OKADA MANILA

solution is never an easy task ; ensuring it meets the operations ’ requirements is key . Technology should work for us , and not the other way around .”

Reducing product costs As more restaurants open , food and beverage requirements increase dramatically . In addition to preparing meals for more than six thousand team members on a daily basis , each kitchen under Okada Manila prepares its own menus for its restaurants . The number of ingredients slowly grows and the specifications become varied . Okada Manila ’ s Supply Chain is now tasked with not only sourcing all of these different products but also managing costs . Optimisation of product specification is an approach that has led the company to dive deep into all specifications and work with the F & B department in discovering synergy of product

across multiple outlets where possible . This has consequently become vital to restaurant operations to ensure food costs are controlled without endangering the quality and uniqueness of each menu . “ We may use pork belly in multiple restaurants , and each chef is likely to ask for a different specification – bone-in , skin-on , skin-off or boneless or a combination ,” Bogle says . “ By standardising the specification , we are able to ensure that we have the right volume to leverage negotiations with suppliers . “ Cost reductions come in many forms , however , we can only take so much cost out of the product , so we get creative in looking at different ways of procuring products . Maybe we reduce the number of deliveries ; the vendor saves on freight and logistics cost and we can then share those savings . It ’ s really thinking outside the box and collaborating with vendors ; understanding how they

108 December 2017