Case study · Hospitality
A hospitality business found the margin its suppliers were taking.
A hospitality business buying from a long list of suppliers. Sales were well understood. The cost of each product was a number set years ago.
Growth reviews · Connected systems · 3 min read01The leak
Every price rise hid inside a bigger invoice.
Dozens of supplier prices had moved a little at a time. The accounts showed totals by supplier, not by item, and some inputs bought in small amounts didn’t show up anywhere as a line.
02The fix
A price book from the invoices already in the inbox.
No new software for staff and no extra data entry: the work came from records the business already had.
- Every invoice read into rows item, pack size, unit price and date, so each input has a price history.
- Pack sizes made comparable per kilo or per unit, across every supplier.
- Each product costed from its recipe and packaging, next to its selling price.
Range found for each lever, on one 0–40% scale
03Now
Margin, product by product, as invoices arrive.
The owner now sees cost and margin for every product, updated as new invoices land. A handful of products were carrying far thinner margins than anyone thought, and a few supplier categories had clear savings. The margin is found; reprice, reformulate or change supplier is the owner’s call.
From the business’s own invoices, recipes and sales, in a costing review. Margin found, not yet banked.
The detail, in our field notes
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