US Foods client to get value out of today's presentation. Here's what we'll be covering. We'll be talking about the biggest pitfalls in inventory management, five key touch points that make or break your inventory management efforts, and the skills you need to hone today. To talk us through all of this are our presenters, who I'll, let introduce themselves. Rob, kick us off. Yeah. Hi. I'm chef Rob White. I've been with LeanPath now for almost nine years. Basically working in every area and segment in the industry and some of you I might have worked with prior, but my job is to really help chefs understand food waste and how to mitigate it in their operations. Rob is in kitchens every day talking to chefs and brings back a lot of insights. Cece, introduce yourself. Thank you. I started my food service career working in restaurant and hotel kitchens, and then I moved to healthcare. I spent about fourteen years managing food service departments in healthcare and it really taught me a lot about operations and service. For the last eleven years I've been with US Foods and in my current role, I am a senior business solution specialist. I work with our larger healthcare customers and I help them save money, streamline processes, and really find ways to optimize their operations. Awesome. We've got some great material to share with you. Before we jump into that, I wanted to do a quick audience poll, which will launch here in just a second. How would you rate your inventory management skills? You've got three choices. Tell us, are you very confident in your ability to manage inventory to reduce food waste? I'm good, but I can always stand to improve. My inventory management skills are pretty weak. Where are people on this scale? I'm going to give you just another couple of seconds to fill this in. Looks like most people feel they're good but can always stand to improve. That's understandable. We've got some confident folks in the audience, and we've got some folks who who need to boost their their their skills. You are in the right place. I'm gonna close the poll. That gives us a good sense of where everybody stands. So let's jump into it. We're gonna talk first about the biggest pitfalls in inventory management. Rob, kick us off with inaccurate or nonexisting counting. Yeah. Absolutely. This is something that I tend to see a lot more often than I than I would like to is and and I know chefs are busy. You know, kitchens are busy place. But really not leaving the office to actually do a physical inventory. So they're relying on maybe POS data or they're, you know, theoretical like, hey. I think I got this or hey. Maybe I got that, but not actually going out and do an accurate physical count. And then what they do is they're guesstimating that. They're guesstimating weights instead of weighing how much you actually have or they're just guesstimating, whatever they might have on hand. And that what that tends to do is then lead to sometimes either other under or more specifically over ordering because nobody wants to run out. And so those two pitfalls of ignoring the physical count and then guesstimating have a tendency to actually increase your your food waste by not having those those numbers. Get out of the office. Get into the Get out of the office. Get into the walk in and do a physical count. Cece, poor storage practices and organization. Talk to us about this. Sure. So the first topic I want to touch on is rotating or FIFO. So this is obviously very fundamental to our industry but we still see that some folks really take the easy way and instead use the first in, still in and do not rotate. Obviously, that leads to spoilage and waste. As leaders of departments, our responsibility is really to focus on reinforcement of the FIFO principles, so sometimes really looking at how things are being done and correcting them until the correction is there. And then the next topic I think is very important to discuss is labeling. So it's an issue that can also be challenging, especially with products that are ingredients that are sold in bulk. So we see that a lot with flour, different starches, sugar, and so on, because they need to be moved to other containers. It's really important that they're labeled correctly, including the delivery and expiration date. When this is done correctly, it can help ensure that the products will be properly, they will be rotated properly, and that can also help reduce waste. And then the last topic I wanted to touch on was temperature abuse. So when we talk about proper temperature, we must address temperature abuse when we talk about proper storage because product handling starts with receiving the product at the correct temperature, storing it at the correct temperature, and making sure that the staff is trained on all these skills. So knowing what the correct temperature is, taking it correctly, recording it correctly, if that is the expectation, and making also sure that they have the right thermometer for every product that they touch. Perfect. Awesome. Yeah. We're gonna be talking a lot about FIFO today because it's so so important and key. But right now, we're gonna turn it back over to Rob for ordering and receiving disconnects. Yeah. There's two there's two really big points, and kinda one of them goes back to what I was saying before. So first one is ordering disconnect. So once again, not getting out of your office, not going in and doing that physical count, and then you have a tendency to over order or hoard or do things like that, which are not good because, you know, that food has a tendency then to go to waste. Or or maybe you're switching over a menu and you didn't run old stock out and you got new items in and then you gotta figure out a use for that. So you would have known that if you were out checking in your in your stores and whether it's your walk in freezer, cooler, low boys, whatever, getting out and doing that. But the biggest thing that I actually see is the lax, really lax receiving. So basically, unless you have a procurement or a receiving person, receivers at the dock, it's gonna be you or your kitchen staffer, somebody that's been assigned to do that doing that. And I've seen people just let the the delivery guy wheel it into the cooler and they sign the invoice and walk away and nobody checks anything. And I've been on-site launching, and I see that stuff happen. I'm like, oh my