The food and beverage Industry (F&B) has undergone various changes in the last ten years. These changes are due to stringent regulations, technological advancements, consumer behaviors, the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and disrupted supply chains.

Pain Points for the F&B Industry on the Supplier Side

The food and beverage supply chains are a critical component of logistic processes and play a crucial role in societal sustainability. Most restaurants, bars, and cafes in the United States experience product shortage and empty shelves due to supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are a few challenges the food & beverage industry faces on the supplier side.

Lack of Traceability

Traceability is integral to the supply chain, allowing suppliers to track a food or beverage product through all stages. American consumers want to know about the sources of food, beverages, and related products.

The reason is that consumers are more aware of healthy choices and sustainability. Suppliers find it challenging to achieve efficiency, particularly when they have multiple blind spots.

Not tracking and managing food products efficiently and reliability can lead to regulatory challenges, mainly due to contamination issues. However, as a supplier, you can find reliable solutions to streamline traceability and tracking.

For instance, you can use barcodes to track products. Similarly, RFID is an advanced technology that provides real-time and data-driven tracking throughout the supply chain. You can also implement blockchain technology to store, access, and share information in real-time across a supply chain network.

Ineffective Marketing Management  

Inefficient marketing and advertising are directly proportional to spending more money without achieving optimal results. You will experience slow growth as a supplier without a solid marketing strategy. For instance, vendors, including wholesalers, restaurants, and bars, won’t know about your new products and upcoming sales.

As a result, your company will have fewer repeat customers, reducing the overall bottom line. Therefore, you must build a solid and effective marketing plan based on core functionalities, such as:

• Promotion and selling
• Product and service management
• Pricing and Financing
• Marketing information management
• Relationships with restaurants and bars or distributors

As a supplier, you must understand marketing’s core functions to better focus on your efforts, make informed decisions, and develop strategies that support your business. You can use KEXY, a revolutionary tool for suppliers to reach their target vendors, run customized marketing campaigns, and improve brand reputation.

KEXY offers sophisticated solutions for suppliers to streamline brand marketing based on real-time data and metrics. So, you can leverage the power of analytics and generate valuable insights to achieve more sales targets, reduce redundancy, and increase your company’s bottom line.

Poor Inventory Control

According to McKinsey research, food service sales, including fast food chains, coffee shops, bars, and restaurants, dropped by 27% due to unpredictable lockdowns, social distancing protocols, and mandatory enforced closings due to the pandemic.

Lower demand for food and beverage products hit suppliers suddenly. Suppliers experienced order cancellations across the food and beverage industry, leaving businesses with excess inventories. Most suppliers find it challenging to redirect the surplus inventory and reduce the risk of spoilage. Consequently, suppliers suffer from slumped business operations and lower revenues.

The good news is that you can overcome these problems by implementing an inventory control or management system. A sophisticated system based on machine learning algorithms, artificial intelligence, predictive modeling, and real-time data analytics can prevent you from having too much inventory.

So, you can reduce the risk of food expiry and spoilage. At the same time, an inventory control system allows suppliers to make informed decisions and follow a proactive approach to identify and mitigate risks. Thus, you will have more satisfied customers, and your business will generate more money.  

Pain Points for the F&B Industry

Restaurants and beverage businesses experience various operational challenges, including stock wastage, inventory mismanagement, employee turnover, and lack of customer service can cause poor brand reputation and loss of revenues.

An article by CNBC states that 60% of restaurants experience these issues and fail within the first year. Likewise, 80% of food service businesses fail within the first five years. Here are the primary pain points for the food & beverage industry on the R&B side.

Uncontrolled Stock Wastage

Uncontrolled Stock wastage is one of the most significant problems for restaurants. A restaurant or bar’s inventory management focuses on various moving pieces because you experience constant changes in inventory. For example, some products have a short shelf-life, and not making sales on time can lead to wastage.

So, a small managerial mistake can cause a hole in your pocket. The cost of ingredients is the most significant expense for restaurants. Managing inventory accurately and reliably is a challenge, and without correct information, location of goods, and inventory management, you can’t track the ingredients’ expiration dates, business receiving dates, etc.

Therefore, you must use inventory management software with all-inclusive inventory processes from end to end. Say goodbye to the traditional methods, such as pen and paper and spreadsheets for invoicing and ordering. Instead, use a cutting-edge platform like KEXY to track inventory in real-time.

KEXY allows restaurants and bars to save time and money by streamlining inventory-related operations. The best thing about KEXY is that the platform is easy-to-use and has various features to optimize inventory management. You can leverage the power of analytics to generate insights and make informed and prompt decisions. Bear in mind that KEXY is free for retailers, restaurants, and bars.

Customer Retention Issues

Poor customer service is another pain point for businesses in the restaurant & beverage industry. It is one of the reasons customers don’t order food or liquor from your restaurant or bar, respectively.

At the same time, consumers have no intention of returning to your establishment for repeat purchases. Consumers prefer excellent customer service, and because they have multiple choices in the restaurant & beverage sector, they can simply neglect your restaurant/bar and buy food/beverage from another establishment.  

Therefore, you must maintain relationships with your existing customers by collecting critical information about their preferences and requirements. For example, you can streamline the process via integrated customer relationship management (CRM) software to keep in touch with your existing customers.  

In addition, CRM software helps you manage the booking, scheduling, and delivery of food for your customers. According to MGH, 74% of consumers are more likely to visit restaurants and bars with good customer service. Moreover, you can use different methods to engage potential and existing customers:

• Create a restaurant/bar loyalty program
• Create a reward program (buy one get one free)
• Publish valuable content on social media pages to strengthen relationships
• Follow the 80/20 rules when uploading content on social media
• 80% of the content is informational, and 20% is promotional
• Engage guests through email marketing campaigns
• Collect feedback from existing customers
• Analyze the feedback to generate insights and modify your strategy

Final Words

The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine conflict, supply chain disruptions, inflation, economic chaos, inability to adopt technology, lack of inventory control, and poor customer management are leading challenges for the food and beverage industry, including suppliers, restaurants, cafes, and bars.

KEXY is an all-inclusive platform with cutting-edge features for suppliers, restaurants, and bars to streamline business operations, increase sales, and generate higher returns on investments (ROIs). Contact us today, or visit our official site to learn more about KEXY features.