If you run a wholesale bakery, you should be encouraged by these statistics. Of course, having a popular product isn't the sole factor in determining the success of your bakery. You'll face particular difficulties, just like every kind of business, and we've listed the four biggest ones below.
1. Poor cash flow
There are many ways to keep your cash flow positive. We recommend starting with a solid foundation and developing a good cash flow forecast. This will give you visibility of all your incomings and outgoings. It will also help you understand if it's your customers' late payments that are making you come unstuck.
2. Optimally promoting a product
Post COVID, it's time to go digital - and a digital catalogue is a great way to show your customers what's new and exciting. If you're selling seasonal products such as Christmas cookies or Valentine's day cakes, you can easily create a catalogue showing off all the products under "holiday" themes. A catalogue can also be linked to your ordering system so that you can add new products that your customers will see when they make their order - or they can be notified.
3. Low inventory levels
An online inventory system alerts you as soon as you need to replenish your stock and some can then place an order directly for you. Digital inventory management systems will help you track your stock levels so you'll know if you're running low. This means you won't have to rely on spreadsheets or paper-based systems to keep track of your inventory.
4. Effectively gathering and managing numerous wholesale orders
An order management system keeps all your orders in one place so you can easily see and track them at any time. It improves your customer experience as they won't have to call you or email you through their orders, they'll simply order online in just a few clicks. Orders appear straight in your production system, in real-time, without any manual data entry. They can also help you keep your cash flow in the positive by allowing your customers to pay you immediately.
Conclusion
Of course, challenges are common in any food and beverage business, but it's how you manage them that will make or break you. Our biggest tips are to review your processes regularly so they work seamlessly and invest in good technology so you can put your bakery in the best position for success. Good luck!