Six Sigma provides benefits no matter which industry it is being used, even if it is the foodservice industry. This is particularly true for restaurants. But how exactly can a restaurant use Six Sigma to its benefit? Here are four use cases that can help paint the picture.
1. Improving Efficiency
Focussing on efficiency is different depending on what restaurant it is. For instance, If it is a fast-food joint, the food needs to be prepared at a quicker pace in order to serve customers and make deliveries faster while making sure to reduce costs. Efficiency for owners of a dining establishment will pay attention to providing customers with a high-quality dining experience in the most efficient manner possible, from the service to the food.
2. Increasing Profits
A big part of managing a restaurant is making sure there is minimal inventory waste. Because of the tools and techniques provided by Six Sigma, there is greater control of inventory, allowing for the reduction of waste and minimization of costs. For instance, Six Sigma’s tools and techniques can allow restaurant managers to anticipate how busy the restaurant will be on a particular day. They can do this by analyzing the data collected over a specific period of time. This can allow restaurant managers to order the exact amount of inventory needed for that day to reduce waste and realize more profits.
When it comes to service delivery, staff are a critical component. The level of customer service is directly proportional to sales. Six Sigma can help restaurants improve customer service in order to improve sales through the DMAIC methodology. For instance, proven methods of enhancing customer services can be embedded in the Control phase while the restaurant staff is being trained in DMAIC
Customer service is not the only thing that has a direct effect on sales. Marketing does too. Using Six Sigma’s data-driven approach, restaurants can measure and analyze data to target their ideal customer with the right marketing strategy. This way, resources are not wasted on targeting the wrong people and there is a good return on investment (ROI). As more data from the marketing campaign comes through, the strategy can be continuously improved based on further analysis to achieve an even greater ROI.
3. Testing New Products
Most times, if restaurants want to see if customers will like a new menu item, they just put it on the menu then see what happens. However, Six Sigma uses a different approach. Restaurant managers can look at the data (e.g. accounting data) to see if the product they just introduced is increasing sales enough to warrant a permanent spot on the menu.
4. Reduced Costs
Established methodologies like Six Sigma do a great job of strengthening relationships in key business areas to cut costs. For instance, if the restaurant’s accountant has an efficient and standardized approach to record-keeping that is highly-accurate, they can minimize costs and save the restaurant a significant amount of money.
Conclusion
Six Sigma can help restaurants and other businesses in the foodservice industry in many ways. As you can see, it works well to help restaurants improve efficiency, increase profits, test new products and reduce costs. All of these use cases help the business become more profitable and gain a competitive edge.
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