Small changes that make a big difference
Welcome to the next in our series of articles on small changes that can make a big difference to your bottom line. We are still on the topic of storage. It’s a big issue and attention to detail really can mean more cash! Last week we looked at how you could best organise your stockroom, but this week we’ll be covering how often you should be managing your inventory.
Weekly and daily storage routines
A big mistake is to do an infrequent “spring-clean”, admire your work, and then forget about things for weeks or months on end. Effective stock management means regular weekly checks and day-to-day best practices.
So, do a regular (daily for some items) food rotation check to make sure that you move items with the nearest sell-by dates to the front. If you find you have a surplus of stock that is fast approaching the sell-by date, have a “stock amnesty” and run special offers to clear it. Turn surplus stock into cash before it is too late!
All products should be removed from open cases for immediate use. Only full and sealed cases should be kept in the storerooms – do not leave half-empty boxes in storerooms. Only open items should be outside of the dry storage area.
Always clean your fridges and stores out from back to front at least once a week.
Keep all storage areas organised on a daily basis to aid in ease of counting and ordering. Make sure that all containers are properly sealed and dated to prevent spoilage, and that all labels face outwards for easy recognition.
Next time: when you have a routine in place, who should do what?
