Managing Perishables Across Branches: Presentail’s Multi-Branch Inventory Transformation

Managing inventory for perishable products across multiple locations can feel like fighting fires every day. Presentail (a flower and specialty cake retailer with two branches – think wedding cakes and gourmet bouquets) initially relied on Google Sheets and phone calls to track stock. When the business was small, this manual system worked, until it didn’t. As Presentail expanded, cracks started to show: wilted flowers forgotten in the fridge, cakes running out at one store while piling up at the other, and frantic end-of-week counts stealing hours of time.It became clear that approach wasn’t sustainable. The Presentail team needed a smarter way to handle fast-moving inventory that expires quickly. That’s when they turned to Supy’s purpose-built inventory management platform, and it changed everything. What follows is an honest look (from Supy’s perspective as Presentail’s operations partner) at the challenges Presentail faced, how we solved them, and practical lessons for any operator running a multi-branch business. (Spoiler: the right system can save your margins and your sanity.)

Manual Inventory + Multiple Branches = Major Headaches

Like many small businesses, Presentail started with simple tools. In the early days, a single spreadsheet was enough to track stock. They maintained par levels (minimum stock on hand) for each item based on sales history, doing a physical count every week to decide what to reorder. This was fine with 10–20 products and one location. But as Presentail grew its catalog of flowers, cakes, and gifts – and especially after opening a second branch – the manual process fell apart. Key pain points emerged:

• Human error and missed updates: With two stores editing the same Google Sheet, things got messy fast. One misplaced number or forgotten entry could lead to an unexpected stockout or overstock that no one saw coming.
• Perishables amplified the chaos: Flowers were especially tough. They have a short shelf life and costs that fluctuate daily (it’s like a stock market for roses). Keeping an accurate count of dozens of flower varieties manually was nearly impossible. Even a one-day delay in updating could mean throwing away wilted blooms or not having enough for orders. Cakes and baked goods had similar issues – tight sell-by dates made inventory control critical.
• No visibility across branches: If the downtown shop ran out of a popular bouquet, the team wouldn’t know the uptown branch still had plenty unless someone picked up the phone. There was zero real-time visibility. Stock transfers were based on guesswork and reactive calls: “Do you have extra of Item X? We’re out over here!” This inefficiency sometimes left customers waiting or disappointed.
• Wastage and write-offs: Without a system to track expirations and usage, a lot of product got written off. Unrecorded wastage (like spoiled flowers or a cake damaged in transit) meant inventory records were off and cost of goods quietly crept up. The impact only became clear at month-end when losses were totaled.
• Stress on the team: Every week felt like a scramble. Store managers dreaded inventory day. The purchasing team stayed late consolidating spreadsheets, and accounting sifted through emailed photos of invoices. The constant back-and-forth – “Did you count the tulips?” “What’s the stock of chocolate cake at branch 2?” – was exhausting for everyone.

In short, what was manageable at one store became a nightmare with two. The team realized they were spending more time managing inventory than serving customers or growing the business. It was time for a change.

Real-Time Visibility: Less Waste, Smarter Ordering

The first major change after implementing Supy for Presentail was immediate: real-time stock visibility across both branches. Suddenly, the team could open a dashboard and see exactly how many red rose bouquets were left at each store, or how many chocolate cakes were in the cooler, right now. This transparency fundamentally changed how they operate:

