Buying 120% to Serve 100%: The Supply Chain Cost of Food Waste

Send me a messageIf you’re buying 120% of the food required to serve 100% of your customers, you don’t have a waste problem. You have a forecasting, procurement and margin problem.My guest is Olaf van der Veen, co-founder of Orbisk, working with commercial kitchens to track where food is being lost. His point is blunt: much of that loss happens before anything reaches a plate, through overproduction, overstocking and weak operating procedures. In a low-margin business, that is excess inventory turning directly into lost profit.We examine why food waste is often misdiagnosed as bad behaviour, what changes when kitchens can finally see where losses occur, and why AI forecasts perform better when combined with experienced human judgement. We also look at a hotel that cut one chef to save cost, only to discover the extra waste was expensive enough to pay for two and a half.Listen now to understand where poor planning is quietly eating margin, and what better demand, procurement and operational data can reveal. If disruption hit tomorrow, would you know where your supply chain was most exposed? In 15 minutes my free scorecard helps you assess 27 resilience statements, calculate your score, and turn the result into three priorities and a 30 day action plan. You can download the scorecard free at tomraftery.com/scorecard.Support the showPodcast supportersI'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's generous Subscribers:Alicia FaragKieran OgnevGary LynchAnd remember you too can become a Resilient Supply Chain+ subscriber  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent episodes like this one and give you access to bonus episodes of topical, timely supply chain resilience analysis.🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on supply chain resilience, AI, and sustainability?I help leaders understand the forces reshaping global supply chains, from geopolitical disruption and climate risk to AI and real-time decision-making. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpckFinallyIf you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to just send me a direct message on LinkedIn, or send me a message using this link.If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover it. Thanks for listening.