Inventory Management System An inventory management plan can cost thousands of dollars, depending on what vendor/software is used, but the same principles can also be applied in Excel for much less. Since the cost of lost merchandise is $1,000/yr, the Excel option seems to be one that will have a reasonable return on investment, though that depends entirely on how much time is taken to keep the inventory up-to-date. ROI is important because many of the most effective inventory management systems are geared towards clients much bigger than a school concession and are thus going to cost a lot more than $1,000 per year (Burg, 2013). To truly get a return on investment might require something a little more low-tech, like stickers on inventory noting a use by date, and checks prior to menu planning to ensure that perishable goods are used swiftly.

Let's say for the sake of argument that the waste was much more than $1,000 per year. Then the concession would need something a little more sophisticated. There are a number of components to an inventory management plan. First, there is forecasting. This aspect requires menu planning, and menu planning is dependent on understanding demand. Typically, historical data will be used to estimate demand. This data should include known exceptions (for example, Thanksgiving...

The chef can design menus based on two principles -- one is the expected demand and two is ensuring that perishable goods are used. For example, bread pudding should be a staple dessert, to use up yesterday's bread.
The purchasing aspect flows from the forecasting. There will be forecasting errors, where demand either exceeds or falls short of expectations, so the important aspect of purchasing is to overpurchase on foods that are non-perishable and maybe even underpurchase on those that are -- latecomers will have to substitute dishes made with perishables for ones made without. The most highly-perishable items cannot be overpurchased if the concession wishes to avoid waste. For this reason, purchasing needs to be iterative -- there should only be standing orders at minimal levels for critical items that experience very stable demand levels.

Storing of inventory needs to incorporate the fact that this inventory needs to be entered into a database. The chef should have access to this information, knowing everything that is in the inventory at a given point in time. Thus, all goods will be entered when they arrive, and amounts of those goods deducted based on planned production for the day. The chef should be able to sort goods by expiry data, and even…