"In catering, demand changes from day to day. The challenge is not to plan harder, but to better predict what is needed." - Wessel Winkelhuijzen, Industry leader Facility Services
In the catering industry, finding the right balance between service quality, food waste, and labor costs is a daily challenge. Visitor numbers at a location can fluctuate significantly due to factors such as working days, weather conditions, events, and holiday periods.
To help catering organizations manage this dynamic environment, the Demand Calculation module provides a data-driven approach to accurately determine workforce requirements. It offers greater insight into the activities that need to be performed and the staffing capacity required to support them.
From transactions to workforce demand
Demand Calculation is built on a forecast of the expected number of transactions per location. Historical sales data, trends, and other relevant factors are used to predict how many guests are likely to visit a restaurant, company cafeteria, or catering outlet on a given day.
The forecast also includes the expected distribution of demand throughout the day, providing a realistic picture of operational requirements.
However, transaction volumes alone do not tell the full story. A location primarily serving coffee and snacks requires a different staffing approach than one that prepares a large number of freshly made lunches. Therefore, the transaction forecast is combined with a forecast of production volumes for products such as sandwiches, salads, hot meals, and other catering items.
Automatically translating demand into work activities
Based on these forecasted volumes, the software calculates which activities need to be performed throughout the day, including:
Preparing ingredients
Assembling sandwiches
Preparing salads
Serving guests during lunch and peak hours
Cash register and customer service activities
Replenishing inventory
Cleaning and housekeeping tasks
Each activity is linked to predefined labor standards and productivity rates. This enables a realistic calculation of the labor time required for every task.
Wessel Winkelhuijzen
Workforce scheduling is still often based on experience or intuition. Data provides visibility into which activities are actually required and when.
From work activities to shifts
Demand Calculation then translates the total workload into concrete shifts and staffing requirements. The calculation takes into account factors such as:
Location opening hours
Expected peak periods
Available job roles and qualifications
Labor regulations and mandatory rest periods
Local agreements and collective labor agreement (CLA) rules
The result is a recommended staffing plan for each catering location. You gain visibility not only into how many employees are needed, but also when they are needed and which roles they should perform to ensure optimal operations.
Greater control over costs and quality
By directly linking workforce planning to expected demand, organizations take an important step toward demand-driven operations. This helps prevent both overstaffing and understaffing.
Demand Calculation also delivers operational benefits. Production is aligned more closely with actual demand, reducing food waste while improving product availability for guests. At the same time, management gains valuable insight into the relationship between projected revenue, workload, and labor costs.
A foundation for smart workforce management
In a market where margins are under pressure and qualified staff are scarce, data-driven decision-making is becoming increasingly important. Demand Calculation serves as a crucial link between demand forecasting and workforce planning.
By automatically translating transaction forecasts and production requirements into location-specific staffing plans, catering organizations can operate more efficiently, enhance the guest experience, and maintain control over labor costs.
As a result, workforce planning is no longer based solely on assumptions or experience, but on an accurate forecast of what is truly required to serve guests effectively and efficiently.