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The Problems with Managing Inventory in Spreadsheets
You’d be hard-pressed to find an operator who actually likes taking inventory. It’s complicated, time-consuming, and often requires opening early or closing late. But smart operators know the importance of good inventory management technology. Day-to-day inventory decisions impact the bottom line, and with food costs on the rise, the process is another major stressor on top of numerous existing operational headaches.
Consumer Price Index research indicates rapid inflation in early 2021, so you could understand why operators are increasingly concerned. According to Hospitality Technology, 60% of operators said that food costs are a significant challenge, continuously eating away at their profits — and that was before the pandemic.
And yet, many hospitality organizations still use spreadsheets to manually count their inventory.
Even when operators take advantage of inventory management technology, those systems tend to be antiquated and configured for the needs of the corporate office — not the operations team that depends on the tool daily.
Spreadsheets Breed Inaccuracy
When inventory is tracked manually, patterns of waste — or theft — can fly under the radar. Errors in formulas and data entry can go uncorrected for long periods of time, resulting in a string of bad decisions and unfortunate misses:
- Over- or under-ordering
- Increased food waste
- Undetected theft
- Inaccurate accounting
F1F9 estimated that 88 percent of all spreadsheets have errors in them, while 50 percent of spreadsheets used by large companies have material defects.
That’s not exactly encouraging, especially when you consider that accuracy is crucial to above-store leaders. Plus, if your inventory is sloppily done, there’s no way of knowing what your cost of goods sold really is.
Spreadsheets Are Inefficient
Spreadsheets Are Irritating
Modern, mobile inventory management technology built with the manager in mind can increase productivity, accuracy, and accountability within your company. It can also help lessen the stress and pressure on your managers and improve the quality of their work.
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