Founder POV: We’ve already talked about contextual ordering, the first opportunity to protect margin: making sure you don’t order the wrong stuff in the first place!!!

This article is adapted from a LinkedIn post by Robbie Francis, Founder of Hops.

We’ve already talked about contextual ordering, the first opportunity to protect margin: making sure you don’t order the wrong stuff in the first place!!!

Deliveries is the next one:: because once stock hits the back door, you’ve got your first real shot at early margin recovery - which many operators miss.

Most hospitality businesses obsess over stock take, but almost every stock problem starts starts at the back door!

In an ideal world:

• You receive exactly what you ordered
• In the quantity you expected
• At the agreed price

But in the reality of complicated-hospitality-land:

• Shortages
• Substitutions
• Wrong quality / quantity
• Price changes

That’s why in Hops, we have an initial delivery stage: “Arrived”.

It’s the moment you confirm: Did the right amount actually turn up?

Because the industry standard is that somewhere between 2–4% of food and beverage deliveries are recoverable.

(That’s stock that’s: wrong, short, damaged or not what you agreed to)

So if you’re not checking deliveries properly, chances are you’re leaking margin.

At this stage, the job is simple:

• Compare ordered vs received
• Log shortages
• Flag substitutions
• Create a digital record of what physically arrived

Now let’s talk about the awkward reality we can’t deny: manual deliveries.

• Emergency deliveries
• Off-book deliveries
• A chef phones something through

That’s hospitality.

But they’re naughty in two ways:

1. They bypass the normal ordering flow
2. They can bypass the usual authorisation flow too

So they need treating carefully.

At Hops®, manual deliveries are restricted to specific users and fully auditable. They still generate a proper Goods Received Note.

So even when reality goes off-script, the system still gives you a clean digital trail.

Because the rule is: if it came through the back door, it better exist in the system!!!!

Next time, we’ll talk about the next stage: Deliveries Processed Into Stock

Because confirming the quantity is one thing; closing the loop and putting the right stock into the system at the right price is another.

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About Robbie Francis
Robbie Francis is the Founder of Hops. He has spent years building and implementing hospitality technology with operators, focused on simplifying back-of-house operations across inventory and finance.

Follow Robbie on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robbiefrancis

View the original LinkedIn post: We’ve already talked about contextual ordering, the first opportunity to protect margin: making sure you don’t order the wrong stuff in the first place!!!