Challenges related to operations managementconsistentlyconfrontfoodservice
managers. It is becoming more important for managers to devise time-saving
managerial techniques to decrease costs and increase profits. Planning is the
managerial function that drives all other operations. Food production forecasting is
an integral part of planning. The purpose of this research was to determine current
forecasting techniques used by commercial foodservice operations. Personal inter
views with six managers determined operational information and menu complexity,
as well as current forecasting techniques. All managers reported forecasting food
production on a daily basis. Eighty-three percent of the operations used computer
systems to aid in forecasting. The amount of time needed to generate a 7-day
forecast was 5 to 45 minutes. Foodservice managers relied most heavily upon
historical data to generate forecasts. Results of this study indicated that commercial
foodservice operations have begun to utilize technology to increase operational
effectiveness.
Messersmith, A.M., and Miller, J.L. (1992). Forecasting in foodservice. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
3.
Miller J.L., McCahon, C.S., and Bloss, B.K. (1991). Food production forecasting with simple time-series models. Hospitality Research Journal, 14(3), 9-21.
4.
Miller, J.L., and Repko, C.J. (1991). Forecasting in commercial foodservice. Hospitality Research Journal, 14(2), 583-584.
