Ordering and using the right amounts of ingredients can help reduce costs and prevent food waste

The professionals who know the most about supply and demand aren’t economists; they are pizzeria owners. They know that few things cause more damage than running out of cheese during the dinner rush, that labor costs should not include time wasted looking for pepperoni and that cash comes in many forms – not just in dollar bills but also bags of flour in the storage area. Inventory management is a complex system, and restaurant operators take control through tech solutions and some best practices.

“Inventory management is about balancing supply and demand – ensuring you have enough stock to meet customer needs without overstocking, which leads to waste and unnecessary carrying costs,” says Troy Sproul, owner of Blue Square Pizza in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. “It’s also about understanding ingredient movement and making data-driven decisions.”

Consistency is key, and at Blue Square Pizza, every pizza is built on a scale, with all recipes calculated in ounces. The kitchen crew follows precise portioning instructions from laminated build charts mounted in front of the scales. “This practice isn’t just a guideline, it’s part of our culture,” Sproul says. “Nobody – not even me – makes a pizza without a scale. This discipline helps us maintain a consistent target food cost every month while ensuring quality and portion control.”

“When forecasts miss the mark, businesses risk overordering, leading to waste and higher costs.”

– Adoniram Sides, Lightspeed

The pizzeria also uses technology for inventory tracking and uses software that manages invoices, builds recipes and tracks inventory. Sproul also uses ClearCOGS, an AI tool integrated with Blue Square Pizza’s POS system. Each day, the system sends Sproul suggested pars (or minimum amounts needed) for high-volume ingredients such as dough, cheese and proteins. Blue Square Pan makes sourdough pizza, and the system even predicts how many batches of dough to mix for use two days later, which Sprouls calls essential for the pizzeria’s 48-hour fermentation process.

“Excess inventory can be just as damaging as stockouts,” Sproul says. “Inventory is cash. If it’s sitting on the shelf, it’s money that could be put to better use.”

Leverage Technology

It’s difficult to predict how much of each ingredient a pizzeria will need. “The most challenging part of inventory management for restaurant operators is forecasting,” says Joe Hannon, general manager of inventory and purchasing at the Irvine, California-based software company Restaurant365. “Order too much, and food goes to waste; order too little, and you run out of key ingredients during a rush. It’s especially tricky with unpredictable customer traffic, seasonal shifts and supply chain hiccups.”

The main reason forecasting goes wrong is that many operators still rely on outdated tracking methods such as spreadsheets or even pen and paper. “These systems don’t update in real time, making it easy to miscount or miss trends in ingredient usage,” Hannon says. “If staff isn’t trained to follow a consistent process, errors pile up fast. Even worse, some don’t forecast at all.”

Perhaps predictably, the solution is technology. “The best way to fix forecasting issues is to use an inventory system that syncs with POS data and tracks real-time ingredient usage,” Hannon says. “This helps operators see exactly what’s selling, when to reorder and how to adjust for seasonal shifts. When you have solid data to work with, you can cut waste, control costs and keep the kitchen running smoothly.”

Don’t Waste

Running out of an ingredient is not the only risk. Having too much of something can also be an issue, as it can lead to food waste and result in higher costs and decreased profits.

Inventory control can be made even more difficult by inaccurate forecasting,  fluctuating ingredient prices and outdating tracking methods. But without a clear view of ingredient usage, food waste can become a costly issue.

Automated inventory management and waste tracking tools can help. Systems that integrate with POS data can track ingredient usage, ingredient price changes and stock levels, which can help restaurants order more accurately. There are systems that can track how much food is unsold so the manager can analyze the trends and order more efficiently.

Adapt Quickly

Inventory management also can improve menu planning and help operators control costs. “First and foremost, they should have a good handle on POS data, and they should have access to that daily,” says David Maloni, principal at Datum FS, a foodservice supply chain consultancy. “They should be able to tell how much of the product they need based on their sales. Then, from there, they can build their recipe back to the product.”

For some ingredients, it’s better to have too little than too much. “Don’t be afraid to run as lean inventory as you can,” Maloni says. “It’s okay to occasionally run out of things.”

If a pizzeria runs out of ham or pineapple, a quick trip to the supermarket will not do much damage. It’s more important for the operator to leverage the data from the POS system to know exactly how much cheese and other high-volume items they should have.

Combine Tech With Common Sense

First in, first out (or FIFO) is a method of using the oldest ingredients before newer ones to reduce spoilage and maintain food safety. While this could be as simple as checking the best-by date and pushing newer items to the back of the shelf, an automated system can help streamline the process of tracking these ingredients.

“When forecasts miss the mark, businesses risk overordering, leading to waste and higher costs – or underordering, which results in ’86ing key items and lost revenue,” says Adoniram Sides, senior vice president of hospitality at the POS platform Lightspeed.

A good system can provide real-time ingredient tracking, and smart ordering can help operators optimize stock levels and limit waste. More importantly, inventory management can help the pizzeria give customers a consistent and predictable experience, which means never having to tell a diner their favorite pie is not available.

“Strong inventory strategy goes beyond tracking stock – it also plays a critical role in menu planning and purchasing decisions and can drive a substantial marginal improvement,” Sides says. “Especially when you’re feeling exhaustion from price increases, improving stock management takes some burden off your customers without sacrificing quality ingredients.”

Read the July 2025 Issue of Pizza Today Magazine

Who are this year’s Rising Stars in the Pizza Industry? We profile six up-and-comers who are making their mark on pizza. Discover why the Grandma style pizza is spreading across the country. See why your pizza could benefit from whole-grain flour. Brush up on inventory management best practices. Learn how to take your products to the retail market. Go to the July Issue.