Inventory management is the process of controlling the flow of goods, raw materials, and finished products from manufacturers to warehouses, and from warehouses to retail stores or directly to customers. Inventory management aims to ensure that the right products are available in the right quantities at the right time while minimizing the costs associated with holding and managing inventory. This blog consists of two methods that help a bakery manage its inventory:           1] Just in Time               2] Just in Case

“Just in Time” (JIT) and “Just in Case” (JIC) are two approaches to inventory management.

Just in Time (JIT) is a manufacturing philosophy that emphasizes the timely delivery of the correct quantity of goods or materials to the production line, just when they are in need. The goal of JIT is to reduce inventory levels and increase efficiency by eliminating waste and reducing the time and cost associated with storing, handling, and transporting goods. Delivery of materials on time and in the correct quantity is ensured with the help of the JIT method in this method of inventory management, there is a close collaboration between the suppliers and manufacturers which relies on effective communication.

In a bakery that uses the Just in Time (JIT) approach, ingredients and supplies are delivered to the bakery just when they are needed for production. This helps the bakery to reduce waste and minimize the costs associated with holding and managing inventory.

Just in Case (JIC) is an approach that focuses on having a safe stock of goods or materials on hand, in case of unexpected events, such as a sudden increase in demand, supply chain disruptions, or unexpected production delays. The goal of JIC is to ensure that there are sufficient quantities of materials available to meet customer demand and to minimize the risk of stockouts or production downtime. JIC requires careful inventory planning and management, as well as a good understanding of the demand and supply dynamics of the bakeries.

Just in Time (JIT):

 JIT has several advantages and disadvantages:

Pros:

1. Reduced inventory costs: By reducing the amount of inventory that needs to be stored and managed, JIT can help to lower the costs associated with holding and managing inventory.
2. Increased efficiency: JIT helps to eliminate waste and reduce the time and cost associated with storing, handling, and transporting goods.
3. Improved quality: JIT helps to ensure that only the right quantity of goods or materials are delivered, reducing the risk of overproduction and defects.
4. Improved supplier relationships: JIT requires close collaboration between suppliers and manufacturers, leading to stronger, more trustworthy relationships.

Cons:

1. Dependence on suppliers: JIT relies heavily on suppliers for the timely delivery of goods and materials, so disruptions in the supply chain can have a major impact on production.
2. Increased risk of stockouts: If a supplier fails to deliver goods or materials on time, it can lead to stockouts and production downtime.
3. Difficulty in forecasting demand: JIT requires accurate and up-to-date information about demand, which can be challenging to obtain.
4. Need for flexible processes: JIT requires flexible processes and the ability to quickly respond to changes in demand or supply.

Just in Case (JIC):

JIC has the following advantages and disadvantages:

Pros:

1. Reduced risk of stockouts: JIC helps to ensure that the bakery has enough inventory to meet customer demand, even in the case of unexpected events such as increased demand or supply chain disruptions.
2. Increased production stability: JIC provides a buffer against stockouts and production downtime, helping to ensure that the bakery can continue to meet customer demand.
3. Better control over inventory: JIC requires careful inventory planning and management, giving the bakery better control over its inventory and the ability to respond quickly to changes in demand.

Cons:

1. Increased inventory costs: JIC requires a safe stock of inventory, which can increase the costs associated with holding and managing inventory.
2. Reduced efficiency: JIC can lead to overproduction and the waste of resources if demand does not match the safety stock levels.
3. Difficulty in forecasting demand: Accurately forecasting demand can be challenging, and having too much inventory on hand can increase costs and lead to waste.

The inventory management system that a business opts for is dependent on the scale of the business, the physical location, no. of staff, no. of SKUs and the shelf life of the product that are sold.

 

Conclusion

Both JIT and JIC have their advantages and disadvantages, and the right approach will depend on the specific needs and circumstances of the bakery. JIT is well-suited to fast-paced, highly responsive manufacturing environments, while JIC may be a better fit for bakeries that operate in more unpredictable or volatile environments. Rise POS solution can be custom-made for your needs with central kitchens, factories, and warehouses, to streamline their ordering, dispatch, invoicing, and much more.Rise POS is a complete solution that can be customized based on specific business workflow, it also works with single bakery stores as well as an enterprise having several retail stores under one brand.

