The current economic headwinds have made protecting margins more essential to hospitality businesses than ever before, but the right technology, in the right place, can help operators both maintain profitability and create a more sustainable business for the future.

Zonal technology can be a vital tool in this drive. From better, more granular reporting, to digital stock checks, to recipe management, waste reduction and more, our systems can help maximise margins and deliver more revenue.

Here are 10 ways Zonal systems can help you be as profitable as possible:

1. Use real-time product sales and stock data to inform decisions

In today’s economic climate, no business can afford to have cash tied up in too much stock or to have items on the menu that just aren’t shifting. Integrated tech systems enable you to monitor the performance of the items you are selling right down to a product level, in real-time. This data will give you all the information you need to make informed decisions around pricing and ordering to boost margins and make potential savings on recipes or suppliers.

2. Analyse consumer spending patterns to plan more effectively

Fully integrated tech that can collate customer spend data from across all your different ordering channels makes reporting much easier, and allows you to more effectively plan staff and inventory requirements. This valuable data provides a view, not just of how your products are performing, but also insights such as what dates and times spend per head is at its highest, via which ordering channels, or the promotions that drive the most spending increases.

3. Reduce strain on staff and help them to be more productive

With recruitment, retention and the cost of staffing an ongoing challenge, any technology that eases the strain on teams whilst helping them achieve more will be an invaluable tool. Order and pay-at-table technology is already a preferred option for many customers and can do just that – taking part of the task performed by front-of-house teams and transferring it to customers.  At the same time, mobile order and pay technology can actually increase consumer spend which means it can deliver increased yield from available capacity and a better bottom line.

4. Drive sales during quiet periods

Times when there are few bookings and little walk-in trade, can be turned into an opportunity for operators with the right technology. With systems that integrate your delivery and click & collect channels, you can increase order capacity on the fly during quieter periods – and decrease it at times when tables are full. This ensures you aren’t leaving any potential revenue on the table or in the takeaway bag, as well as maintaining productivity for the staff you have working.

5. Identify where wastage is happening

Waste of some kind is inevitable, but minimising it is key to maximising margins. One area to look for improvements is in order fulfilment – minimising how much of your stock is going to waste during this stage can provide sizeable savings. Technology that has been designed specifically for use in pubs, bars and restaurants can help here. Such tech enables you to identify exactly where wastage is happening during food preparation, so you can take action before the costs start to add up.

6. Eradicate common errors

Everybody makes mistakes and, while it’s impossible to completely eliminate the potential for errors (no matter how well designed the processes are), the right tech can help. Systems like ours enable you to track staff activity at all points, right down to a button-press level. This insight will help you identify common errors and any patterns of behaviour that may be causing issues, giving you the information you need to make improvements or to offer training to eliminate the issues.

7. Identify cost saving opportunities in the kitchen

By implementing a recipe management system that is integrated with your EPoS, you’ll have oversight of both sales and wastage data in one place. This will make it much simpler to spot cost-saving opportunities and make smarter, more informed decisions about menu options and pricing. This insight will also enable you to see sales trends as they emerge and to identify changing consumer patterns, helping you stay ahead of the market – and the competition.

8. Change pricing and promotions in real time across the business

A fully integrated tech stack draws product and pricing information from one central database. This means that any changes you make can be pushed out across the entire business in one go and with immediate effect. This ability to react in real-time, capitalising on any opportunities as they arise and addressing any challenges, will result in a more streamlined and agile business, and help you ensure you’re maintaining profitability as costs continue to fluctuate.

9. Automatically calculate real-time stock usage

Operators often have large amounts of cash tied up in stock, so making sure you’re on top of stock levels is vital. Technology that automatically updates stock usage in real-time, allows you to identify which items see lots of usage and which don’t, and keep stock levels optimised. Smart systems can even give you estimates of how many days your current stock will last based on current usage data, helping you streamline your ordering and ensuring you don’t run out of anything important or leave cash tied up in stock that might go to waste.

10. Ensure stock is always being ordered from the right suppliers, at the right price

Ordering stock from a number of suppliers, cross checking prices and delivery times is a huge drain on staff time and resources. Zonal’s end-to-end purchasing solution will allow your teams to manage approved suppliers within the system, including what products or ingredients they provide and at what price. This ensures staff are always ordering from the right supplier, at the right price and eliminating the possibility of incorrect ordering.

With our integrated technology working in the background to streamline processes, maximise efficiencies and minimise wastage, operators can be confident they have the systems in place to drive revenues and boost profits, even if the costs of doing business continue to rise.

Click here to take a quick 5-minute self-assessment to see how your current tech stacks up in the above areas!