1. Control Through the Purchasing Process
chapter 8
Control Through the Purchasing Process

2. Opening Questions
When purchasing food for yourself, what factors do you consider other than price?
How do you decide where to shop?
Where does price rank among those other factors?
How do you decide how must food to buy?
Do you buy exact quantities or estimate?
Are the quantities impacted by packaging size?

3. Factors for Selecting the Right Product
Quality
Processing
Equipment and Staff Skills
Storage Space and Type
Shelf Life
Brand and Mission
Cost and Value

4. Product Specification or “Spec”
Defines acceptable parameters for a product.
Eliminates miscommunication between purchaser and purveyor
May list product
quality
yield grade
size, processing
brand name
origin
degree or ripeness
color, pack size
container type

5. Purchase Specification
A purchase specification is the product specification plus the delivery schedule and credit terms..

6. Choosing Purveyors Choosing Purveyors Pricing
Should be competitive in general (factoring delivery charges, too).
Product
Must be able to supply products to spec and in a safe, wholesome form.
Service
Should be flexible, reliable, easy to work with, willing to correct errors, with a helpful salesperson and reasonable payment/ credit terms.

7. Securing Product Pricing (and Other Shopping Means)
Open Bidding
Sealed Bidding
Cost-Plus Purchasing
Contract Purchasing
Co-Op Buying
Standing Orders
One-Stop Shopping

8. Calculating Purchase Quantities
Forecast
prediction of expected customers
Menu Mix
prediction of number of sales of each dish, often as a percent of total plate sales
The process for determining quantities to order differs for perishables (short shelf-life) and non-perishables (long shelf-life)

9. Purchasing Quantities for Perishables
Order only enough to get through to the next delivery to minimize spoilage, but with a small buffer.
Take into account inventory on hand and forecast sales.
Predicted Item Sales =
Forecast Guests x Menu Mix Percent (as a decimal)

10. Item Sales = Forecast Guests X Menu Mix % = 210 X 0.07 = 14.7
Example 8a
A restaurant forecasts 210 guests. 7% of guests usually order the cream of asparagus soup. How many asparagus soups should the chef expect to sell?
Item Sales = Forecast Guests X Menu Mix % = 210 X 0.07 = 14.7

11. Perishables
In forecasting dish counts, always round up (though the purchaser may add an additional buffer anyway)
Use standard recipes to determine ingredient order quantities from predicted sales
Use:
AP = EP ÷ Y%

12. Example 8b
Chef forecasts sales of 15 portions of asparagus soup. Calculate quantity of ingredients to order using recipe below.
Asparagus Soup
Yield = 20 portions
Ingredient
Quantity
Yield %
Asparagus Stems 4#
60%
Leeks 1#
48%
Butter
8 oz
100%
Chicken Stock
3 Qt
Cream
1 Qt

13. Example 8b Asparagus Stems 4 # 1.33 5.33 # 60%
Ingredient
Old Q (EP)
C.F. (New ÷ Old)
New Q (EP) (Old Q X CF)
Y %
AP Q to order (New Q ÷ Y%)
Asparagus Stems
4 #
1.33
5.33 #
60%
save tops for elsewhere)
8.88 #
Leeks
1 #
1.33#
48%
2.77 #
Butter
8 oz
10.64 oz
100%
Chick. Stock
3 Qt
4 Qt
Cream
1 Qt
1.33 Qt

14. Example 8b Notes
Money is saved if asparagus stems are used for soup and tips are used elsewhere.
When two parts of an ingredient are shared by two recipes, the recipe with the greater quantity need determines the order quantity.
Quantities will always be rounded up as a buffer
Ingredient need is not usually the final purchase order

15. From Ingredient Need to Order
Conduct a storeroom inventory of perishables and deduct expected usage before the next delivery arrives. What remains is forecast amount on hand at delivery arrival.
Order = ingredient need – forecast amount on hand when delivery arrives

16. Summary of Steps for Perishables
Calculate forecast ingredient need for order period
Calculate expected inventory usage between order placement and order receipt
Conduct current inventory count
Inventory expected on hand at delivery = current inventory – expected inventory usage
Order = forecast ingredient need – inventory expected on hand at delivery

17. Example 8c
Chef forecasts 170 guests between now and the next delivery arrival.
Usually 14% of guests order spinach salad (the only dish using spinach).
Spinach has Y% of 78% and each salad uses a 2 oz EP spinach serving.
Purchaser is ordering for the following 3 day period to cover 520 forecast guests.
Currently there are 5# of spinach in walk-in.
How much spinach should be ordered?

18. Example 8c (cont.) Ingredient need = 520 guests X 0.14 X 2oz/salad
= oz (EP) ÷ 0.78 (Y%)
= or 11.67# (AP)
Forecast usage between now and delivery =
170 guests X 0.14 X 2oz/salad
= 47.6 oz (EP) ÷ 0.78 (Y%)
= 61 oz or 3.81 # (AP)

19. Example 8c (cont.) Amount expected on hand at delivery = 5# - 3.81#
= 1.19#
Order =
11.67# #
= 10.48# (11# rounded)

20. Ordering and Technology
Process for calculating order quantities by hand is complicated. Set up in a spreadsheet, it is easy!
Purchaser just enters forecast guest counts for now to delivery and for the order period.
Computer calculates preliminary order from standard recipes and menu mix information.
Purchaser then just deducts current inventory from preliminary order.

