ArrowStream Foodservice Blog

In this Q&A interview with ArrowStream’s lead food and agricultural economist, Dr. Isaac Olvera, we touch on potential shortages, tight supplies and delayed imports of food products that are expected to affect foodservice supply chains this year and into 2022.

The unpredictability of the pandemic’s impact on the foodservice industry remains, especially the unpredictability of sales in various regions throughout the U.S. as COVID-19 restrictions continue to be put in place and lifted at varying times. It is estimated by the National Restaurant Association that the foodservice industry was $2.4 billion below projected 2020 sales totals. Those who did not already have off-premise models in place saw further revenue declines than those who had established pickup, drive-thru or delivery programs. It goes without saying that restaurants can’t stand to lose more.

The pandemic continues to challenge lean supply chain teams and will for some time. With labor being an issue across the board in foodservice, both store and corporate teams are expected to do more with less staff, resources and time.

We frequently hear chain restaurant operators tell us that they don’t run sourcing events, requests for information (RFIs) or requests for proposals (RFPs), when in fact they do. Oftentimes, what they really mean is that they don’t have a formal process or strategy in place that they call “sourcing.” And, that’s okay. Whatever form your company’s sourcing event, RFI or RFP takes, it’s just important that you, as an operator, do it.

Inventory management is the heart of every restaurant chain’s supply chain and can be highly difficult to track. From manual processes to inaccurate data, it's very easy to mismanage inventory across a supply chain network, resulting in unsatisfied customers and unnecessary financial losses. Conversely, optimizing this process can help supply chain teams gain higher visibility to manage consumer fluctuations, reduce food waste, increase profits, and maintain consistency across your brand.

Explore the benefits of commodity intelligence for the foodservice industry and discover software features to consider for an optimal sourcing strategy.

Supply chain partners recognize the critical nature of visibility. But what happens when a supplier’s pricing has an error in the food supply chain system?

A strong food quality and safety program is more critical to a brand’s success than ever before.

Find out how to manage and prevent a food quality recall.

Gain restaurant quality control with advanced quality incident risk management. Continue reading to learn how centralized software systems achieve this.

Food supply chain management software can improve profit margins while promoting sustainable operations. Read on to learn about modern features.