Why Businesses Should Focus on Being Efficient

The food and beverage industry is a very competitive space. In order to keep up with the game and stay ahead of the competition, you need to be efficient in more ways than one. 

Efficiency is about getting the most out of your resources. It means your business is able to produce more with less money and less waste. It also means you can operate day-to-day without making costly errors. In today's post, we'll dig into why business efficiency really matters and why it's something that you should focus on. 

BEING EFFICIENT REDUCES COSTS

Being efficient in your day-to-day operations helps you improve your productivity, increases your production output and can eliminate time-consuming admin tasks. It may also mean that you don't need to rely so heavily on external suppliers, expensive machinery or even stop-gap employees. Which in turn means you will be able to reduce your costs and reserve that cash for other business critical requirements.

So, what can efficiency in your food and beverage business look like? Well, it's about using raw ingredients more effectively, maximising your staff’s productivity, or reducing your product packaging so you can save money and lower those associated costs.

BEING EFFICIENT INCREASES PROFITS

With fewer expenses and more time, you'll be able to increase your product range and begin creating more products. You will be able to fulfil bigger orders and by making more sales you'll see an uplift of your business's profits over time. This can also help increase your profit margin, in other words you'll see an increase in the amount your sales revenue exceeds the money you spend.

Another added benefit, is that producing goods that are low on cost means you can price your products competitively without affecting your margins. This, again, results in higher profits for you.

BEING EFFICIENT HELPS YOU MEET DEMAND

Increased efficiency can also help you fulfil your customers’ retail orders quickly without having to hire temporary staff, or invest in more equipment to meet increased demand. You can solely rely on your existing staff and equipment set up as you've got them working at peak efficiency to respond to seasonal demand or urgent, unexpected orders.

What's more, your customers aren’t just after quick service, they also care about the quality of the product. By improving your production efficiency, you can create high-quality goods and fulfil orders more quickly, therefore, satisfying your current customers, increasing your repeat business and attracting a new wave of retailers. 

BEING EFFICIENT HELPS YOUR BUSINESS GROW

Needless to say, having an efficient business process means you'll have greater opportunity to expand and enter new markets. Since you'll have fewer costs associated with producing your goods, you'll then have sufficient money available to make investments, expand your inventory, and set up new locations.

BEING EFFICIENT PROMOTES COMPETITIVENESS

This is something that businesses don’t often realise. Increasing your production efficiency can have a flow-on affect for the wider market. For example, as you begin making your processes more efficient, your business will grow and your competitors will also need to become more productive to keep up with you. 

Supermarket chain Aldi is an excellent case study in how you can gain competitive advantage through efficiency. Since it's conception in 1913 this supermarket company has been offering competitive product pricing without compromising quality. In some instances its products are 30% cheaper than its competitors and this has been made possible because Aldi is following an efficient business process which enables them to minimise costs by saving time, space, effort and energy.

If you like the sound of all of the above then your next business focus really needs to be on efficiencies. By making simple tweaks to your day-to-day operations you can retain and attract new customers, reduce operational costs, and maximise your profits so you can grow your business further.

Over the coming weeks we will share with you loads of ways you can improve your production efficiency so stay tuned as we help you navigate your way through this business critical process.