School foodservice directors spend a lot of time planning. They have to manage staff, monitor the menu, track budget dollars, and address the beast known as procurement\u2014the multi-step process of securing food and services that meet the program\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n
Procurement is a complex job that requires attention to detail. These days, details are in the data, which is collected at many points of every operation. Analyzing data will paint a clearer picture of your successes, failures, and needs, and this is exactly the information you need to be a better buyer.<\/p>\n
Although the school foodservice bid doesn\u2019t get submitted until the spring semester, the time to go to school on data is now, says Nicole Nicoloff, Gordon Food Service Education Segment Manager. If your school uses a POS system as students pass through the food line, you have item-selection data from the past year that will tell you the foods students choose and how those foods fit the nutritional makeup of your menu. It can also help with production planning and reimbursement.<\/p>\n
This is an example of how data integrates multiple parts of the operation, everything from the menu to staffing to service, says Ben Gardner, Gordon Food Service Customer Intelligence and Strategy Analyst. He points out that savvy operators already are looking ahead at their 2017-18 bids.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you use data to discover your bestsellers, you\u2019ll be better positioned to forecast your production because you know what the students will eat,\u201d Gardner says. \u201cThe same data that helps you become a better operator also helps you become a better buyer. Those corn dogs the students crave can be part of your bid, and data helps make it possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new Gordon Food Service Commodity Management Application (CMA) tool blends data from a variety of places\u2014Online Ordering, Recipe Manager, Inventory Manager, and My Account\u2014showing which items can be purchased using USDA commodity dollars. It also makes sure schools get all the discounts to which they are entitled.<\/p>\n
The data you collect on student eating habits has an added benefit when it comes to procurement\u2014flexibility when a product is discontinued or has an ingredient change. Finding a substitute product is far easier when you have breakdowns on where it\u2019s served on the menu, what nutritional components it contains, and how it\u2019s structured in your bid. <\/p>\n
Another way schools can use data to their best advantage is to validate what is bought vs. what is bid, Gardner says. Tracking food-usage data can help close the gap on those numbers. This benefits the district, the manufacturers, and the distributor:<\/p>\n
\u00b7 The school allocates its bid dollars more effectively.
\u00b7 The manufacturer is able to more reliably forecast production.
\u00b7 The distributor is able to prevent out of stocks.<\/p>\n
Each of these represents a cost savings directly tied to using data\u2014less surplus means less waste, and efficient production and delivery means lower costs.<\/p>\n
Waste reduction is often overlooked as a way to control costs. Foodservice operations account for over half of the food waste in the United States, Nicoloff says, and using data to streamline your buying will reduce overstock and overproduction. It also can improve student consumption and satisfaction, a benefit to your program\u2019s image and its bottom line.<\/p>\n
Data tracking over time allows foodservice directors to establish benchmarks\u2014essential for evaluating progress and making improvements.<\/p>\n
\u201cBenchmarking key performance ratios like food cost per meal, non-food cost per meal and meals per labor hour are practical applications of data that can have a significant impact on the operation.\u201d Gardner says. \u201cUsing data to measure efficiencies clearly demonstrates the value of top performers and, for others, highlights areas where they can improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Going forward, data literacy will be a requirement in school foodservice, Gardner says. Increased regulatory requirements, pressures for the foodservice operation to be a profit center and changes in what students eat all will require careful data-centered analysis to ensure the success of the foodservice operation. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You can use the information you collect to take the pain out of procurement<\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4329,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[112,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-k12-education","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n