The food & beverage industry is constantly changing to keep up with the latest food craze and Insta-worthy beverage trends.

Restaurants and cafes always have to be on their toes in coming up with business plans and strategies, and competition is extremely tough.

As such, managers of restaurants, cafes, and other eateries need to ensure that they have their business operations laid out as efficiently as possible to save money and time so that they can devote this extra time and finances to devise additional ways of growing their business. 

Traditional F&B Procurement Practices

An operational aspect that can be improved in many food and beverage businesses is their method of sourcing key F&B ingredients from suppliers.

Typically, most will send out staff to scout for fresh ingredients at local morning markets. Others will liaise with many different suppliers, dealing with lots of different order systems and paperwork.

Both these methods get the job done, but are time-consuming and disorganised ways of managing stock.

Moreover, it can be difficult (especially for newer businesses) to find well-reviewed F&B suppliers and make price comparisons due to the F&B industry’s highly competitive nature.

Offline-to-Online in Brief

This is where the concept of “Offline-to-Online” comes in with regards to sourcing and procuring F&B supplies.

By moving away from traditional ”offline” procurement processes (e.g. phone, paper form, fax, sales agent visits) and instead procuring F&B ingredients and supplies digitally on an ”online” marketplace, restaurants and cafes can benefit in many ways.

For example, hundreds of suppliers across various F&B categories are easily accessible on Dropee – anytime, anywhere!

Wholesale prices can be compared between suppliers in just a few clicks, so you can be sure of getting the best deals.

Keeping track of multiple orders is hassle-free, as all order information is stored on Dropee’s centralised platform – ensuring full transparency for both buyers and suppliers, and reducing the chances of human errors by minimising paperwork.

Online procurement provides a seamless process from ordering right up to delivery, achieving the same result in a smarter and faster way.

Want to know more about Offline-to-Online F&B Procurement?

Why not come try it out for yourself! Dropee’s upcoming Digital Wholesale Market: F&B Edition 2019 (21st Sept 2019, 10AM-10PM @ Da Men Mall) is essentially a physical, offline representation of Dropee’s online marketplace – where businesses can access a variety of trusted F&B suppliers, all at a single location. 

You will get the lowest wholesale prices for 1000+ SKUs from 20 suppliers, across a wide range of F&B categories.

This event aims to let businesses experience the convenience and simplicity of e-Procurement, as a way of easing their transition from traditional offline procurement to online digital procurement. 

If you are hesitant about buying bulk supplies online but still want to get the lowest wholesale prices for chicken, meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, beverages, coffee, snacks – and even packaging and cleaning products – this exclusive Offline-to-Online (the first in Malaysia!) F&B trade exhibition is something not to be missed!  

True to the “Offline-to-Online” concept, this event will be fully cashless; with all transactions to take place digitally on Dropee.com (the “Online” part).

Buyers will get to meet suppliers in person, ask questions to get to know their product range better, and try various product samples (the “Offline” part)!