21. Two Non-Perishable Methods
Perpetual Inventory Keeping a constantly current database of inventory by updating inventory sheets or cards every time a product is removed from or added to the storeroom.
Periodic Inventory Counting inventory only at regular intervals (week, bi-week, month).
vs.

22. Periodic Inventory Purchasing System
Forecast ingredient needs.
Non-perishables are usually stable across order periods with adjustments made for holidays, weather, season or menu changes, major business shifts.
For each ingredient, determine a safety net quantity (or %) to protect against business shifts and to sustain kitchen from order placement to receipt.
3. Conduct a physical inventory on the regular schedule (which is just before the order is placed).

23. Periodic Inventory Purchasing System
4. Quantity to Order (for each ingredient) =
quantity needed for upcoming order period
quantity currently in inventory
safety net quantity.

24. Example 8d Restaurant orders non-perishables every two weeks.
It uses 22# of penne pasta weekly and management wants a 10# safety net in inventory at the end of each order period.
Currently 12# of pasta in inventory.
How much pasta should be ordered for the next two-week period?

25. Example 8d (cont.)
Ingredient need for period =22#/week X 2 weeks = 44# Order Quantity = 44# - 12# (current inventory) + 10# (safety net) = 42# If the purchaser cannot order exactly 42#, round up to the nearest pack size.

26. Perpetual Inventory Purchasing System
Inventory card or spreadsheet includes (for each ingredient) date and quantity added to or removed from storeroom, par stock, reorder point, reorder quantity
Par Stock
maximum quantity to have in inventory
Reorder Point
Lowest number of units of an item in inventory that triggers an order of that ingredient
Reorder Quantity
amount of an ingredient a purchaser will order at the reorder point

27. Perpetual Inventory Purchasing System
To order, just place an order for an ingredient of the reorder quantity when it reaches the reorder point.
In determining par stock value, it must be high enough to get through an order period but low enough to fit in the storeroom and not tie up excess money.

28. Calculating Reorder Point
Quantity Needed between Order and Delivery
Daily Usage
Days between Order Placement and Delivery Receipt

29. Calculating Reorder Point
Quantity Needed between Order and Delivery
Safety Net Quantity

30. Quantity Needed between Order and Delivery
Reorder Quantity
Reorder Quantity
Par Stock
Reorder Point
Quantity Needed between Order and Delivery

31. Example 8e Restaurant has par stock of 50 cans of kidney beans.
It uses 3 cans per day.
Management wants safety net of 9 cans in inventory at delivery.
Order usually takes 2 days to arrive after placement.
Determine the reorder point
and reorder quantity.

32. Example 8e (cont.)
Quantity Needed between Order and Delivery =Daily Usage X Days bet. Order & Delivery = 3 cans/day X 2 days = 6 cans

33. Example 8e (cont.)
Reorder Point =Quantity needed bet. order and delivery + Safety net = 6 cans + 9 cans = 15 cans

34. Example 8e (cont.)
Reorder Quantity =Par Stock– Reorder Point + Quantity Needed between order and delivery = 50 cans- 15 cans + 6 cans = 41 cans

35. Perpetual Inventory Purchasing System
When pack size does not match reorder quantity exactly, round down to the nearest pack size because par stock is a maximum quantity for the storeroom.

36. Which Inventory Method to Use
Perpetual Inventory offers better control but requires a dedicated employee in the storeroom to record every product removal and addition. Usually affordable only in large operations.
Smaller businesses without a dedicated storeroom clerk usually use the periodic inventory system.

37. Make-Buy Analysis
To decide when to make a product from scratch vs. buying it premade:
Factors
cost of ingredients (cost per portion)
labor (direct labor cost)
energy cost in the decision-making process

38. Make-Buy Analysis Cost per portion = recipe cost direct labor cost
energy cost
number of portions

39. Example 8f
Lasagna recipe yields 48 portions and costs $41.58 in ingredients. Employee earning $12/hour spends two hours making lasagna. Recipe’s energy costs are estimated at $ What is the recipe’s cost per portion for a make-buy analysis?
Labor Cost = $12/hour X 2 hours = $24 Cost per portion = ($ $24 + $3.50) ÷ 48 = $1.44/portion

40. Example 8g
The restaurant in example 8f can buy frozen lasagna, serving 30 portions, for $ It requires $2.00 in energy and only 15 minutes of the $12/hour cook’s time. What is the cost of the premade lasagna?
Labor = 0.25 hours X $12/hour = $3 Cost per portion = ($28 + $3 + $2) ÷ 30 = $1.10/portion Premade ($1.10/portion) is cheaper than scratch version ($1.44/portion)

41. Other Variables in Make-Buy Analysis
Is quality of the two products similar or is one noticeably worse?
If customers sense decline in quality, business will decrease
Does the restaurant have the space and equipment to make the product from scratch?
A necessary major financial investment to make something from scratch may negate cost savings