Usage Projections - FAQs
Overview:
Suggested Order, Transfer, Prep, or Production quantities can be calculated and included on the worksheets and entry features. These calculations are set up and configured using Suggested Quantity Types ("SQTs").
A Usage Projection will calculate the amount of an item that will be used between the current date, and the next entry date. For example, if the entry date for an order is today, and the next date for entering an order is 5 days from today, a Usage Projection will calculate what quantity will be used between today and the next order date for each item.
SQTs can be configured to include Theoretical On-Hand and/or Par Levels in the suggested quantity calculations for ordering, transfers, prep, or production. If a Usage Projection is also included in an SQT configuration, then the results of the projection are added to the suggested quantity calculation.
Overview of the Usage Projection Calculation:
Usage Projections are based on the theoretical usage for an item (which is determined by menu item sales and their recipes) over a 6-week historical period. An average theoretical usage for each item is calculated for each day of the week.
For example, if salmon is being ordered today, if the next delivery date is 3 days from today, and if the historical theoretical usage is 20 pounds over these same 3 days of the week, then the Usage Projection is 20 pounds and the suggested order quantity for salmon will be increased by 20 pounds.
Please note that the historical period formula can be modified for the standard formula when configuring a Suggested Quantity Type, and, if Users have permission, they can modify it when running worksheets or entering transactions.
Dependence on Recipe Items and Historical Sales:
The Usage Projection for an item is based on its use as an ingredient in recipe items and the number of times the recipe items (sales items) are sold. Therefore, complete and accurate recipes for the items you wish to project usage for are required. Your POS interface must also capture and map item sales to COGS-Well. POS modifiers may need to be mapped (ask support@cogs-well.com.
If you want to use Usage Projections for Suggested Ordering, Transfer Requests, Production, or Prep, but you don't have time to set up detailed Recipe Items for all of your menu items, you could build Recipe Items only using the items you want to projections for as ingredients.
For example, if you wanted to use projections for meat and fish items, you could set up Recipe Items with just the portion of meat or fish that is in the recipe.
Inventory Items like wine lend themselves well to Suggested Ordering and Usage Projections because they are easy to set up as Recipe Items and you know a bottle sold should be a bottle used (yields are 100%).
More Detail for the Projected Usage Calculation:
As mentioned above, the selection to include a Usage Projection in a suggested quantity calculation is made when configuring a Suggested Quantity Type (SQT). In the SQT configuration example below, the box is checked to use a projected usage quantity. The fields highlighted in the red outline are then added to the SQT configuration when this box is checked.
Projected Usage Fields:
The explanation below for the configuration options for projected usage quantities should help you better understand the options:
Allow User to Enter a Projection Adjustment Percentage: When printing a worksheet or entering a transaction for ordering, transfers, prep, or production, this feature adds a field to allow the User to change the projection by a percentage. For example, if the projection is for 10 Packs and 10% is entered, the projection will increase to 11 packs. This added field will not require an entry.
Use User-Defined Historical Date Range: You should only check this box when you will not be using a consistent historical date range for your Usage Projection and prefer to let the User select the range each time they use an SQT.
If you do not check this option, then the projection will always use the historical configuration in the SQT, and the Number of Historical Weeks and the Number of Current Weeks to Skip configurations will not display for Users when running worksheets or entering transactions.
Number of Historical Weeks: This is the number of historical weeks before the order or transfer request date that will be used for the Usage Projection calculation sales portion.
Number of Current Weeks to Skip: Oftentimes you may be selecting a report date that falls in the middle of a week and you will not have a full week of sales to be utilized in the projection. The typical configuration is, therefore, to skip the current week by entering 1 so the projection will not include the current week.
Exclude High and Low Quantities: To help smooth the projection calculation, you can check this box to normalize against unusual lows or highs that may have occurred on a given day. Most customers check this box unless their sales volume is very stable throughout the look back number of weeks.
Project Usage for All Sites: This prompt only displays if you have multiple sites. If you will be running projections for a commissary or warehouse site, then you might want to project usage for all of the sites so their projected usage is factored into the projection calculation.