4 Common Bakery Challenges and this is how to fix them:

1] How to Fix – Billing 

A Bakery business to run effectively needs an A1 service such as Fast and Efficient service. Customers expect to be served quickly, especially during busy times. Billing is an important function of any business. The customer may demand a tax receipt or invoice. It assures customers about business transparency and builds brand faith. However, the small Bakery business faces a challenge to quickly check out the customer and attending the next in the queue. Since billing also tracks the stock of the goods sold, the following are the ways to streamline your billing operations:
1. Opt for easy-to-use and quick-to-check systems, please try Rise POS on android or windows
2. Add signage or add-ons in the store to keep the customer engaged while in the queue
3. Train your staff to maintain periodic eye contact with the person in the queue to assure the shorter wait time
4. Place self-order QR codes to save time for checkout, customers can scan the QR code, select the items, and checkout online from their phone. Please check the Rise QR service
5. Of course, maintain an ambiance where your customer would like to spend time

2] How to Fix – Custom Design Cake Orders

A Bakery needs to step up its game and give tough competition to its competitors; providing Custom cake orders option or custom cake options to its customers, and doing something unique or different can be the bakery’s USP. Although fulfilling the customers’ needs can be a task as there are many factors to be taken into consideration while making special orders. Some complicated factors that are very important and should be taken into consideration are – Communication Challenges, Quality Control, and Time Management.

Communication can be a challenge as the notes or the details given by the salesman to the kitchen can be mistaken, as it is human tendency to make errors. But one can solve this problem with the help of Rise POS which has an additional feature of placing special orders which makes communication between the salesman and kitchen way easier.
the quality of the bakery’s products is maintained by using high-quality ingredients, fresh ingredients which don’t compromise the taste of the product.

3] How to Fix – The equipment

A bakery consists of multiple baked products. To make these baked products, one needs the right equipment to make them. Refer to my previous blog to know the list of equipment one needs to run a bakery business.
Let’s see the challenges that a bakery business faces when it comes to equipment:

Baked products are made in bulk quantity in the production house so that there are enough baked goods for all the outlets to serve. These equipment are relatively humungous and equally expensive.
Though they are so huge and expensive, there are no AMC services provided by any brand or company. This is a common challenge faced by many bakeries in India by entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs also face Technological issues such as being unable to accurately recognize the size of the equipment needed to buy in the initial stage as these types of equipment are expensive. This is where new entrepreneurs make errors by investing too much money into equipment making the break-even point way higher than needed. Instead, look for a producer and get into a contract for the first couple of years to see the response the business is getting.

4] Inventory Management

Effective inventory management is critical for a successful bakery business, as it helps make sure that production and retail operations function smoothly and without complications. Subscribing to Rise POS is the best decision to keep track of inventory as it is the only efficient POS in India that provides such hassle-free features of Inventory Management. Rise POS provides real-time information on stock levels, sales, and demand; which is essential for forecasting future demand and ensuring that adequate levels of raw materials are available in the production house. This is a very effective tool provided by Rise POS as it optimizes production schedules and saves a lot of time and reduces costs. Rise POS also helps bakery production to communicate with its suppliers.

Daily Sales Report / DSR Meaning and its Advantages

DSR meaning – A daily sales report (DSR) summarizes a store’s daily sales activity, typically including information such as total sales revenue, the number of transactions, and the top-selling products or services. DSRs are important since they provide business owners and managers with a quick, overview of their sales performance on a daily basis, allowing them to make informed decisions and take timely decisive actions if necessary. Additionally, DSRs are useful for tracking trends and identifying patterns in sales, which can inform long-term business strategy. Thus, we can say that this is a forecasting tool that helps a business to write its future.

DSR Report Consists of :

Payment details –

The payment details consist of payment methods such as cash, card, Google Pay, and others. Diary is a payment method that works like a virtual wallet. Save to diary signifies credits and outstanding. “Pay from diary” is used for making payments from the prepaid or advanced virtual wallet amount.

Section (including N.C Orders)-

Sections summarise the sales total against orders such as immediate dine-in orders or to-go orders, and home delivery, and also register all the no charge orders that are witnessed that particular day. This helps the management to categorize customers.

