Reducing Food Waste by IT Systems: Case Sodexo’s cafeteria
Einfeldt, Yves (2019)
Einfeldt, Yves
2019
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201905027209
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201905027209
Tiivistelmä
One-third of all originally created food will be thrown away before it even reaches the consumers. With an increasing population, this leads to a massive problem society has to deal with. Hotels, restaurants, and cafeterias are responsible for a significant part of the food waste generation. With the digital transformation a lot of opportunities emerge. With IT systems like a point-of-sale system and a tracking solution for food waste, the collection of data is possible. The data can be analysed to identify the origin of food waste.
Supported by literature research from multiple papers and textbooks the hospitality industry and gastronomy with their opportunities and challenges using IT systems were described. Also, a focus on food and the origin and reasons for food waste in the supply chain are mentioned and the current ethical movement to more sustainability is explained in the theory part of this thesis. The second part was a practical data analysis investigating how Sodexo’s cafeteria at HAMK’s campus in Hämeenlinna can reduce their food waste creation. With a cross-industry standardised process for data mining, the occurrences of food waste were identified. On the days of the week when fewer dishes were sold, more food waste was produced. Because of relying on a non-accurate forecast of the expected amount of guests, 30 kg of food waste is generated daily. The error margin of the previously used forecast was 30%. By creating a new calculation of the expected guests and comparing the historical data, the error margin could be improved to 15%.
With the improved accuracy of the prediction, the executive chef can perform better menu calculations and produce more efficiently the demanded amount of food. This case confirms that IT systems support the business processes of the cafeteria and thus reduce their food waste.
Supported by literature research from multiple papers and textbooks the hospitality industry and gastronomy with their opportunities and challenges using IT systems were described. Also, a focus on food and the origin and reasons for food waste in the supply chain are mentioned and the current ethical movement to more sustainability is explained in the theory part of this thesis. The second part was a practical data analysis investigating how Sodexo’s cafeteria at HAMK’s campus in Hämeenlinna can reduce their food waste creation. With a cross-industry standardised process for data mining, the occurrences of food waste were identified. On the days of the week when fewer dishes were sold, more food waste was produced. Because of relying on a non-accurate forecast of the expected amount of guests, 30 kg of food waste is generated daily. The error margin of the previously used forecast was 30%. By creating a new calculation of the expected guests and comparing the historical data, the error margin could be improved to 15%.
With the improved accuracy of the prediction, the executive chef can perform better menu calculations and produce more efficiently the demanded amount of food. This case confirms that IT systems support the business processes of the cafeteria and thus reduce their food waste.