When you go out to eat at your favorite establishment, you don't think about the mind-blowing amount of logistics that go into getting your favorite six ingredient cocktail made and served, or your favorite dish with five components. And why should you? It's your favorite restaurant for a reason—great food and drinks, exceptional service—they make it look easy. But it isn't easy, ask any restaurateur.
While the tools and processes that help restaurateurs operate their businesses have come a long way, they still lack in fundamental areas. With supply chain disruptions, inaccurate forecasting, waste, human error, and a lack of technology, to name just a few, it's a wonder that any of them get it right.
Traditional methods of inventory management, like spreadsheets or standalone inventory software (IMS), often fall short in addressing the problems, leading to a number of inefficiencies, including financial losses, loss of time, and an inability to focus on all the other areas of the business. Even the more advanced systems with features like integration with POS systems and automated reordering still lack scalability, customization options, and seamless integration, leaving a lot of room for improvement in the industry's approach to inventory management.
That's where Heart of House comes in. With almost a decade of restaurant experience, founder Brendan Charles saw firsthand the challenges faced in the restaurant industry. Time and time again, he was met with the task of telling customers they couldn't have their favorite cocktail because the restaurant hadn't stocked an essential ingredient. He recognized a serious need for innovation and modernization in the restaurant industry. With the help of a childhood friend who has an aptitude for computer science, the two created a revolutionary solution utilizing AI and current Point-of-Sales (POS) systems to modernize and simplify inventory.
Many POS systems help with inventory management by tracking sales. While some integrate with inventory management software that allows for automatic updates of inventory levels based on sales data, there are still several flaws in the system. Many of them only provide "batch updates" at the end of each day that don't reflect real-time changes, whereas Heart of House enables real-time inventory tracking to make timely adjustments to orders, helping them avoid overstocking or a lack of stock.
Currently, there is also a disconnect between inventory management systems and ordering from suppliers. Allowing for direct ordering from suppliers through Heart of House means that the middleman can be eliminated and the replenishment process can be streamlined.
Another problem with current inventory management systems is they don't use the most current AI technology and analytics that can provide much more accurate forecasting of inventory needs. With the Heart of House system, restaurateurs can utilize historical data, seasonal patterns and other data to anticipate future demands and ensure that their inventory is adequate.
Charles notes, "There are some inventory management systems out there that deal a lot with accounting and seeing how much bartenders are pouring, and they look at the actual inventory, and they see if those numbers add up. But what we're doing is more focusing on just straight up effective ordering."
Heart of House is unique because their technology allows for direct communication between suppliers and restaurants. "The other solutions still require the 'okay' from people. Our platform goes from a need to a direct order, meaning restaurant patrons will never be lacking for that favorite cocktail or dish because ingredients didn't get ordered."
The time is now for restaurants. Artificial intelligence is changing a lot of aspects in the management and operations of restaurants and those that don't progress with it won't be able to keep up and will face increasing challenges in the future. Younger generations entering the workforce and taking over managerial roles expect user-friendly, easy-to-use systems and processes. To remain competitive in a highly competitive market, restaurateurs will have to evolve. Heart of House's solution makes that evolution easy.
"Restaurants are going to have to adapt." Charles shares, "Let's say if you're in a bar and you're out of a certain product that a guest wants, and you can't make that drink because you don't have an ingredient that wasn't ordered, you missed out on a potential sale right there. And so that is a missed opportunity that won't happen with Heart of House. Another thing, our platform is going to save you a lot of time and labor. You don't need someone going through the entire bar to check inventory. And that's not even getting to the ordering part. Depending on how big your inventory is, that could take you up to two hours to go through all your suppliers instead of just a click of a button at the end of the night, paste your reports there, and then just like magic, it's all accounted for."
Not only is Heart of House's technology really important because it takes away so much cognitive overhead and mitigates a lot of busy work. Charles notes that, more importantly, it gives employees and managers the time and ability to focus more on providing great customer experiences. Charles adds, "That's where I came up with the name for the company, Heart of House. You have this tool that does the mundane tasks, so you can kind of focus on hospitality."
Charles was insistent that the Heart of House platform should be not only user-friendly but also simple. "Basically, at the end of the night, all managers have to do is print a report from their POS. Depending on the POS, say it's Toast or Aloha, they just need to export a couple of reports. It's going to be the main overview and the modifier report. We're going to have two different portals just to plug that in. That's essentially all they have to do."
The Heart of House will feature the ability to track all deliveries as well. That will enable the IMS to update inventory levels automatically upon receipt of new stock, which will keep inventory accurate and prevent shortages or overstocking of inventory items. Best of all restaurateurs will be able to set up their whole menu, every ingredient, whether food or cocktails to make sure the IMS is as accurate as possible.
Charles' Heart of House Inventory Management Platform is designed to streamline restaurant operations by automating the inventory ordering process and helping restaurants stay ahead in an ever-changing industry. By aiming to eliminate human error and exhaustive and time-intensive manual processes, Brendan Charles is empowering restaurateurs to do what they love, provide exceptional customer experiences instead of dealing with inventory management issues.
Join the Heart of House team in helping restaurants modernize and streamline inventory so they can focus on the heart of hospitality.
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