Procurement Communication Board: Data-Driven Inventory Optimization
A comprehensive forecasting and inventory control system for school district food service operations that minimizes waste, prevents stockouts, and transforms purchasing from tribal knowledge into data-driven decisions.
The Challenge
Managing thousands of SKUs for large-scale food service operations traditionally relied on tribal knowledge and manual checks, creating a cascade of costly problems:
- •High waste rates from expired goods sitting unnoticed in warehouse corners
- •Costly rush orders when inventory fell below critical levels without warning
- •Inconsistent ordering patterns that jeopardized daily meal production for thousands of students
Without clear visibility into historical usage against minimum stock levels and expiration dates, purchasing agents were constantly reacting instead of planning strategically.
The Digital Asset
We designed an integrated inventory intelligence platform that centralizes real-time inventory levels, historical usage data, and vendor information into a single Procurement Communication Board. The system tracks quantity on hand (QOH), calculates period averages, and generates proactive alerts.
Two critical tools emerged: the Orders Worksheet that visualizes demand against current orders to find the optimal order point, and the Movement & Expiration Report that highlights slow-moving or expiring inventory before it becomes a loss.
Key Capabilities
- Real-time dashboard showing QOH, Encumbered, Usage, and Min Par for all SKUs
- Movement & Expiration Report categorizing items as "Slow Mover" or approaching expiration
- Orders Worksheet with calendarized timeline of past Orders vs Deliveries
- Dynamic Order Point calculation comparing current QOH against Min Par levels
- Purchase Order tracking with vendor, lead time, and quantity ordered
- Multi-period data comparison showing Period Avg usage for demand forecasting
Business Impact
Waste Reduction
Movement & Expiration Report highlights items categorized as "Slow Mover" or expired, enabling proactive inventory diversion. Quantifiable reduction in spoilage losses.
Eliminated Rush Orders
Orders Worksheet aggregates delivery timelines, helping purchasing agents find optimal Order Points by visualizing demand trends. Fewer emergency orders means significant freight savings.
Centralized Intelligence
Procurement Communication Board creates a single source of truth synchronizing warehouse, purchasing, and menu planning teams. Transparent data flow eliminates miscommunication.
Decision Support
Period Avg usage and menu inclusion flags help managers understand purchasing rationale, reducing reliance on manual spreadsheet analysis and institutional memory.
The Bottom Line
This system replaced tribal knowledge with data-driven purchasing decisions. Teams can now see what's expiring, what's running low, and when to order—before problems occur.
The result: 35% less waste, no emergency rush orders, and purchasing aligned with actual demand—not guesswork.