How overworked bakery owners can lighten their load
I keep hearing from owners of bakeries about how they are swamped because they are short staffed.
This means not only that bakery owners (and their managers) are having to step in and take on extra workloads, but there is also no escaping the admin responsibilities that are already part of their day-to-day jobs.
Now, you can’t avoid admin. Some people get a secret enjoyment out of it; it’s their down time. But in a trade that already requires long hours combined with passion, perseverance and physical effort, is it possible to feel the same way?
Take an admin task like calculating the production numbers so that your bakers know how much they need to make for the next day’s deliveries.
That doesn’t seem too bad, except these orders can be coming in from everywhere: text messages, calls, emails. Sometimes your bakers are working off standing orders. Other times, changes to orders are being made by most of your customers.
Numbers need to be calculated correctly because the capacity to make the full requirement might need some coordination, especially when you are working within limited capacity. Common problems include numbers added incorrectly and wastage getting higher.
Such problems can be eliminated, your customers can get a more convenient way to order from you, and you can have production reports calculated and generated for you, all by using modern bakery management software.
Ingredients
As another admin example, how about needing to update your ingredient declarations because of a change in raw material? Or supplier? Or upcoming new regulations?
The process of going through every recipe to see if it incorporates, or needs to be updated, to include this one change can be daunting and very time-consuming. But with bakery management software, you can simply update an ingredient safe in the knowledge that this new information is automatically carried through to every one of your recipes in which the ingredient is featured.
Better still, if at any time you need to update the ingredient’s price or supplier, you can do this in a few clicks, providing up-to-date costings for your finished product. Being able to have a clear view of the costs of your ingredients gives you better control of your spending.
So, while it may seem challenging to automate your current admin tasks, the upsides outweigh the negatives. Streamlining your processes to give you an overview of your orders, generate your production reports and delivery notes, and automatically batch invoice your customers, seems like a win to me.
Having been on the other side, in jobs where I was obliged to update systems that were outdated, slow and very manual, I truly empathise with anyone who wants to modernise the way they work. Like everything new, you overcome the point of overwhelm and, within a short time, wonder how you ever worked without a system that makes the mundane processes quick and easy.
If you can reduce the hours, money and resources spent managing your bakery, giving you more time to be back doing what you love – building your business and creating tasty new delights – while having a better life balance, isn’t it worth it?
Interested in automating your bakery’s admin? It all starts with a conversation, so why not get in touch today via our contact page or by using our webchat below?
Josalyn Price is Cybake’s business development manager for Australia and New Zealand.
