Common Restaurant Savings Tricks

At the heart of the FoodBAM application are the two things that are on every restaurant owner and chef’s mind: Saving Money and Saving Time. FoodBAM was designed specifically to accomplish these two goals and find you the best insights on your food costs. Below are 6 easy steps that FoodBAM helps chefs and GM’s save time – and especially money – for your restaurant.

 
Utilize Inventory View

This is kind of FoodBAM’s ‘thing’. Inventory view provides an apples-to-apples comparison of products so chefs can find the best prices across multiple distributors. The least expensive item will automatically show up on the left-hand side of the comparison view screen. Add that item to your cart and bask in the glory of savings.

 
Item Matches and Restaurant Savings Suggestions

Not all items are creating equal – but many of them are pretty damn close! Utilize FoodBAM’s item matching and savings suggestions features to identify similar items to what you’re currently buying that offer savings potential. On commodity items like chicken, flour, butter and onions, it may be as simple as switching manufacturers or pack sizes. On items that are more closely aligned to the flavors of your dishes, it may be worth checking out a different brand of mayonnaise, breading or hot sauce to see how it compares. And on disposables like ramekins, napkins and – of course – toilet paper, it’s a no-brainer to switch and save!

 
Utilize FoodBAM’s analytics features

While you’re using FoodBAM to streamline your food ordering and save money on your restaurant’s purchases, the app is cataloging everything you do and buy. Over time, this creates an incredibly valuable bank of data about your operation that is chock full of amazing insights. FoodBAM’s analytics tool allows you to break down your purchases by category, across all of your distributors, to see everything you’ve purchased over a given time period. You can sort the items in the category high-to-low to see what you’re spending the most money on. Now you have the power of data at your fingertips and you can call your reps to work on getting prices on your high-velocity items, consolidate disparate purchases (think: multiple tomato sizes or types of bacon), or perhaps even identify an opportunity for a direct manufacturer contract.

 
Use your data to make a smart decision about Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs)

I know, I know – your distributor gets you the best possible pricing in your area. When you originally signed up for FoodBAM, you said you wanted to keep doing things the way you were before. Now that you have 60, 90 or 180 days’ worth of data, have a look to see how your prices look over time. Your distributor either holds your prices steady or hand-prices you every week. Not sure if your being hand-priced? Take a look at your purchasing data. If you see steady prices, you’re in good shape. If you see the highs and lows of a mountain range – you’re hand-priced. A GPO can help even out your prices and help you earn rebates, making it easier for you to forecast your food costs and putting money directly back to your bottom line. Contact your FoodBAM Customer Success Manager to learn more about whether a GPO might be right for you.

 
Take advantage of the green sticker to earn rebates

Good for you! You took the smart step of joining a GPO! FoodBAM makes it easy to find rebated items from Dining Alliance. Look for the green sticker on the top right corner of any product — add it to your cart and watch the rebates pile up. $1 on a case might not sound like all that much but think about how that stacks up throughout the year — you can add major savings to your bottom line, one case at a time. That’s easy-to-earn “mailbox money” that comes to you in a quarterly check that can easily be applied to payroll, equipment or a much-needed vacation!

 
Keep using FoodBAM

Yeah… it’s that simple. The more you use FoodBAM, the more it learns about your purchase patterns, your trends, your likes and your dislikes. Put in all the items you buy and we’ll start to match them. Tell FoodBAM what you like and don’t like and it will keep learning your behavior in the same way that your favorite music app magically “knows” how much you love Gloria Estefan or your dating app figured out that you prefer muscular hunks with goatees… Stick with FoodBAM and your returns will continue to grow in the form of more dollar savings, more minute’s savings, and more intelligence about what makes your restaurant successful.