Purchasing Simulation  

Introduction

The process of undertaking purchases in restaurants is a vital component of any food service operation. All components, irrespective of their skill set, require having the right ingredients in designated amounts at the right time coupled with having the best possible prices (Park & Kang, 2021). Every kitchen requires these variables to be addressed extensively in every purchase decision. One key component is always to buy as much as is needed until the following delivery (Park & Kang, 2021). The main aim of the same is to ensure that food remains fresh and that the restaurant does not suffer a high turnover on inventory (Park & Kang, 2021). Foods deteriorate over time, and as such, it is highly crucial to ensure that the purchasing component is concise at all times.

Harry’s restaurant is a restaurant that specializes in a variety of meals from steaks to seafood and vegetarian meals. Over time, the organization has gained popularity due to its dynamic menu and good quality dishes being rolled out every day. The bulk of the customers partake the lunch and dinner meals. The restaurant, however, has been facing a few challenges in its purchasing regime, notably running out of crucial ingredients, ingredients of menu items that are bringing in customer dissatisfaction, and adjusting the purchasing process to suit the different meal volumes or sales of the organization.

Decisions Made and Results Anticipated

Change of Supplier and Delivery Days

Among the decisions to be made is to seek a different supplier for the shrimp that has been bringing in negative comments by customers who order the meal. For example, 15% of the customers order shrimp, and many have complained about its taste. The same has been reviewed internally, and the unanimous decision to seek another outlet to supplier the produce has been reached. The aim will be to select three suppliers based on quality, handling, service delivery, and pricing to deliver the produce to the restaurant. Shrimp is predominantly on Fridays and Saturdays when the majority of shrimp lovers visit the restaurant. The restaurant will additionally pursue having a two-day supply of produce compared to having weekly orders. The seafood will be ordered a week in advance but delivered on the day or making the meals or the night before, for example, on Thursday.

Increase in Accountability

The purchasing process will change extensively within the restaurant. There will be an introduction in process flows that will, in turn, aid immensely in enhancing accountability (Seretny et al., 2021). The organization shall seek to have the personnel contributing further in their roles, for example, who acknowledges delivery, inspects the goods, and deals with the overall handling of the goods (Seretny et al., 2021). Over time, through such process flows, Harry's will enhance efficiency, and the same will reflect in its service delivery and customer satisfaction levels. The manager or head chef shall be in charge of receiving the goods ordered. The two possess food handling certificates and are trusted in ascertaining the quality of food. They are also charged with the overall responsibility of assessing and or controlling the storage of foods. There should be a checklist on hand for use to verify the orders received. This should be prepared by the individual charged with making the purchases with each order.

Food Specifications

The restaurant shall embark on having different ordering patterns pegged on product specifications.  For meats, they will be ordered pegged on the grade of the meat coupled with the weight, fat parameters, packaging, age, fresh or frozen. Seafood will be ordered according to the type with the shrimp suppliers, who are three in total being assessed beforehand by providing samples and evaluate their handling of the supplies. Poultry will be ordered on whether the restaurant seeks broilers or fryers, breasts or wings, size, grade. Processed vegetables and fruits will equally be ordered according to the grade, packaging, count on each case, canned or frozen variety, and the fresh fruits ordered based on weight, growing area, quality, and size. Doing so aims to ensure that each item meets the anticipated target, with the menu being the backdrop through which all the decisions are made.

Reasoning and Actual Results

There are three main components of any purchasing specification within a restaurant, and they include knowing the amount required with each cycle, the amount on hand, and to order (Tuncer, Unusan & Cobanoglu, 2021). Breaking down the processes to product specifications and having teams accountable for purchasing and delivering supplies allows the restaurant to have audit processes in place. Through such processes, the team can therefore be able to backtrack their actions and ascertain where they went wrong and how to fix it. Product specifications are imperative to ensure that quality standards are maintained at all times within the restaurant (Tuncer, Unusan & Cobanoglu, 2021). It also allows the restaurant to enhance service delivery to its customers.

Through the use of the checklist, product specifications, and heightened accountability, the restaurant has been able to improve service delivery to consumers. Products that were previously not required have been removed from the purchase orders. The personnel has been able to plan accordingly with the revamped purchase routine and know who to query when having queries relating to the purchases made with each order. As a result, there is better synergy and overall camaraderie with the personnel. The incidences with the shrimp have been extensively reduced, and there have been no complaints since the removal of the existing supplier. The supplier selected based on merit has been delivering quality goods thus far. The restaurant, however, has a stringent SLA with the supplier to avoid incidences that have happened in the past recurring within the restaurant. The supplier receives half of the payment on delivery and the other half once the shrimps have been served to customers for two days for any complaints.

85756338572457. Simulation - Outline

Thesis Statement:The process of undertaking purchases in restaurants is a vital component of any food service operation and that all components, irrespective of their skill set, require having the right ingredients in designated amounts at the right time coupled with having the best possible prices.

1. Introduction

1. History of the restaurant and its current issues

2. Decisions Made and Results Anticipated

1. Change of supplier and delivery days for better service delivery and higher levels of efficiency
2. Increase in accountability among the personnel working for the restaurant
3. Food Specifications for the different types of ingredients required by the restaurant

3. Reasoning and Actual Results

1. Underlying theme is to extensively improve efficiency within the organization and enhance its activities and service delivery