gosh. So nothing got weighed. No quality got inspected. No fish got temped or anything like that. Right? It just sign the invoice, and we'll deal with it later. That is always a recipe for disaster. It's gonna end up costing you more in the long run even if you have a really good relationship with your vendor. Right? That they'll take stuff back. Now, if they give it to someone else, quality has gone down, whatever. Right? So, let's just talk about having those standard processes in place to tempt things, weigh things, check things, open cases, check everything when it comes in. But those need to tighten up, and I know it's a pain in the butt because sometimes they deliver it sometimes at the worst time, but it's a really important step to lower your food waste in this process. Just like FIFO, we're gonna be talking more about the critical control point of of the receiving doc. So we'll be coming back to that to to to emphasize it more. Cece, let's go back to you. Lack of digital integration. So stepping up your digital game. Talk to us about this. Sure. So we talked about getting out of the office, about taking inventory accurately, about checking the products when it comes in. And then an important question is whether there is a good digital reporting system that ensures that the information that is included has up to date pricing, that it provides real time view of the inventory, that it allows you to do good production forecast and also track your data. And what we see is that unfortunately, many businesses do not have this kind of reporting available. So their inventory and information is not up to date. They're not able to have accurate production forecast and they do not have the ability to correctly track waste. Great. Yeah, it makes all of this work so much easier if you have a strong digital backbone to track your data and to use it, to use that data and use it to make decisions and be fluent in, in data collection and data analysis. Super. So those are the biggest pitfalls in inventory management. We're gonna jump over to five key touch points that make or break your efforts. So these are those are those important steps in the process where things can go off track if you're not paying attention and being waste aware with your inventory management processes? I said we're gonna be talking about FIFO more. Rob, talk to us about this. Yeah. So it's really important in, in your operation. You're trying to create a culture of food waste awareness, and that really starts right when the food approaches, your loading dock or or or it gets delivered. And so training your staff, really training your staff on that culture of rotating FIFO, putting things away properly, all that kind of stuff is gonna be key. And then really making sure that you as the leader is are consistent. Like, hey. This is the way we do things, and and this is the way and this is why we have to do it this way. But making sure, one, that your team is trained, and two, that you're following up being being consistent. And another thing is that really I know I've gone into coolers and it's, you know, full of cardboard boxes and full of things like that. If you can, it's always worthwhile to invest in clear containers. One, it makes, looking at your inventory very easy and quick. To it cleans up. In some some county states municipalities, they have to actually take things out of cardboard for sanitation. So investing in those bins, is really a sound investment. So you're gonna get the maximum shelf life out of all the food that you're storing in your walk in. So it's really training. It's really being consistent, and it's really making sure everything's stored properly. I hear that that consistency. Yeah. That is so important in everything we're talking about today. Not just having these standard operating procedures that are documented, that are that are trained against and making sure they're they're followed consistently. That is an overarching lesson from all the stuff we're talking about today. Cici, forecasting and purchasing, how is this a key touchpoint? Sure. So we often see that food service teams really rely heavily on historical data to forecast usage and plan purchases. And let's not use big words, but basically you have the same cook that works the same shift and she or he has done the same job for the last ten years and they're just on repeat. They produce the same amount every day. And maybe they also look at what was produced before or what was ordered for the same menu in the past. So that's a good start, so it's good to have reliable folks doing their job, but it doesn't really give you the whole picture. So I think that for more accurate forecasting, it's really important to also factor in external influences like holiday, weather, or even local events, because that can really influence how many people are going to come in, how is the business going to be that same day. Because these elements can really significantly they can really significantly impact the demand and help plan more effectively. And there's another tool that managers can have to help forecast and that is the production sheet. So by tracking and recording results, specifically overs and unders, and again making sure that this is done consistently every meal, you can really gain valuable insights to what's really happening in the operation, not just the fact that the same cook produced the same number of portions for the same meal, but how much was really being used, how much was ordered. So this is not just about looking back, it's about using accurate information, real time information to forecast more accurately, reduce waste and improve efficiency moving forward. Yeah. Production sheets are hugely important. I'm glad that you said that and not just writing them, making sure they're accurate, but making sure that the team is following the production sheets and any adjustments that you've made, they actually made those adjustments during production. So that's a really good point, Cece. Yep. Before Going back to your consistency. Yeah. Exactly. So, Chuck, I'd I'd like to hear from the audience. What are what are you seeing? Are you seeing your staff following FIFO protocols? Are you seeing them following forecasting, purchasing SOPs? Are these baked into your system? Are are you are are you running into problems here? And if you're running in problems, what do those look