Open Pantry Blog

Restaurant inventory management means recording, tracking and reporting how ingredients and supplies move through the kitchen. Done well it prevents loss and protects margin; done badly it is a leading cause of restaurant failure, with up to 10% of food never reaching a customer.

Melbourne chefs Ishy Patel and Andrew Braham say they choose suppliers on honesty, reliability, quality and provenance, personal rapport, adaptability, ethical sourcing, efficient technology and negotiable pricing. Suppliers who build around those nine values, and use technology to support them, win and keep the work.

Five moves lift a food and beverage wholesaler's margin: replace price locks with margin locks, use technology to cut manual work, sell provenance and branding, carry exclusive brands competitors cannot, and adapt to demand shifts towards online ordering and locally sourced product.

Price a wholesale range by tier rather than across the board: compete hard on fast-moving core items chefs compare, take a reasonable margin on medium-volume lines, and charge a premium on rarely ordered specialities. Separate delivery charges and compete on quality rather than price alone.

Should I charge a delivery fee?

Restaurants choose a wholesale supplier on trust and reputation first, then quality ahead of price, past experience with that supplier, service and communication, packaging, and flexibility. Chefs interviewed by Open Pantry rate honesty about stock and price changes above almost everything else.

Please use our free calculator to help determine what your optimal delivery fee should be and also how to optimise your minimum order value to maximise the profit of your wholesale supply business.

Delve into the success story of Bar Group Hospitality as we explore how the implementation of Open Pantry’s Restaurant Pro Suite (now Restaurant AI Manager) revolutionized operations at their esteemed establishment, Huskisson Hotel.

We asked one hundred chefs in Melbourne to vote for their favorite suppliers in the following product categories. They had to decide based on the price, quality and service offered by each brand.The results provided insight into the supplies that covet the most from all over Australia. Let's see the outcomes for each category

Perhaps you’ve been a chef for years and are no stranger to the unforeseen costs that crop up and leave you feeling underpaid and overworked. Or maybe you’re just starting out and are researching all of the best practices for running your new venue. Either way, we’ve put together our top ten recommended ways to save money, both in and out of the kitchen, to help you run a thriving, successful venue.