Cashier Details –

Mentions the Opening and Closing balance of the drawer for that particular day. This helps in accounting wastage, uninformed borrowing, and other miscellaneous expenses made. It acts as a helpful tool for accounting and security. Rise POS provides efficient petty cash management with its cash register functionality.

Clear Diary –

Extending customer credits and receiving advances are essential and quite regular business cases. Diary is a virtual wallet that helps keep track of credit and debit transactions in a customer account. The past credit clearance is not captured with the payment types e.g. past credit of Rs. 500 is cleared with Cash. The clear diary mentions all such transactions for maintaining accounting hygiene. Rise POS keeps track of all the transactions and thus is called the most thoughtful restaurant billing software.

Orders Altered –

Apart from the regular sales orders, there are transactions that get canceled, void, or marked as No charge or even on the Employee account. It is essential to keep track of such transactions even when it is captured under revenue since it accounts for the inventory count. All such transactions are detailed in this section.

Payment Details –

This is quick sales summary is shown in this section. It includes Total Discount, Net Sale, Quantity Sold, and No. of Customers.

DSR

DSR

Bonus Advantages

The issue of theft and no charge customers can significantly impact a business’s financial performance. To account for these issues, businesses typically track them separately in their DSR and use that information to adjust their operations.

Theft can be tracked by monitoring inventory levels and comparing them to sales data. If there is a contrast, it could indicate that items are being stolen. Businesses can also use security cameras, loss prevention techniques, and other measures to reduce theft.

No charge customers can be tracked by monitoring the number of customers who do not pay for their purchases. This could indicate that they are not being properly charged or that they are receiving unauthorized discounts. Businesses can address this issue by implementing proper pricing and discount policies and training employees to follow them.

Both these issues can also be tracked by monitoring the financial performance of the business over time. If sales or profit margins are consistently lower than expected, it could indicate that theft or no charge customers are having an impact.

Overall, it is important for businesses to regularly review their DSR and take action to address any issues related to theft or no charge customers to maintain their financial performance.

Please follow the Steps for the DSR report and print DSR

DSR is a Daily Sale Report. Go To ‘Reports’

> click on ‘Reports’ > select appropriate date and click on ‘Apply’ > click on DSR ‘

‘ >  select all ‘Check boxes’(Select All Needed Option) > click on ‘SAVE’

Start a bakery in India:

Start a bakery in India from scratch, can be a challenging but rewarding endeavor. Here are some steps you can take to get started:

1. Develop a business plan: This should include information on the costs of starting and running a bakery, projected revenue and expenses, and your target market.
2. Secure funding: Consider options such as small business loans, crowdfunding, or investors.
3. Choose a location(marketplace): Select a location that is easily accessible and has high foot traffic such as a marketplace.  Consider a place where a few bakeries are already doing business. It will be easy for your customers to locate your bakery store.
4. Obtain necessary licenses and permits: Contact your local government to learn what permits and licenses are required to operate a bakery in your area.
5. Purchase equipment: You will need a variety of equipment, including ovens, mixers, and baking pans.
6. Hire staff: Consider hiring experienced bakers and pastry chefs, as well as front-of-house staff for customer service.
7. Develop a menu: Decide on the types of baked goods you will offer and perfect your recipes.
8. Market your business: Create a website and social media accounts, and advertise your bakery in local publications.

Remember, starting a business takes time and effort, but with the right planning and execution, you can turn your dream of owning a bakery into a reality.

Types Of Bakeries: 

There are several types of bakeries, including retail bakeries, wholesale bakeries, and online bakeries.

1] Retail bakeries are brick-and-mortar businesses that sell baked goods directly to consumers. These types of bakeries typically require a large amount of startup capital for equipment, ingredients, and storefront rent.

2] Wholesale bakeries sell their products to other businesses, such as grocery stores, restaurants, and cafes. These types of bakeries typically require less startup capital than retail bakeries but may require larger production facilities and equipment.

3] Online bakeries sell their products through an e-commerce website or delivery service. These types of bakeries can have lower startup costs than brick-and-mortar bakeries, as they do not require a physical storefront.

Compliance to start a bakery:

In India, there are several licenses and permits that may be required to start and operate a bakery. These can vary depending on the specific location and type of bakery you plan to open. Some of the common licenses and permits that may be required include:

1. FSSAI license: This is a food safety and standards license issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). It is mandatory for all food business operators in India, including bakeries.
   

