Food Service Logistics

Food Service Logistics for the RD Exam

When considering putting together a menu, what should the manager consider?

Consider both profit and aesthetics

What is menu engineering?

It allows the manager to examine a menu item’s profitability and popularity so that proactive planning, recipe changes, and selling price decisions can be made

How do you assess popularity of an item?

By using percent of toal sales and profitability (by using the percent of profit)

What are the 4 menu planning principles?

Variety of color

flavors

textures

food shapes

Static menu

doesn’t change daily or seasonally; grouped by appetizers, entrees, salads, soups, desserts, etc

Du jour menu

has specials for the day; offers flexibility for small and busy restaurants; in conjunction with static menu

Prix fixe menu

aka fixed price; may present an entire meal or several options within each meal category for a single price

Table d’hôte menu

more upscale than prix fixe, may vary entree price

A la carte menus

prices for each food items separately

Single-use menu

Used once, such as for a special event

Cycle menu

for each day of a cycle, the menu is different; cycle repeats on a regular basic weekly or monthly; typical in schools or hospitals; efficient and reduced food waste, reduces storage cost, and keep appropriate stock

What does contribution margin indicate?

profitability

What does menu mix indicate?

popularity

what are the 4 types of menu items?

Plow horse- very popular but doesn’t bring in a lot of money

Star- high in profit and high in sales

puzzle- don’t sell much but profitable when it does

Dog- low profit and low sales

How to improve popularity?

Reduce selling price

Feature item as special

Give it top priority on the menu

Offer a smaller portion size

To create more profitable items that are also popular do:

improve appearance

decrease portion size (easiest to do)

Decrease food cost

How to improve popularity and profitability?

assess item as its customer specific; such as children’s menu items

If not customer specific, try increasing selling price

What ways can you control menu costs?

Making seasonal changes to menu items, same menus across different avenues, same items on menu, standardized recipes

How does an effective production plan and schedule help control costs?

Reduced wasted time

improves process flow to reduce labor cost

Reduced inventory costs

Optimizes equipment usage and increases work capacity

What is the difference between an informal and formal procurement process?

Formal uses same process as informal procurement but scores bidders based on established scoring criteria; 2 methods include competitive sealed bidding and competitive negotiation

Informal process includes developing specifications in writing, identifying sources eligible and able to provide products, contract sources, evaluate bidders’ response, and determine most responsive and responsible bidder at the lowest price

What are the 5 steps in the procurement process?

1. develop specifications in writing

2. identify sources eligible and able to provide products

3. contact sources

4. evaluate bidders’ response

5. determine most responsive and responsible bidder at the lowest price

What are KPIs?

key performance indicators

Ex. for a foodservice department, could be plate cost, food cost, meal/labor hour, and sale/labor hour

Why is specification development important?

To ensure consistency in price, product quality, operations function, and fit for purpose

What are benefits and drawbacks of group purchasing?

Group purchasing is when foodservice operations create collective buying power to purchase more products at a low price (GPOs or group purchasing organizations)

Benefits are lower purchasing costs but drawback is losing individuality

What is a prime vendor agreement?

A pricing contract that a supplier offers to businesses on products they frequently buy; fits with wholesale and benefits buyer and seller

What are the 5 steps in the receiving process?

1. compare purchase order to invoice

2. inspect items again invoice

3. Accept or reject items

4. Complete receiving records and sign the invoice

5. Place products in appropriate storage

What steps are involved in the purchasing process?

1. Requisition form is used to request items from the purchasing manager

2. Purchasing manager will write up a purchase order and send to supplier

3. The supplier will provide an invoice to the purchasing manager

what is blind check receiving method?

When you get an invoice or purchase order that doesn’t include quantity, weight, or price; takes longer and costs more

FOB origin

means “free on board”; liability and title possession of the items ordered shift to the customer when the shipment leaves the point of origin

CIF origin (cost insurance and freight) is the opposite as responsibility transfers to the buyer only when the goods arrive at the destination

What are the two types of inventory?

Perpetual inventory- a running balance of inventory on hand

Physical inventory- done once a month with physical counts recorded on a spreadsheet; closing and opening inventory compared to determine monthly food cost

What is the difference between FIFO and LIFO?

FIFO- first in, first out; oldest item used first

LIFO- last in, first out; used for items that would spoil