• No more daily “just checking” calls: Managers no longer pester store staff for stock updates because they can trust the live numbers on the screen. If Branch A is running low on a certain flower, they know in time to either reorder or transfer stock from Branch B. This visibility has saved countless stockouts, especially on signature arrangements and cakes.
• Dynamic par level adjustments: With live sales data feeding in, trends become apparent faster. For example, when a new “Summer Peony Special” bouquet started selling faster than anticipated, the team saw stock depleting in real time. They immediately adjusted par levels and reordering frequency for peonies to keep up with demand. In the past, they might have realized a trend a week (and several sold-out days) later during the next manual count. Now, fast-moving items never catch them off-guard because the system flags low stock before it’s critical.
• Waste reduction: Real-time tracking also means catching slow-movers before they expire. If a cake flavor isn’t selling at one location, the team can see it sitting in inventory and decide to discount it or transfer it to the other branch where it might sell better. This proactive approach has significantly cut down waste. They’re no longer finding unpleasant surprises like a batch of expired cream or stale pastry that someone forgot in the freezer – Supy’s live data makes those incidents far rarer.
• Data-driven ordering: Instead of ordering by gut feel or last week’s numbers, Presentail now orders based on actual up-to-the-minute needs. For daily flower purchases, this is a game changer. Flower prices and availability fluctuate daily, so over-ordering is literally money down the drain (in the form of wilted leftovers). With accurate stock counts, they order exactly what’s needed to top up to par levels. The florists use up what’s on hand, and they don’t end up throwing out as much at week’s end. It’s a fine balance – having enough to delight customers but not so much that product gets tossed. Real-time inventory data makes that balance much easier to strike.
• Peace of mind: Perhaps the best part is the psychological benefit. Both branch managers and the owner feel more in control and less anxious. A quick glance at the app in the evening shows they’re in good shape for tomorrow’s operations. That peace of mind is invaluable.

In essence, real-time visibility turned inventory from a reactive fire-fighting exercise (“Oh no, we’re out of orchids!”) to a proactive one (“Orchids are running low, let’s restock before the weekend rush”). The impact on waste and stock shortages was immediate and tangible.

One Platform for the Entire Procurement Cycle

Another huge win for Presentail was consolidating the entire procurement and inventory workflow into one system. Previously, each step was disjointed: staff would count stock in person, then jump to email or WhatsApp to place orders with suppliers, track deliveries in a notebook, update the spreadsheet, and finally send invoices to accounting. It was a recipe for things to slip through the cracks. Supy’s platform streamlined this process from start to finish:

• Par levels and auto-replenishment: The team sets a par (buffer stock) level for each product per branch in Supy. The software uses those levels, combined with recent sales data, to suggest what needs reordering. Some items (fresh flowers) are daily reorders (except Sunday), baked goods might be weekly, and packaging materials monthly. Supy handles these differing replenishment cycles effortlessly. Every morning, Presentail’s manager can generate a suggested purchase order that factors in what’s currently on hand and what’s needed to reach par at each location.
• Easy purchase orders: Creating a purchase order (PO) is now a matter of a few clicks. For example, every Thursday the manager reviews Supy’s suggestions for cake ingredients and gift supplies, adjusts if needed, then finalizes the PO. What used to involve copying numbers from a sheet into an email (and hoping nothing was missed) is now largely automated. The PO goes straight from Supy to the supplier, or exports neatly if a manual send is required.
• Invoice scanning and attachment: When deliveries arrive, the team checks them in and scans the invoice directly into Supy. The platform’s invoice scanning feature attaches the invoice to the corresponding PO record. Accounting loves this – no more lost paperwork or chasing down store managers for a copy of a bill. It’s all there, tied together. At month-end, reconciling what was ordered vs. delivered vs. what’s owed is straightforward and transparent. If there’s a discrepancy, everyone has the same information at their fingertips.
• Wastage tracking: Presentail introduced a practice of logging wastage events in Supy, and it’s been eye-opening. Whenever a product is thrown out – be it day-old pastries that didn’t sell or flowers that didn’t survive – staff record it in the system. It takes seconds, but ensures an accurate account of inventory loss. Over time, this helped identify patterns (for instance, they noticed a particular sandwich cake was wasted every week, leading them to adjust how many they bake and stock). All these waste entries are factored into the inventory counts automatically, so stock data stays accurate without manual adjustment. Nothing “mysteriously” disappears from stock; there’s a trace for every gram or stem that was paid for.
• Fewer platforms (and fewer errors): With all these steps unified, the team drastically reduced the juggle between tools. They’re not hopping between Google Sheets, email, messaging apps, and accounting software – Supy acts as the single source of truth. Fewer touchpoints mean fewer chances to make a transcription mistake or forget to inform someone. Training new staff is easier too: they just learn one system. This consistency has reduced errors like duplicate orders or overlooked items; everything follows the same process every time.