   Licensing and Registration Process FSSAI

   Shop and Establishment license: This license is issued by the local municipal corporation and is required to operate a commercial establishment in India.

1. GST registration: All the businesses in India that have a turnover of more than 20 Lakhs INR are required to register for Goods and Services Tax (GST).
2. FSDC and FBO license: If you are selling food items, which are not covered under FSSAI, you will require a Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulation, 2011, and a Food Business Operator (FBO) license.
3. Fire NOC: A No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the local fire department is required to ensure that the bakery is in compliance with fire safety regulations.
4. Building Plan Approval: Building plan approval from the local municipal corporation is required for the construction of commercial buildings, including bakeries.
5.  HACCP: HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It is a food safety management system that focuses on identifying and preventing potential hazards in the food production process. HACCP is widely recognized as an effective and efficient way to ensure food safety. It is mandatory for the food service industry and for some specific food products.
   
6. Gram Panchayat NOC: A document issued by Gram Panchayat, indicating that there are no objections or issues with a proposed project or activity in their jurisdiction. 

These are some of the standard licenses and permits that may be required for a bakery in India. It is important to check with your local government to learn about the specific requirements for your area.

Everyone who visits a bakery is in the mood for celebration, so why not add happiness to their vibe by offering them deals and coupons to redeem? As the customer is king, you should serve them accordingly. Rise POS is a Point of Sale software that helps bakeries and cafeterias make exciting offers and provides tools for enhancing customer loyalty.

1} Registering Customer Information – while taking orders from the customer the salesman takes the customer’s information in order to stay in touch with them. Rise POS helps the bakery to stay in personal contact with their customers with features such as sending them a message for their next occasion. It helps customers think about the service provided by you previously and decide accordingly whether or not to opt for the service you provide. Rise POS helps you with the best customer service as it offers:

A]  Rewards and Loyalty points on the customers’ next order

B] Sends out digital greetings to the customer through WhatsApp & SMS. this helps in brand recall.

Below is a conversation between a salesman and a customer. Look how the customer information is captured in Rise POS.

Salesman- Good morning sir may I know your name

Customer- good morning, you can call me Seema

S – may I know what are you looking for?

C – I’m Looking for a Birthday cake for my mother.

S – worry not, I will show you the best cake options, but before that, I’d like to tell you that we also offer to make you customized cakes, would you like me to go further with the details?

C- yes sure.

S- so ma’am, I’d like to tell you that we make 2 & 3 tiers of cake, we also add photos to the cake if you want.

C- what would the prices be for a 3kg cake? 

S- the price for 1kg is 500, but the custom cake of 3 kg may cost you according to your design, if it’s a 2-tier, you will be charged around 2000, and the 3-tier will go around 2500.

C- and if I want to add an image to the 3-tier cake, what would the range be?

S- adding an image will cost you an extra 500, so that is 3000.

While taking this information, the salesman is saving it in Rise POS so that he can contact him next year to give him offers on the orders. There also is an option in the system where the system categorizes customers according to their expenditures.

2} Retention  Plan for Customers- Rise POS provides a feature that offers the customer membership with cashback offers and discounts on the next order. This helps you attain customer loyalty, and also gives your bakery more added value in terms of recognition. Customer loyalty and customer satisfaction are the 2 main factors to be considered while running a business. 

Read the conversation below between the salesman and Seema.

S- Your order has been placed and you will be informed when the order is ready to be dispatched.

C- Thanks so much.

S- Before you go, I’d also like to inform you that we offer memberships @499 / year which gives you an extra discount of 20% on every upcoming order of yours this year. Would you like to subscribe?

C- Hell yeah, this year each time of celebration I’m going to be visiting you. Thank you.

3} Make celebrations extra special by going the extra mile for your customers. Customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and customer service are best provided by doing small and cute gestures such as:

A] offering a free pinata balloon  for a child’s birthday

B] offering free chocolate for a teenager’s birthday

C] offering roses or greeting cards for senior citizens and anniversary specials.
Let us continue reading the conversation between the salesman and Seema-

S- So Mrs. Seema I’d like to know if your mother is fond of roses

C- Yes, why?