like? I'd love to hear from the audience on this. Chime in in the chat if you can. And just turning to the chat, Pakistan's in the house. Great to have you here, and we've got India as well. Thank you all for joining us. Let's jump over to the next topic with Rob coming back to receiving an inspection. Again, such an important part of the process here and a point in the process where things can really go off track. Talk to us about this as a key touch point. Yeah. Absolutely. I you know, it's amazing to me how many, operations I've walked into or taken over for. I started at work as an executive chef of a country club or a hotel, and, you know, there are zero SOPs, whether it be for HACCP or sanitation or receiving or anything. Right? So I've I've done my share of SOP writing, and I think they're vitally important to have because it really spreads that and starts that whole, hey. This is the way we're gonna do things. This is our culture in our kitchen. We're organized. We got our stuff together, and this is it. So really having an SOP when it comes to receiving. So checking for the the the right quantity, the quality, the expiration dates, you know, I mean, if something's gonna expire in two days, do you accept it? Do you have an SOP that says, hey, something needs to have a shelf life of this or we're gonna refuse it on delivery? So knowing and having your standards in place are is really, really super key. And also, what is your SOP for accepting sub quality goods if you do it all? Right? And so having that stuff written in place because accepting things that are of, sub quality or don't meet your quality standards, all that does is lead to super shelf short life and then, increased food waste. And so I think everybody's kind of realized that food waste prevention really starts during this process, during when the food is coming into the operation. And so having that in place and having one person assigned that's going to take care of that that process or one or two people, maybe it's a chef or the sous chef or a station leader or you actually do have a a purchaser procurement purchaser. But that person is in charge of receiving and verifying everything. And then another part during this, receiving inspection is the actual inspection part of it. Like having the right tools to do it. Thermometers, receiving scales. Like, I can't count how many times I walk into a kitchen, there's not a receiving scale on by the loading dock. I'm like, well, how do you know if if you're ordering forty pounds of fish, it actually they delivered forty pounds of fish. Right? There's no thermometers. I are you temping your dairy when it comes in the door? Are you doing any of that stuff? Are you opening up your case of lettuce to make sure that the top doesn't look good and three quarters of the case below it is rotten? Right? Or it doesn't meet your quality standards. So actually having an SOP on how it's received, and then what are you doing to inspect it prior to someone signing the invoice? That's what we're looking for. Rejecting any food that doesn't meet it and not accepting anything, that doesn't meet your your your quality or your expiration or or your temperature or whatever it may be. But having that in place. If a vendor knows that they can't deliver anything sub party you, they're not gonna try. And so having a really good relationship with your vendor is great and needed, but doing those self inspections and not just trusting them for rolling it in the back door is always the way. So lot of comments in in the chat. Thanks, everybody. What we're seeing preach it, Rob. A hundred percent agree. Thanks, Todd. What we're seeing, the the o again, the overarching message in the chat here is lack of consistency. So we so FIFO is followed sometimes, not all the times. Production sheets are followed sometimes, not all the times. So how do we get how do we drill in that consistency? We we have SOPs. How do we make sure they're followed consistently? Rob, what would you say? It really stems from leadership on down. I mean, if you want anything in your kitchen to happen, one, you as the leader or the chef have to make it happen. They they if if you don't think it's serious and they then they're not going to take it serious. So if you're like, hey. This is the way we're gonna do it. You know, when I when I talk to chefs, and I'll just pontificate just for a second here. When I talk to chefs and like, I can't get my my team to do this, and I'm like, how is that possible? You are the chef. You are in charge of this operation. So, you know, when I was running operation, I'd be like, okay, team. This is what we're gonna do from here on out. We're all gonna do this together. We're gonna be this is this is why we're gonna do it. Right? Let them know. But we're all in this together, and it always stems from leadership. So consistency in leadership builds consistency in in in staff. Let's let's keep chiming in folks. Great great comments here. Let's go to prep prep and batching as a key touch point Cece. Thank you so and I saw in one of the notes talking about somebody made a note about more senior cooks do not use production sheets consistently. I think that was the wording. So we see that that cooks prefer sometimes to prepare quantities just in case because they don't want to run short. And this just in case can really add up because it doesn't have a lot of consideration to the actual forecast. So what happens is products are fully cooked and overproduction becomes waste. So in my travels when I go to kitchens and this topic comes up, very often I hear, Well, we use this product for fill in the blank, right? We use it for stock or we use it for employee meals or something like that. So you just went and spent a lot of money, let's say, on airline chicken breast which costs let's say about two point five zero dollars a piece and now you're going to use it for employee meals. That's not what you wanted to do, this was not the plan. So although you're using the product, this is not what you bought it for, so therefore it is still waste. So what I see in contrast is that high performing teams prep using reliable forecasts, and they use batch cooking in smaller quantities according to the menu needs that they have and real time usage. So they will par cook certain items, keep it in refrigeration, and only finish it based on need. So if they don't need it for