The end result is a procurement cycle that runs like a well-oiled machine. They set it up once and now just keep it running. There’s a lot less “Have you done this yet?” between team members, and a lot more confidence that nothing is falling through the cracks. Honestly, moving to a unified platform lifted a huge weight off Presentail’s shoulders – it gave the team time back to focus on customers and strategy rather than paperwork and panic.

Consistency Across Stores (No More “Out of Stock” Surprises)

Running two branches, Presentail always strives to give customers the same great experience at both. One challenge before Supy was keeping product availability consistent across locations. It’s embarrassing if a customer sees a cake on the website (or at Branch A) but Branch B has to say, “Sorry, we’re out of that.” Supy helped ensure everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet:

• Stock transfers made simple: If one store is unexpectedly low on an item and the other store has extra, logging a stock transfer in Supy is quick. For example, last month the second branch sold far more “Rainbow Birthday Cake” slices than anticipated (thanks to a nearby school event), while the main branch had several sitting in the fridge. The store manager created a transfer request in the system, and they moved the cakes over in time for the after-school rush. Supy automatically deducted the inventory from one location and added it to the other, keeping records accurate. From the customer’s perspective, both branches stayed stocked and ready.
• Unified recipe and menu management: Presentail has a few signature items – like the “Presentail Special” bouquet and a famous triple-chocolate cake – that are staples of the brand. It’s crucial these are available and consistent everywhere. Supy stores all their recipes and BOMs (bills of materials) for these products, so each branch knows exactly what ingredients or components are needed for one unit. When they update a recipe (say adding a new flower variety to the bouquet mix), that update is reflected for both branches. This means the signature offerings maintain the same quality and composition across locations, and inventory of each ingredient adjusts accordingly. There’s no divergence where one branch uses a slightly different recipe that throws stock counts off.
• Real-time sales syncing: Presentail also runs an online store (Presentail.com) and takes many orders through delivery apps (aggregators). They integrated these sales channels via a system called GrubTech, which funnels all online orders into one place. Supy, in turn, integrates with GrubTech (and the in-store POS), so whenever something sells online or in-store, the inventory is decremented immediately in Supy. This was huge for consistency. It prevents scenarios where an item sells out online but the physical store isn’t aware – avoiding the mistake of selling a product in-store that was already promised to an online customer. Essentially, every sale, no matter where it originates, updates one shared inventory “brain.” The whole operation sees one version of the truth.
• Better supplier coordination: Consistency isn’t just internal; it’s also about working smoothly with suppliers. Since Presentail now manages POs and attaches invoices through Supy, communication with suppliers is more organized. There’s a record of every order and delivery. If a supplier shorted one branch on a delivery (it happens – maybe 90 roses arrived instead of 100), it’s logged and visible to all. So when coordinating the next order, everyone is aware and they ensure the shortfall is corrected. Previously, one store manager might forget to relay that info, and the team would only catch the discrepancy at month-end. Now it’s flagged in the next order cycle, keeping each branch properly stocked according to plan.

All these factors combined mean customers get a uniform experience, and Presentail rarely has to turn anyone away due to stock issues. Internally, the stores feel less like isolated silos and more like two halves of one cohesive operation. If one branch sneezes, the other knows to have a tissue ready (so to speak). This consistency has not only protected sales but also built trust within the team — each branch knows the other has their back, and the system supports both.

Less Guesswork, Less Stressful Communication

Before adopting an integrated system, a lot of the Presentail team’s energy went into simply communicating about inventory. Managers would call or message constantly to reconcile numbers or get approvals. It was well-intentioned (everyone just wanted to stay on top of things), but it was also a sign of a broken process. Supy dramatically cut down this “noise” by providing clarity so that extra chatter wasn’t necessary:

• Empowering store managers: Each store manager at Presentail now has access to Supy and can perform key actions without a lengthy back-and-forth. For instance, if they notice a certain cupcake variety is running low, they can create a requisition (an internal restock request) or draft a purchase order directly in the system. The purchasing lead gets a notification with all the details already logged – no need for a phone call or meeting. They can approve or tweak it in seconds. Previously, that same task might have involved a flurry of messages: “How many do we have left? When do we need them by? Which supplier was it again?” Now it’s a one-step, transparent process.
• Fewer frantic phone calls: Because everyone trusts the data in Supy, there’s no need to call each other “just to be sure” anymore. Communication has shifted from constant check-ins to more exception-based alerts. If something truly unusual happens – say a fridge breaks down and a lot of stock is lost – the manager records it in Supy (as a wastage entry) and might send a quick heads-up to the owner. But since it’s logged in the system, the team can immediately see the impact on inventory and start the reordering process without a panicked scramble. In the past, that scenario would mean a frantic call and then scrambling through spreadsheets to figure out what needed replacing.
• Simplified supplier comms: The team now communicates with suppliers less frequently, but far more meaningfully. Standing orders and routine deliveries are all scheduled and tracked in the system, so they’re not constantly on the phone confirming this week’s order quantities. When they do talk to suppliers, it’s usually about strategic things – like negotiating bulk pricing – rather than firefighting missing items. Supy even enables them to share purchase orders directly; some suppliers appreciate the clarity of our digital POs, which means they can fulfill orders accurately without 10 back-and-forth clarification emails.
• Transparency for accounting: Things are much smoother with the accounting team now. Before, accountants would chase store managers or the owner for documents: “Do you have the invoice for last Tuesday’s flower delivery?” or “Was this cake supplier paid already?”. Now, every invoice is scanned into Supy and POs are marked when received, so accounting can find answers on their own. The finance team can pull reports on what was purchased, for how much, and even see a digital copy of each invoice, without pinging operations. Each department can do their job without constantly leaning on another for info. It’s a big cultural shift – less “I emailed you about that, did you see it?” and more “it’s in Supy, you can check it anytime.”
• Team culture and morale: Reducing this communication overload has had a subtle but important effect on morale. Store teams feel trusted to input data and act on it; they’re not just note-takers relaying info upward. The central team isn’t breathing down their necks for updates – it’s all visible in the system. This has built a healthier, more proactive culture. Now conversations focus on improving operations, not simply reporting basics. It’s almost surprising that inventory software helped improve day-to-day working relationships, but it truly did by removing stress and finger-pointing.

In summary, Supy became the quiet backbone of communication at Presentail, silently conveying the facts so the people don’t have to. The team still communicates, of course – but now it’s about problem-solving and new ideas, rather than constant “Did you do this?” or “Have we ordered that?” check-ins. It’s a qualitative change that’s hard to quantify, but you can feel it in the reduced stress and smoother daily operations.

Turning Data into Decisions (Analytics They Actually Use)

One of the most powerful benefits Presentail discovered after implementing Supy was the wealth of analytics and reporting at their fingertips. They went from flying blind (or spending hours cobbling together reports manually) to having actionable data on demand. For an operator who cares about cost control and margins, this was a goldmine:

• Monthly reports in minutes: At the end of each month (and sometimes even mid-month), Presentail’s owner can pull a comprehensive inventory report from Supy. This report shows stock usage, purchases, waste, and sales integration all in one place. What used to be a dreaded end-of-month ritual of exporting spreadsheets and doing manual math is now largely automated. For instance, they can see the food cost percentage for the entire cake line, or the variance (difference between expected vs. actual usage) for each category of flowers. These reports quickly highlight any red flags, like if the cost of goods sold (COGS) spiked for a certain product or if a particular ingredient consistently shows a high variance (which could indicate waste or even pilferage).
• COGS clarity and recipe-level insight: Because Presentail input all their recipes and ingredient costs into Supy, the system can calculate COGS in real time. When their point-of-sale (POS) data or online sales data syncs to Supy (via the GrubTech integration), Supy knows exactly how much of each ingredient was used for those sales. For example, if they sold 40 of their chocolate cakes in a month, Supy aggregates the total ingredients those 40 cakes consumed (flour, cocoa, butter, etc., or even any pre-made layers) and calculates what that usage cost. Then it compares that to what they sold those cakes for. With one glance, they saw that the chocolate cake line had a 30% food cost for the month – well within their target range. On the other hand, an exotic mixed flower bouquet had crept up to nearly 50% cost. That was a trigger to investigate why (turns out one of the flower types in the mix had a price hike due to off-season sourcing). They adjusted the bouquet recipe the next month to bring that cost back in line. This level of insight into per-product profitability was something they simply didn’t have before.
• Pricing and menu decisions: The data from Supy actively informs Presentail’s strategic decisions. When they saw the cost on that mixed bouquet rise, they had a few options: change the recipe (as they did), raise the price, or perhaps make it a seasonal special rather than a regular item. They’ve done similar analysis for their café menu – for instance, noticing that the cost of imported vanilla spiked and was hurting cupcake margins. In response, they sourced a local vanilla alternative, which saved cost without compromising quality. Without the system crunching these numbers, they might have continued selling popular items unaware that they were eroding margins. Now, nothing stays hidden for long in those numbers.
• Integration of sales & inventory data: As mentioned earlier, Presentail’s sales data flows in from both their online store and their in-shop POS. Having this all in one place is crucial. A lot of businesses look at sales and inventory separately and then try to marry them in Excel later. For Presentail, Supy marries them automatically every day. They can open a dashboard that shows, for example, “Top 5 selling products this week” with each item’s cost percentage right next to it. It’s immediately obvious which items are high volume but low margin, and which are high margin (maybe lower volume). That insight drives their promotions – they know what to upsell and what to bundle. They even identified a couple of products that were not worth selling at all (low sales, high prep cost); those were phased out to focus on more profitable ones. This is the kind of strategic refinement that only good data can provide.
• Time saved on analysis: Beyond the value of the numbers themselves, the sheer time saved is worth noting. Before Supy, generating a monthly performance report could take half a day, between gathering data and formatting it for a leadership meeting. Now it’s about 10 minutes to get the raw data and maybe an hour to digest it and annotate key insights. That’s time the Presentail team can reinvest in planning, staff training, or supplier negotiations. It also means decisions are more timely – they’re not looking at stale data by the time they act on it. If something was off in the first week of the month, they’ll see it by week two and correct course, rather than discovering it at month’s end and only fixing it in the next cycle.
• Confidence in the numbers: Lastly, having a system handle the heavy lifting gives everyone confidence in the accuracy of the numbers. They trust the reports because they trust the process that generates them. This has been important when communicating with Presentail’s leadership and investors: they can present metrics like “waste reduced by X%” or “cost of goods improved by Y%” with solid data to back it up. (And indeed, since implementing Supy, their overall cost-of-goods percentage has improved noticeably – thanks to better control and reductions in waste and pilferage. Small gains add up to healthier margins.)

In short, better data led to better decisions. Supy’s system didn’t just make life easier day-to-day; it gave Presentail the analytical edge to refine their business model. They’ve become a more data-driven operation – and in the intensely competitive world of F&B retail, that’s a significant advantage.

Start Early: Lessons for Fellow Operators

If there’s one thing any growing restaurant, café, or retail operator can learn from Presentail’s journey, it’s this: don’t wait to get your house in order when it comes to inventory. Presentail waited until the pain was almost unmanageable. In hindsight, starting with Supy (or any robust inventory management software) much earlier would have saved them a lot of trouble. Here’s why:

• Prevent overwhelm as you scale: When you’re a small operation with a single outlet and a tight menu, it’s tempting to think “I can handle this on Excel, no problem.” That was Presentail’s mindset initially. The issue is, growth can sneak up on you. One day you’re that small shop; the next you’ve doubled your SKUs and opened a second location (or a tenth location for some of you reading!). By the time you feel overwhelmed, you’re already drowning in issues. Implementing a system early means you build good habits and accurate data from day one. Then growth is a lot less painful – you’re simply expanding an existing system rather than trying to build a parachute after you’ve jumped out of the plane.
• Better training and culture: Starting early also means your team grows up with the system. New hires learn “this is how we do inventory here” from the get-go, and it becomes part of the culture. Presentail eventually got everyone on board with Supy, but there was a learning curve and some initial resistance (“Why do I have to log this? We never did before…”). If it had been part of their DNA from the beginning, it would just be second nature. It’s much easier to introduce these tools when your team is small, and then let that ethos spread as you add more people and locations.
• Immediate ROI (not just for big companies): Another myth is that inventory software is only for big chains, or a luxury once you have tons of revenue to justify it. Presentail’s experience shows that even a relatively small business can see returns quickly: less waste, fewer stockouts, time saved (and time is money), even leverage to negotiate better deals with suppliers using data (e.g. “hey, we’ve been buying 20% more cheese every month, can we get a bulk discount?”). These improvements hit the bottom line within months. So the sooner you start, the sooner you reap the benefits. It’s an investment in efficiency and cost control, whether you have 2 locations or 50.
• Scalability and multi-branch readiness: If you have ambitions to expand (and many do), setting up scalable systems early is key. Supy, for example, is built to handle multi-branch operations easily. By using it at 2 branches now, Presentail has essentially future-proofed their infrastructure for when they reach 5 or 10 branches. They won’t have to overhaul how they work; it’s just adding new locations to an existing framework. Knowing that is a relief – the team can focus on expansion strategy rather than worrying “how will we manage if we open another spot?”. They’re ready whenever the opportunity arises.
• It’s not as daunting as it seems: We know change can be intimidating. Presentail actually dragged their feet for a while, fearing that transitioning to software would be a big disruption. But modern inventory platforms (Supy included) are quite user-friendly, and the providers usually help with onboarding. In Presentail’s case, the onboarding was very smooth – they got products and suppliers loaded in, did some initial training, and were live shortly after. The support they received meant they didn’t have to figure it all out themselves. In retrospect, their hesitation was unfounded; the improvement far outweighs the setup effort.

To sum it up: start early and start smart. Whether you’re running a flower shop, a bakery, or a multi-site restaurant, the principle is the same. Perishable inventory is tricky business, and the longer you rely on guesswork and gruntwork, the more you risk your margins and your sanity. Supy happened to be the solution that worked for Presentail, and it was absolutely worth it for them. Even though Presentail is a flower-and-cake retailer (not a traditional restaurant), Supy’s system fit like a glove because it’s built for exactly these multi-branch, multi-product, cost-sensitive scenarios. So if you’re on the fence, take a lesson from Presentail’s story: invest in the right tools before your problems scale up. Your future self will thank you.

Conclusion & Next Steps

Presentail’s leap from a manual process to an integrated inventory system has been nothing short of transformational for their business. They moved from daily chaos to a place where inventory runs in the background, reliably and efficiently. They cut waste, tightened cost control, and freed their team from the drudgery of constant stock monitoring and emergency fixes. Most importantly, they can now scale with confidence, knowing their foundation is solid.If you’re reading this and seeing parallels in your own operation, it’s wise to take action before the next “inventory fire” flares up. Get educated on the solutions out there and how they can fit your needs. In fact, a great starting point is exploring additional resources and getting some hands-on exposure.For a deeper dive into effective inventory practices, check out Supy’s comprehensive guide on the topic – it’s packed with practical tips on reducing food cost and waste in multi-branch operations. You can find it here: Complete Guide to Restaurant Inventory Management Best Practices for 2025. It’s a valuable read that reinforces many principles we’ve touched on, with even broader context and examples.And if Presentail’s story has you curious about what Supy could do for your business, we encourage you to see it in action. You can easily book a free demo with our team. In a demo, you’ll get a personalized walkthrough of the platform – how it manages inventory, purchasing, analytics, and more – all tailored to the needs of food & beverage and retail operations. It’s not a hard sell, just a chance to understand if the tool fits your workflow. That hands-on look can be invaluable in deciding your next steps.At the end of the day, whether you choose Supy or another solution, the key is to equip yourself with systems that enable sustainable growth. Don’t let inventory be the thief of your time or profits. With the right approach, it can become a strength that propels your business forward, rather than a weakness that holds it back.Good luck, and happy streamlining!