Technology Manages Food and Waste at Noodles
An integrated POS system coupled with a Web-based food-management program keeps Noodles & Company's food waste to a minimum.
By Lisa Bertagnoli, Contributing Editor -- Chain Leader, 12/30/2008 10:33:00 AM
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| A prep-and-pull function enables Noodles & Company staff to prepare just the right amount of product, based on daypart sales forecasts. |
That's why Noodles & Company installed a Web-based food-management application in all 165 company stores and 15 of its 35 franchised locations two years ago. The Broomfield, Colo.-based fast-casual chain, which serves Asian, American and Mediterranean pasta dishes, had been using another system. However, that system fell short in several areas, including general reliability, says David Lehn, vice president of information technology at the chain.
Working Together
The Web-based application is integrated with the restaurants' POS systems; the two work together to keep food costs and waste in check.
The POS system tracks daily sales information: how many of each menu item is sold each day. That information is automatically loaded to the Web-based application every day. Using that information, the food-management system can tell how much of each food product--pasta, produce, protein--should have been used that day.
Every day, Lehn explains, store managers hand-count inventory of 10 key items, and every week, they hand-count 31 key items. Those actual inventories are compared to the food-management system's theoretical inventory.
"Armed with that information--how many were sold in theory, how many ingredients were depleted, vs. how much were counted on hand--that's where we get to waste," Lehn says.
Over- or -under-portioning, "sweethearting" or under-charging at the cash register, incorrect cooking methods and spillage can all result in actual numbers that don't match theoretical numbers.
Just Enough
Food waste has dropped by 40 percent since Noodles & Company installed the system in 165 company and 15 franchised stores two years ago.
The Web-based application does most of the restaurant math for managers, leaving them free to attend to customers and staff.
The system also has a "prep and pull" function, which tells staff how much product to pull from storage and prep, based on daypart forecasts. Store managers run prep-and-pull sheets twice daily to get sales forecasts for each daypart, then staff prepares food accordingly. The system cuts waste in that little extra product is pre-prepped; it also "lets us serve the freshest food possible," Lehn says.
Using actual and forecasted sales information, the system also prepares orders for each store. "It does all the math, so ordering doesn't have to become an art for the general manager," Lehn says. Orders are automatically sent to distributors, and invoices are handled on the corporate level.
Motivated Managers
The application cost $400 to $500 per store to install, and Noodles & Company pays a monthly licensing fee to its manufacturer. Still, the system has paid for itself, cutting food waste by 40 percent over the last two years and "certainly improving" food costs, Lehn says.
He credits not just the Web application, but store-level changes that it prompted, such as increased focus on portioning, and inaugurating a consistent inventory-counting method.
"A lot of times folks would say, 'How fast can I get done with this weekly inventory?'" Lehn recalls.
It's also helped that general managers' quarterly bonuses are tied to how well they control waste. Weekly reports from all the stores are circulated systemwide, so managers can compare their stores' performance against others. "That's how you really get someone's attention," Lehn says.
MORE: Atlanta-based Stevi B's uses high- and low-tech tactics to cut food waste and improve food costs at its 30 pizza buffet restaurants.
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