Food and specialist retail: Inventory software for chocolatiers
Inventory software for chocolatiers that tracks cocoa, fillings, packaging and finished chocolates with their shelf life, so there is enough raw material and nothing quietly goes out of date.
Where stock drifts for chocolatiers.
Chocolatiers hold three kinds of stock, each behaving differently. Raw materials such as couverture, nuts and cream have their own shelf life and lead time. Semi-finished goods such as praline paste or a stock of shells must be used in time. And packaging, such as boxes, sleeves and ribbons, is ordered per season and suddenly runs out in December. Looking at the shelves alone, nobody sees that the praline paste is already promised to a corporate order or that the last roll of ribbon for the Christmas collection is gone. Meanwhile product quietly goes out of date, because nobody tracks when a batch of chocolates went into the counter.
Inventory software for chocolatiers
Example- 1
Identify stock by type
DoneEvery raw material, semi-finished product and packaging item gets a line with its unit and, where it matters, a shelf life.
- 2
Reserve for orders
In progressA corporate order or a production day reserves the couverture, fillings and boxes it needs.
- 3
Update after production and sales
NextAfter production, batch registration books out the raw materials used and books in the new chocolates.
From receipt to use.
Identify stock by type
Every raw material, semi-finished product and packaging item gets a line with its unit and, where it matters, a shelf life. Chocolates in the counter and in the cooling are tracked per batch with their production date. You can see what is there and how long it will keep.
Reserve for orders
A corporate order or a production day reserves the couverture, fillings and boxes it needs. The inventory shows what is freely available after those reservations. If packaging falls short for the planned orders, the chocolatier sees it well before packing starts.
Update after production and sales
After production, batch registration books out the raw materials used and books in the new chocolates. Sales in the shop and through the web shop book out chocolates and boxes. Anything that expires or breaks is reported as waste, so the inventory reflects what is really there.
Alongside your purchasing and suppliers.
Many chocolatiers track stock by feel or in a spreadsheet updated now and then. The till system and web shop record sales, but not raw material usage. The inventory takes sales from those systems and usage from batch registration. Purchasing stays with the owner or whoever places orders; the inventory flags when something runs low. The chocolatier owns the minimum levels.
Tracking raw materials exactly or roughly
Tracking couverture to the kilo means recording every use. Rough tracking with a weekly count is less work but warns you later. For expensive ingredients with long lead times exact tracking pays off; for salt or sugar a count is enough. You can make that choice per ingredient.
Buying packaging per season or continuously
Buying seasonal packaging in one go gets a better price but ties up money and space and risks leftovers. Ordering continuously is more flexible but risky with suppliers who have long lead times in the peak. The inventory shows what is left from last season, so purchasing can plan around it.
Shelf life per batch or per product
One shelf life per product is simple but does not tell you how old the chocolates in the cooling are. Tracking per batch with a production date shows what needs to go first. It takes a record for every batch, but stops old chocolates lingering at the back.
Which stock we record.
Raw materials, semi finished products and packaging go in with unit and shelf life, along with chocolates per batch, reservations per order and booking stock out after production and sale. Before launch we work through an ordinary week together, and a week in which a large corporate order uses up the box stock and the praline mass. An alert for low stock and a list of what will soon pass its date are added once the counts are right.
View pricingSupport and updatesGood to know.
Explore pricing and optionsHow do we know which chocolates need to go first?
By tracking batches with a production date. The inventory shows per filling which batch is oldest and how long it will keep. Whoever fills the counter takes that batch first. Anything close to its end can go into a tasting or a promotion.
Does the inventory book out raw materials automatically?
Yes, based on the recipe and the recorded batches. When you make a batch of a filling, the inventory books out the couverture, cream and nuts the recipe calls for. A periodic count corrects differences from spills or weighing.
Can we see how many boxes we need for December?
The inventory counts the boxes already reserved for corporate orders and compares that with what is on the shelf. What the shop expects to sell, you estimate yourselves. Together that shows what still needs ordering.
Does it work with our till system?
If the till system can export or pass on sales, we read them in. The inventory then books out the boxes and chocolates sold. If it cannot, a daily count of the counter is a workable alternative.
Add-ons for your industry.
What often connects to this.
- Digital job cards for chocolatiersDigital job cards for chocolatiers where the batch card records filling, chocolate type, tempering and packing instructions per order, so the right chocolate ends up in the right box.
- Website for chocolatiersA website for chocolatiers that presents chocolate collections, gift boxes and corporate gifts so visitors understand what is inside the box, how long it keeps and what custom work involves.
- Enquiry form for chocolatiersAn enquiry form for chocolatiers that asks corporate customers for box layout, company branding, quantities and delivery date, so a corporate gift does not get stuck in the final week.
Know what is really there.
Start with a short intake. Then we schedule a call to show the software with your services, team and way of working.
WhatsAppinfo@vorlyo.com Inventory software for chocolatiers: cocoa, fillings, box stock and finished chocolates with shelf life, reserved per order and updated after production.
- Identify stock by type
- Reserve for orders
- Update after production and sales