FSR February 2023

YourTake

7. Reinvent your supply chain Many brands are using the same prod ucts as before the pandemic but paying more for them and still living with spo radic supply chain issues. Is there a bet ter way? In the year ahead, we expect more brands to further reinvent their supply chains. To do so, full-service operators must work closely with their preferred partners to build a supply model they can rely on. This requires approved alternative products, elimination of some propri etary products in favor of more read ily available SKUs, and being open to protein alternatives that provide more consistent availability and cost. It also demands a higher level of transparency and communication. Suppliers that can not step up will be cut. Product supply is critical to a restau rant’s success, and operators have run out of patience with unreliable systems. We’ ll enter a new era of supply chain management as a result. Bonus: Telling a story Now is the time to reinvent your brand. Every restaurant can be improved. Be forward-thinking and determine how to appeal to today’s consumer, or how to become evenmore compelling to your existing core customers. Become an innovative growth brand with real areas of differentiation. Rein vent who you are, if needed. ese seven strategies are critical to running a great operation, but they don’t tell the whole story. Create your own story, and tell your story. Chicago-based foodservice and gen eral management consulting firm. e firm guides multiple best practices proj ects and forums, and works with lead ing foodservice suppliers, operators, and associations. eir previous leadership roles in restaurant chain operations and at foodservice manufacturers provide a balanced industry perspective. Bruce Reinstein and TimHand are partners with Kinetic12 Consulting, a

platformhas become crucial to customer engagement, foot traffic, and business viability. Menus have become smaller. How staff are deployed has changed. is year will bring us more examples of hybrid models that incorporate some of the successful characteristics of fast casual and quick service, but still main tain full service at the core, just within a more compact system. 4. Be great at off-premises For many consumers, the pandemic was a giant forced trial in off-premises. And as it turned out, customers liked it. Although social distancing was the initial motivator, it has become more about convenience. Restaurant takeout, as a result, has improved. Off-premises menus and promotions now offer more choices, and delivery packaging has improved. e whole experience is better. From a menu perspective, dishes that are consumed off-site must now meet the quality standards of the products consumed at the restaurant. We predict this shift toward better off-premises foodservice will eventually prove to be Covid’s biggest impact on the industry. “Doing more with less” is becoming the industry standard. After a two-year labor shortage, operators understand that staff engagement and building the right culture are essential to survival. It starts with teammembers who are well trained, who are listened to and feel appreciated, have a quality way of life, are competi tively compensated, see opportunities to grow, and have fun at work. A second critical element to engage ment are managers who manage—not “firefight.” is will be a major challenge in 2023. Managers who work in an engagement-forward culture are likely to stay and growwith a company. On the other hand, firefighters tend to move on, which leads to further staffing problems. 6. Embrace technology Clearly operators must prioritize where they invest in technology, but it ’s 5. Create a culture of labor productivity

BRUCE REINSTEIN

TIM HAND

“Product supply is critical to a restaurant’s success, and operators have run out of patience. We’ll enter a new era of supply chainmanagement as a result.”

tricky to determine the best system. Over the last few years, full-service oper ators have accelerated their investments in tabletop ordering, delivery tech, apps, websites, inventory management soft ware, KDS, online training, and more. We can expect the pace of innovation in foodservice technology to continue; we are now in a new environment where operations management, training, and customer connectivity must have a foun dation in technology. Investing smartly will drive traffic, employee satisfaction, and ultimately revenue.

COURTESY OF KINETIC 12 (2)

48

FSRMAGAZINE .COM

FEBRUARY 2023