With supply chains at breaking point, we’ve carried out research and brought together experts from across the education catering industry to explore some of the biggest challenges. With a mission to uncover new solutions to overcome these challenges together, we want to turn the supply chain into the Rely Chain.
51% have found that their suppliers have become slightly less reliable in the last five years.
Education operators have seen a dramatic rise in costs of up to 30% across items and services, including labour, fuel/energy, catering equipment, and ingredients.
59% of caterers have found minimising electrical consumption as the hardest sustainability initiative to maintain due to rising costs.
51% of caterers have been working with local suppliers to improve supply chain reliability.
As a result of rising costs, labour shortages and supply chain disruptions, 66% of caterers have found that their mental health has been negatively impacted.
47% have been using outdated or broken equipment due to supply chain disruptions.
56% are taking steps to work more closely with suppliers to improve supply chain reliability.
45% are reducing portion sizes due to price increases.
56% have had to make small adjustments to their menus due to rising costs or ingredient shortages.
Working closely with suppliers means orders can be planned further in advance and cost-effective solutions can be found together.
Brad Pearce, Immediate Past Chair of LACA and Managing Director of CATERed: “We’ve been working hard to build and keep relationships with local farmers and growers. Our business model is based on using as much fresh and local produce as possible so maintaining those relationships is key”.
Reliability is key when it comes to equipment – breakdowns can have the biggest impact on operations, but are often not prioritised until it’s too late.
Jenny Scarrott, Business Account Manager at BRITA: “Preventative maintenance is central to a smooth operation. Even if the equipment is brand new, you still need to invest in preventative maintenance to minimise the chance of breakdowns happening further down the line. Investing in quality equipment, fitting a reliable and efficient water filter, creating a robust cleaning schedule and training staff to ensure the correct usage and maintenance of this equipment are some of the ways you can do this.”
Sustainability initiatives have been harder to maintain due to rising costs, labour shortages, and supply chain disruptions.
Cathy Amos, Brakes Head of Customer Marketing: “The reality of our carbon footprint is that 11% of it is due to our infrastructure. We have around 3,000 vehicles and unfortunately, electric trucks don’t go very far. So, the only way we can support being sustainable is through our food. One way we’ve been doing this is through replacing some meats with pulses such as lentils, making the meal more sustainable without compromising nutrition.”
The education supply chain is built on reliability. Trust between operators and suppliers starts with open discussions, both at onboarding and throughout their partnerships, to help develop solutions together.
Julian Edwards, Chair of FCSI and owner of consultancy GY5: “With unreliable supply chains, issues around allergens tend to be more amplified. We’ve implemented a communication portal which allows us to communicate with our suppliers more to guarantee efficient and reliable deliveries ,whilst ensuring that we are able to meet our allergen best practice.”
BRITA Managed Services monitor water filter usage and test water hardness, meaning filters can be exchanged on time. This helps equipment run more efficiently and also avoids expensive repairs and equipment breakdowns due to limescale build-up.
For more information on BRITA Professional’s Rely Chain campaign, please click here to see how we are shining a light on fostering reliability within the supply chain.