Inventory management for a restaurant chain

Context

• Each location ran slightly different menus and supplier contracts while finance needed consolidated visibility.
• Counts and wastage were inconsistent; true cost of goods was opaque until month-end adjustments.

Problem

• POS inventory modules could not model prep, yield, and spoilage the way kitchens actually behaved.
• Transfers between sites and central kitchen broke when staff used informal shortcuts.

Approach

• Defined base units and conversion rules per ingredient with explicit yield assumptions reviewed by operations.
• Mobile-first counting flows with offline capture for walk-in coolers and low-connectivity storage areas.
• Exception reports for variance spikes tied to supplier batches and menu changes.

System / architecture

• Central service for items and recipes; site-level inventory with asynchronous sync and conflict rules.
• Nightly reconciliation jobs with alerts for anomalies beyond configured thresholds.

Outcome

• More trustworthy COGS discussions and faster correction when a supplier or batch drifts.
• Reduced shrink hidden in manual spreadsheet adjustments.

Representative multi-site hospitality inventory engagement; brand not named.