We recently signed an agreement with Le Cordon Bleu School of Culinary Arts to provide a fully integrated Procure-to-Pay, recipe and inventory solution. Also included will be a new demand forecasting module integrated with the school’s scheduling system.
In addition to the new forecasting module, the following BirchStreet applications will be used at the school’s 16 campuses.
- e-Procurement
- AP Automation with Auto-Matching
- Inventory Control
- Enterprise Recipe Management Suite
Recipe Demand Forecast
Le Cordon Bleu’s students prepare a different recipe nearly every day in class. With multiple students in each class and multiple classes going on each day in 16 campuses across the U.S., the food storage and logistics required to make sure each student has the food products he or she needs every day in class is challenging.
To automate and optimize the process, a new BirchStreet forecasting module will be developed that utilizes class scheduling information, combined with item level recipe data (from BirchStreet’s Recipe system) to forecast daily food product needed for each student in each class on each of the school’s campuses. An interface will bring class schedules and projected attendance data into BirchStreet from the school’s scheduling system. Taking into account a number of factors including shelf-life, lead times and on-hand inventory, an item-level purchasing schedule will be generated in the BirchStreet e-Procurement system to bring product into each campus at the optimal time.
Integrated Storeroom Management
From the latest projected attendance data, requisitions and daily pick lists will be generated in the BirchStreet Inventory system to pull product from the on-campus storerooms to supply each class session (and ultimately each student) with the food products needed for the day’s class.
Budget Forecasts
The BirchStreet recipe system ties ingredients to catalog items and pricing. The Cordon Bleu solution will combine this capability with attendance forecast to produce cost budgets and forecasts that reflect up-to-the-minute attendance data. Visibility into projected course, class, semester and campus costs will be greatly enhanced improving school operational and financial planning.
Working from market-driven sales forecasts, the new functionality will be capable of projecting item level requirements for other food service sectors such as restaurants. This new capability will further enhance BirchStreet’s overall supply chain management offering.
Accounts Payable Automation
Additional efficiency gains will be achieved through the school’s use of BirchStreet’s Accounts Payable Automation module. The module automates three-way matching (between Purchase Orders, Receipts and Invoices) saving time in the AP reconciliation process before automatically sending approved payment vouchers to the school’s back-office accounting system (PeopleSoft) via a by-directional interface.
e-Procurement
Le Cordon Bleu leverages Avendra (a BirchStreet strategic partner) and its ‘s $3 billion in annual purchasing volume to lower product costs. The BirchStreet e-Procurement system will provide better visibility and control over purchasing at all campuses, allowing the school to maximize savings from the Avendra contracts.
Development of the new components is currently underway with implementation slated for later this year.
