Background
Most hospitality groups grow into one format. The Butcher’s Block Group did the opposite.
"Quite a diverse hospitality group, range from cafes to restaurants, and pubs as well with gaming. Our cuisine is again quite diverse, from like a steakhouse to Chinese, Mediterranean."
Chris has been in hospitality for more than 25 years and with the group since 2015, when he joined as a restaurant manager. He now runs day to day operations and strategy across the portfolio, which includes venues at Barangaroo and Wahroonga, and takes in the Royal Richmond Hotel in the Hawkesbury.
The group’s positioning is deliberately unfussy.
“"Our focus is approachability. Not one of those restaurants where we want people to come in once, on a special occasion. We're consistent with our offering, and at the same time provide a high level of food and service."
Reduction in costs since introducing regular stock takes
Hospitality experience behind the recommendation
Cafes, restaurants and pubs with gaming, all on one system
One group, many formats
A cafe, a steakhouse, a Chinese restaurant and a pub with gaming have almost nothing in common operationally.
Different margins, different suppliers, different staffing models, different trading patterns.
What they do have in common is that someone has to keep standards consistent across all of them.
"Managing a portfolio of businesses as diverse as we have is making sure the team is supported, all their costs and systems are in place, and having a strong leadership team that can implement all our procedures."
That is the real multi site problem. Not running one venue well, but running several different kinds of venue to the same standard, without being in any of them.
Why one system, not five
The usual way groups end up operating is with a different setup at each site, bolted together by spreadsheets. It works until someone needs an answer quickly.
"Having one system is critical for us. It keeps me on top of everything no matter where I’m at. Jump online and see real time data, real time figures, and then relay any messages I need to throughout the team"
The sequence matters. See the number, then act on it, while the trade is still happening. A group manager who has to wait for a weekly report is always managing last week.
Where the 5% came from
The clearest result sits in stock.
"The stock taking has really helped us reduce costs, watch our par levels across the group, so our ordering is minimised, and also we’re able to control our wastage."
Three levers, all pulling the same direction. Tighter par levels mean less capital sitting in a coolroom. Minimised ordering means fewer items bought that were never needed. Wastage control means fewer of those items thrown out.
The combined effect is specific.
"With our savings, I would say since we’ve started doing the stock taking, probably reduced it by about 5 percent."
For a multi venue group, 5 percent off cost of goods is not a rounding error. It is the kind of number that funds a refurbishment or absorbs a wage increase without touching menu prices.
The reason it works across a diverse portfolio is that the discipline is identical even when the products are not. A steakhouse and a cafe count stock the same way. Only the lines change.
Putting real time numbers in front of the team
The second shift was cultural. Data stopped being something management reviewed and became something the floor could see.
"With the reporting, we were able to give data to our staff, again real time during the shift, sales, even our report spreadsheets. We’ve got more information there than we’ve had before."
Service staff who can see how the shift is tracking behave differently from staff who find out on Monday. It turns a target into something live.
Oolio Pay: faster service, fewer mistakes
Alongside the POS, the group runs Oolio Pay across its venues.
"Oolio Pay has obviously sped up our service. It’s also reduced any issues paying off wrong tables, that sort of stuff."
Paying off the wrong table is one of those small errors that is expensive twice. It costs the time to unpick it, and it costs the guest’s confidence in the venue at the exact moment they are deciding whether to come back. Removing the error removes both.
The account manager who answers
Asked what stands out, Chris names the same thing most operators do.
“"One of the key features with Bepoz is their support. We’ve got an account manager who I’ll contact directly. He even leaves his phone on at the weekends, and I try to give him the weekends off."
Results
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Around 5 percent reduction in costs since introducing regular stocktakes
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Par levels monitored across the whole group, not venue by venue
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Ordering minimised and wastage brought under control
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Real time sales data visible to staff during the shift, not after it
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Faster service and fewer payment errors through Oolio Pay
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Charity round up live across all venues for the Peter Mac Foundation
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Back end changes made remotely, from any venue or none
Looking ahead
With formats as varied as cafes, steakhouses and gaming pubs under one roof, the test of a system is whether it holds up across all of them.
“"I’ll definitely recommend Bepoz to any sort of large venue, or venues with multiple sites. It’s simply the reporting purposes and the usability of it. You can go on the back end, make changes quick from wherever you are. It’s easy, and for large venues it’s probably the perfect system."
Losing margin somewhere and not sure where?
Bepoz gives breweries, taprooms and multi site hospitality groups the stock control, invoice visibility and integrated reporting to find the leak before it costs you a quarter. Book a demo and see it running in your venue.