The same quality.In every branch.
You run several sites from the same menu and still only know the next day what was sold, consumed and reordered. Every recipe change then has to be followed through separately in costing, ordering and labelling. fabular controls recipes, procurement, branch stock and the till in one system – for franchise systems and branch chains, from the order to the settlement.
fabular. process chain
Real timeOpen orders
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Batches today
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fabAI flagged batch L-2481: three days from best-before – FEFO suggestion created.
- Central recipe control
- Real-time figures per branch
- Volumes bundled
- 100 %
- recipe consistency
- Real time
- stock and consumption
- 25+
- years of experience
- 1
- way of managing every site
Three problems in branch operations
Every branch orders for itself
Without a central overview, each site orders individually. Uniform standards are missing and volumes cannot be bundled.
Cross-site control of all ordering processes from one system.
Recipe consistency is not assured
Differing product quality in different branches damages the brand – and is often only noticed through customer feedback.
Central recipe control with quality checks for every site.
The figures arrive too late
Turnover, stock and consumption data is only available the next day. For operational decisions that is too late.
Consolidated real-time figures across every site, ready to analyse straight away.
This page is written for branch chains and franchise systems in catering that want the same recipe, the same costing and the same ordering process in every branch, and today only know the next day what was actually consumed in the sites.
What is genuinely difficult in branch operations
The recipe is the point where kitchen, purchasing, costing and labelling come together. If it is only kept as a kitchen document, everything else has to be followed through by hand. A separate reporting view for a single branch chain, though, does not: describe it to fabAI and it is built alongside the central recipe control, not as a project of its own.
- A recipe change at head office only takes effect once purchasing, costing, allergen details and till items have been followed through in every branch.
- Costing depends on purchase prices that change during the year. The contribution margin per dish is only ever as current as the ingredient maintained last.
- Branches consume differently from what the order suggests. Shrinkage, breakage, staff meals and campaigns distort any stock figure calculated as orders minus sales.
- The till receipt knows dishes, the warehouse knows ingredients. Without the recipe breakdown, sales cannot be translated into goods consumption.
- Campaigns and seasonal menus start at every site at the same time. The goods for them have to be planned, distributed and set up in the till beforehand.
- Franchise and company-run sites sit side by side: the same recipe and the same standard, but different prices, terms and settlement paths.
Everything hangs on the recipe
Costing, order proposal, labelling and the consumption breakdown all draw on the same recipe. If it sits outside the system, each of those analyses becomes a separate piece of work.
Figures always a day late
If till data is loaded overnight, management runs behind operations. For the order cut-off, production quantities and staffing, that is the wrong timing.
Every branch a special case
Exceptions that have grown up around suppliers, prices and range can always be justified individually. Taken together, they are the reason a comparison between sites no longer holds.
How fabular handles this
Recipes & quality
- 1.Recipes maintained centrally, the same in every branch.
- 2.Deviations are detected and reported.
- 3.Allergens and labelling maintained automatically.
- 4.Changes with a version status and a validity period.
Brand quality is a question of recipe management, not of reminders.
Ordering & logistics
- 1.Branch orders bundled centrally.
- 2.Framework contracts and supplier terms put to use.
- 3.Reordering based on consumption.
- 4.Deliveries planned instead of reactive.
Analysis & campaigns
- 1.Turnover and consumption per branch in real time.
- 2.Campaigns planned centrally and rolled out.
- 3.Branch comparison for management.
- 4.Till connection through the POS module.
From the recipe to the branch report
The cycle a branch system runs through every day. What matters is that every step builds on the same master data.
- Step 01
Recipe and costing
head office, product management
Ingredients, quantities, preparation steps and declaration details are maintained once and versioned. The recipe and the purchase prices produce the goods cost per dish, on which the costing is built.
- Step 02
Range and prices per site
before the season or campaign starts
Which branch carries which range and sells at which price is set centrally. Company-run sites and franchise partners can keep the same recipe with their own terms.
- Step 03
Demand and ordering
daily to weekly, per branch
Stock, consumption and expected sales produce the order proposal per site. Head office bundles the volumes and uses framework contracts instead of letting every branch order on its own.
- Step 04
Sales at the till
continuously, per shift
The receipt posts to the item sold, and the recipe breaks it down into ingredients. Goods consumption therefore comes from actual sales and not from an estimate.
- Step 05
Analysis and correction
daily, branch management and head office
Turnover, goods cost and consumption sit side by side per site. Deviations between calculated and actual consumption show where portioning, shrinkage or capture drift apart.
Multi-site catering in fabular
How does till data get into the merchandise management system?
The point of sale module is part of the platform and posts directly to the ERP stock instead of transferring data overnight. Sales, stock and turnover are therefore available immediately, across branches as well. If you already use a point of sale system, it is connected through the integration layer. Which route makes sense depends on the manufacturer and on the range of functions you need.
Can recipes be maintained centrally and varied per branch?
The recipe is kept centrally, versioned and maintained with a validity period. Site-specific deviations are possible but stay visible as deviations instead of arising unnoticed. A changed ingredient takes effect on costing, order proposal and declaration at the same time, so nobody has to follow the same change through in several lists.
How is the costing of a dish produced?
From the recipe and the current purchase prices of the ingredients. Because both sit in the same system, a new supplier price changes the goods cost per dish immediately and not only at the next costing round. On that basis, contribution margins can be analysed per item, branch and period, and planned campaigns can be calculated through in advance.
Does this also work with franchise partners?
Yes. Franchisees and company-run sites can be kept side by side: the same recipe and the same standard, but their own prices, terms and settlement paths. Orders run through the same procurement, so volumes can still be bundled. Which data a partner may see and maintain is controlled by the role and permission model.
How are allergens and labelling maintained?
The details are attached to the item and the recipe, not to a separate document. If an ingredient changes, the derived declaration changes with it. Menus, notices and item sheets can therefore be produced from the same data. Responsibility for the content of the details stays with the business; the system keeps them current and traceable.
What does the system cover for staff deployment?
Working and break times are captured through the employee app, absences are requested and records are collected. The data flows into analysis and approvals with no break between systems. For staff planning, the system supplies the basis, such as turnover and consumption patterns per site and time of day. How far the planning itself is covered is clarified per project.
Companies that work with fab4minds
A selection from our customer base – businesses with comparable requirements for traceability, batch management and reporting obligations.
- Resch&Frisch
- Joseph Brot
- B2 Biomarkt
- ADAMAH BioHof
Examine how you run the branches first, then talk about software
A consulting engagement that records the path from the till receipt through the recipe to the order proposal – open-ended and independent of which system comes out of it in the end.
Digitalisation consulting for branch operations
For chains and franchise systems that run more sites than their grown-up procedures can carry, and are looking for the point where the manual work arises.
- Record the path from the till receipt through the recipe breakdown to the order proposal per branch
- Review where recipes, costing and labelling are maintained separately today
- Assess the ordering and delivery logic between head office, warehouse and sites
- Prioritised measures with an effort estimate, matched to company-run and franchise sites
Let us talk about how you run your branches
How long does it take today until you know the consumption of every site? That is where we start. One rule applies to all our consulting engagements. If the result does not help you, we refund the fee.