Efficiency means spending streamlining processes or implementing tools that allow your bakery to save time—and therefore money. Set your bakery up for success by considering and implementing time- and energy-saving measures.
Allow for Online Ordering
If your customers can order and pay online, that’s going to free up more of your bakery’s time for walk-in orders and other daily duties. And if you can offer in-store pickup or delivery, that’s even better! Convenience for the customer and efficiency for your business.
With an online store, customers can browse at their leisure and order exactly what they want. There are plenty of people that go into a busy bakery or fast-food restaurant and order something simple because they don’t want to take the time to outline their customized requests. But with online ordering, there’s no one waiting in line behind them or so much noise that they have to repeat themselves. Not only does your bakery staff get more time back in their day, but the customer is getting what they actually want, rather than a watered-down version.
If you’re interested in setting up an online store, check out what BakeSmart Online has to offer.
Automate Production Elements
One of the best ways to create efficiency for your bakery is to have technologies in place to do the work for you. While you could accomplish some of these efficiencies manually, it might actually take more time. A bakery management software like BakeSmart can help you implement all sorts of automations to make your bakery as efficient as possible.
Here are a couple of ways to automate production elements.
- Round your batches to the nearest quarter, half, or whole batch to make your inventory pulls easier and quicker.
- Always have enough items and ingredients on-hand to fulfill your walk-in business.
- Calculate labor and equipment time to gain a better understanding of if or where efficiencies can be implemented.
- Set date and volume limits so that your staff don’t get burnt out.
Check out all the ways BakeSmart can help you streamline production.
Energy-Efficient Equipment
Naturally, if your bakery equipment can use less energy, you’ll end up saving money on utilities in the long run. However, for some bakery owners, cost is a barrier to entry for energy-efficient baking equipment. It can be hard to foot the bill of equipment with the hope that it will work out.
The long-term impact vs the short-term cost is something you should consider based on the cold hard numbers. Compare your financing options to your expected energy savings to see if energy-efficient equipment will fit into your financial projections. If you can save more in energy costs than the lease payment, you can feel good about the purchase and going green.
Zoning
Are your staff members bumping into each other in the kitchen? Do bottlenecks hold up your production line?
One way to keep the flow going is by zoning your kitchen. There are four basic zones for a retail bakery: prep, baking, cleaning, and storage. They should be set up in a way that creates a natural rhythm so everything is as streamlined as it can be.
However you zone your bakery’s kitchen, be aware of your customer’s line of sight. If a customer has a view of the kitchen, it shouldn’t look cluttered or chaotic. If you’re setting up a new kitchen or redesigning the one you have, do a dress rehearsal to see where you can make improvements.
Look for parts of the process where you can reduce the number of steps that each team member needs to take. Make sure your tools and ingredients are in a space that makes sense. Before you know it, your kitchen will be buzzing like a beehive, with everyone doing their part.
Real-time Inventory Accuracy
Using a bakery software management software like BakeSmart can give you a lot of insight into your inventory levels. There won’t be a halt on production when you discover that the extra bag of flour you thought you had in the pantry was used up last week. Or perhaps you’ve ordered too much milk for your orders and now you have to throw away expired milk.
By knowing exactly what’s in your inventory and how much of it you need to make your baked goods, you can operate at peak performance and make more informed decisions.
Learn more about the BakeSmart production module.
Generally, eliminating as much data entry for your staff as possible is going to save you precious time.
An overall strong way to improve efficiency is to keep as much information as possible in a centralized location. That way the data can work together to save you time and effort. Inventory can inform production. Past timecard entries can help form future scheduling. Your customer contact list can be used for email marketing. This is where BakeSmart comes in.
BakeSmart’s bakery management software was created specifically to meet the needs of a retail bakery. Our software offers you complete control of every aspect of your bakery, from order taking, to production, to inventory management, to nutrition and product costing. BakeSmart will help you conquer the chaos.
Schedule a demo with BakeSmart and start conquering the chaos.
