Food & Beverage

Our F&B suppliers are costly and unreliable

Ordering happens daily, comparing never. The vegetable supplier is the one there has always been, and when a delivery fails, the kitchen improvises. Only the invoice knows the terms.

Typical for: kitchens where every station orders for itself · houses with historically grown supplier relationships · operations without a purchasing owner in F&B

Documented by Hospis

Updated: 23 October 2026

How you recognize it

Nobody can say how many active F&B suppliers the house has
Prices are not seen when ordering, only on the invoice
Kitchen, bar and service order separately from the same supplier
Shortages and substitute items are everyday and go undocumented
There has been no terms conversation with the key suppliers for over a year
Regional alternatives were never systematically assessed

Matching Hospi

Valentin Walch

MAJOVA · F&B · Wine · Menu Architecture, Lech am Arlberg

Works with protel · Mews · Mews POS · Smart Host

AdviseImplement

Orders F&B purchasing from the supplier base to ordering routines, and connects it with menu and costing so terms and quality fit together.

Mapped to root cause

Purchasing has no ownerOrdering is spontaneous instead of bundledTerms are never negotiatedReliability is not demanded

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Diagnosis

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Cause fields and how to tell them apart

Costly and unreliable suppliers are rarely the suppliers’ problem. Usually the house side lacks the structure that makes good terms and reliability possible in the first place. We see four causes again and again.

These fields are complete, and many properties get there on their own. That is what this page is for. The cost simply does not appear on an invoice: internal hours, a few attempts, and a season that keeps running in the meantime.

Purchasing has no owner

How you spot it

Every station orders what it needs, when it needs it. No supplier experiences the house as one customer, but as many small ones. Terms and priority in shortages follow accordingly.

The way out

One person owns F&B purchasing, not every order, but the supplier list, terms and rules. In small houses that is a partial role, not a position.

Ordering is spontaneous instead of bundled

How you spot it

Daily micro-orders, surcharges for express deliveries, opened packs. The kitchen orders by feel because volume planning is missing, and pays for it with every delivery.

The way out

Fixed order days per supplier and simple volume planning from occupancy and menu. Fewer, larger orders improve the position in every conversation, and reduce failures because the supplier can plan.

Terms are never negotiated

How you spot it

Prices are what they are, for years. Conversations happen when something goes wrong, not to order the relationship. Yet for many suppliers the house is a more important customer than it believes.

The way out

Once a year, talk to the key suppliers about volumes, terms and reliability, with your own order figures on the table. Whoever knows their volumes negotiates differently.

Reliability is not demanded

How you spot it

Shortages, substitutes, delayed deliveries, the kitchen absorbs everything, and nobody raises it. The supplier never learns it is a problem. So it remains one.

The way out

Briefly document failures and address them in the supplier conversation. Whoever measures and raises reliability usually gets it, or knows it is time for an alternative.

Purchasing has no owner

How you spot it

Every station orders what it needs, when it needs it. No supplier experiences the house as one customer, but as many small ones. Terms and priority in shortages follow accordingly.

The way out

One person owns F&B purchasing, not every order, but the supplier list, terms and rules. In small houses that is a partial role, not a position.

Ordering is spontaneous instead of bundled

How you spot it

Daily micro-orders, surcharges for express deliveries, opened packs. The kitchen orders by feel because volume planning is missing, and pays for it with every delivery.

The way out

Fixed order days per supplier and simple volume planning from occupancy and menu. Fewer, larger orders improve the position in every conversation, and reduce failures because the supplier can plan.

Terms are never negotiated

How you spot it

Prices are what they are, for years. Conversations happen when something goes wrong, not to order the relationship. Yet for many suppliers the house is a more important customer than it believes.

The way out

Once a year, talk to the key suppliers about volumes, terms and reliability, with your own order figures on the table. Whoever knows their volumes negotiates differently.

Reliability is not demanded

How you spot it

Shortages, substitutes, delayed deliveries, the kitchen absorbs everything, and nobody raises it. The supplier never learns it is a problem. So it remains one.

The way out

Briefly document failures and address them in the supplier conversation. Whoever measures and raises reliability usually gets it, or knows it is time for an alternative.

Frequently asked

Fewer suppliers or more?: First transparency, then structure. Usually fewer is better: larger volumes per supplier, better terms, clearer responsibility. Regional specialists keep their place, but deliberately, not historically.
Do negotiations endanger the grown relationship?: An annual conversation about volumes and terms is not a declaration of war but a sign the relationship is taken seriously. Good suppliers value customers who order predictably and communicate clearly.
How does this relate to cost of goods?: Purchasing is one of several levers. When cost of goods drifts overall, it is rarely just supplier prices, menu, portions and shrinkage belong to it. That is its own problem with its own causes.

Describe your situation

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Problem

Our F&B suppliers are costly and unreliable

See all problems

Our F&B suppliers are costly and unreliable

How you recognize it

Matching Hospi

Valentin Walch

Matching software

Your software could be listed here.

Which path fits your situation?

Diagnosis

Urgent support

Cause fields and how to tell them apart

Purchasing has no owner

Ordering is spontaneous instead of bundled

Terms are never negotiated

Reliability is not demanded

Purchasing has no owner

Ordering is spontaneous instead of bundled

Terms are never negotiated

Reliability is not demanded

Frequently asked

Describe your situation

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