S- Here is a rose from our bakery for your mother 🙂

C- Thank You so much, I really liked your service and I will recommend this place to my friends too.

Here was a conversation between the salesman and a happy satisfied customer. Make sure you do the same by using Rise POS in order to increase Customer Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction. 

Custom cake design

“With great power comes great responsibility” -Uncle Ben

Custom cake design: No matter how skillful your chef may be at making tiers and tiers of flavourful delicious cakes if you cannot manage deliveries and orders under a time constraint, the chef’s maneuver is wasted and gets underappreciated. Why waste time and budget on redundant work when you can just rent Rise POS software that does it all in less than half of the budget that’s being wasted on incompetence? 

Management of different pastries and bread can be a task alone, comes in the custom design cake; it gets more complicated.

Worry not because this blog will solve your management problems as it focuses on the management of custom cakes. Following are some differentiators you may want to go through to make sure customization of cake management is easier:-

– Instructions may get tampered with by the vendors or may get jotted down wrongly by the manual procedure. In contrast, Rise POS records the instructions given by the customer to the vendor which is then forwarded to the chef with the help of the software. The system calculates custom special order pricing by itself 

– Manual pricing can be a task when the cake is ordered in kilogram decimals, but Rise POS defeats this factor by calculating it on the system itself.  

The software shows professionalism as it sends the customer a reminder message about the delivery/ pickup details.
Not just that, the vendor will also be able to see how many orders of that particular day and the next day is pending so that the day is well planned.

For an error-free performance in the industry, you can blindly trust Rise POS as it is cloud-based software. Nowadays people may go wrong but not technology.

Rise POS is the software that will help you excel in the industry and help you make audacious targets in the future.

Custom Design Cake Order taking and Billing with Rise WebPOS – Video link to how custom cakes are managed by RisePOS software.

Important Equipment for Bakery

Starting a bakery can be a rewarding and exciting venture, but it’s important to have the right equipment to ensure the success of your business. Here is a list of some of the important equipment for bakery you may need to consider when starting your business: 

1. Mixers: You’ll need mixers to combine ingredients and make dough for bread, pastries, and other baked goods. Stand mixers are a popular choice because they allow you to mix and knead dough without putting too much strain on your hands and arms.
2. Ovens: Ovens are an essential piece of equipment in any bakery. You’ll need at least one oven to bake your products, but you may want to consider getting more than one if you plan to bake a large volume of goods.
3. Baking pans: You’ll need a variety of baking pans in different shapes and sizes to bake different types of products. Some common pans include sheet pans, loaf pans, muffin tins, and cake pans.
4. Cooling racks: After baking, it’s important to let your products cool down before packaging or serving. Cooling racks allow air to circulate around the baked goods and help them cool evenly.
5. Refrigeration equipment: Depending on the products you’ll be making, you may need to invest in refrigeration equipment such as a refrigerator, freezer, or both. This is especially important if you’ll be making products that need to be kept chilled, like cream pies or cream puffs.
6.  Glass counters: Representation of your baked products and other products will lure customers only when they are visible to the customers. Perfectly organized products look tastier than they are with the lighting inserted in the glass counter. Displaying your product adds bonus points to your effort as the customer ends up buying more products than they had decided.
7. Scales: Scales are important for measuring ingredients accurately. They can also help you portion out your products consistently, which is important for ensuring that you’re making a consistent product.
8. POS billing systems: you will require a Point of Sale Billing software in order to work in an efficient manner. Increases efficiency: A POS system streamlines the billing process by automating the calculation of prices, taxes, and discounts. This saves time and reduces the chances of human error.
9. Better inventory management: A POS system can track inventory levels in real-time, alerting you when it’s time to restock certain items. This helps you avoid running out of popular items and ensure you have the right mix of products on hand.
10. Customer data collection: A POS system can store customer information, including their contact details and purchase history. This can help you tailor your marketing efforts and offer personalized discounts or promotions to repeat customers.

There may be other pieces of equipment that you’ll need depending on the specific products you’ll be making and the size of your bakery. It’s a good idea to do some research and talk to other bakery owners to get a better idea of what you’ll need to get started. Some of the customers that use the POS provided by us are Cakestory, Magnoliaas, and New Poona Bakery.