that specific meal, it still retains its quality and it can be finished for the next meal in real time. Very cool, Cece. So we're gonna jump to the last topic in this category and no surprise since you're attending a lean path webinar that we think waste tracking and data review is a key touch point. Talk to us about the importance of this, Rob. Yeah, man. You cannot manage what you do not measure. End of story. So data is king. Right? So you need to collect the data that means the most to you. So normally that is what foods are you wasting, but the most important part is why are you wasting it? If you don't know why, all you're gonna know is is a weight and a value and a food item, but if you don't know why, you can't begin to implement procedures to mitigate it. And so having the actual loss reason in place, knowing why food is being wasted, that's the problem that you tackle. And so collecting data, right, looking at the data, and then actually reviewing it and then saying, okay. Now we know what we're wasting and why we're wasting. What do we what is the team are we gonna do about it, and how are we gonna fix this together? And so it's reviewing the data, coming up with actions, implementing maybe one or two process tweaks, hopefully that, you know, once you collect more data, see if that fixed the problem. But it's really all about measurement, management, and then taking action on that data. Yeah. Just a real quick story. I was talking to a client recently. They were doing a great job with receiving. They were weighing everything. They knew they were getting the right amounts with their, romaine lettuce. They got the right weight, but what they found from their waste tracking was the quality wasn't there. They were having to peel off two, three layers of lettuce to get down to usable product. So through that food waste tracking, they were able to identify a problem in their inventory management. So food waste tracking gives you visibility into all sorts of issues that need to be addressed in your operation. We've got about three minutes for the skills you need to hone today, so let's jump in with standardizing and documentation. We've been talking about this the whole webinar. Talk to us more about it, Rob. Yeah. So it's really making sure that you create clear written SOPs and have them in place. Some people are good at it, and some people are not very good at it. As a chef, you should start to get good at it and really put those SOPs in place and have them. And what that does is that real you know, that helps create and maintain reliability, consistency, and standards throughout your operation. But really that documentation, normally, health department requires it, some operations require it, but having that in place is key. Awesome. Let's jump to the next topic. Cici, training and coaching. Sure. A key skill. Absolutely. Rob just spoke about the importance of creating an SOP and instilling it, which is really fundamental to team success. But after you create the SOP, the second most underlying skill is training, which is crucial to strengthen your team. So training the team needs to be ongoing. Again, going back to consistency, focusing on all staff levels, not just the cook. So the receiving to prep cooks, even your pot washer, right? Everybody needs to be a part of the plan because you want to ensure the entire team's buy in. Everybody needs to know how to use proper inventory technique, as well as waste tracking technology, which you hopefully have. Because consistent training and follow-up will help ensure that the staff will embrace waste reduction culture and inventory taking. So standardize and document and then train communication and collaboration, the next key skill. Rob? Yeah. Having that open collaborative communication between front of the house and back of the house, you know, that will really, really help cut down on food waste. So, you know, what are we running out of? You know, here's a new menu item. Whatever communication is necessary, but having those open communication is is vitally key for all aspects of a kitchen and all processes. So, yeah, that will really help cut down. You know, food waste is not a taboo subject. We should be talking about it and discussing it and having that open communication as a team on how can we we can reduce it. Analytics and data interpretation. Just a minute here, Cece. Sure. So we talked about the importance of gathering accurate real time data. Now the thing is, how do you really use that data? So it really should be part of the manager training to teach the managers, the supervisors, the cook how to interpret the information from the inventory reports, waste report and production sheets. Because when folks understand this data, they can make proactive adjustments and not just react to shortages or overages. And to give you a really quick example, if when production sheets are used and you notice that mashed potatoes consistently show, let's say, fifteen percent overage on the production sheet, that means that for the next meal you need to reduce it, or you could look at a few meals a few meals one after the other and look for this data, so then you can give the instruction to reduce production to avoid this waste. So this is really putting the data into use and then changing production habits to reduce waste. Close it out for us here, Rob. Yeah. I mean, everything's attention to detail. This is a detail oriented business from your menus to your ordering, to your procurement, to to prepping, to production, to plating. Everything's about the details. Pay attention to the details, and the rest will take care of itself. Great. I'm gonna launch one more survey here. Thank you so much. A survey will pop up in just a second to ask if you would like to be contacted to talk about your food waste goals. I'm going to give you a second here as well to scan the QR code, which will take you to our contact form. We would love to talk to you wherever you are on your food waste journey to help you understand the problem of food waste, to help you incorporate best practices into your kitchen, and to help you collect data, be consistent, improve your food waste, work, and improve inventory and all the other issues that can come up that lead to food waste. So thank you all for joining us. That's all for us today. From everybody at Lean Path and US Foods, have a great day. Take care.
