Bill Lindsey, and his team at COGS-Well have leveraged their decades of experience in developing and servicing restaurant management systems to tackle one of the most persistent challenges in the industry: the complexity and time-consuming nature of installing and maintaining inventory systems. 

Recognizing the struggle that many restaurant operators face, COGS-Well’s mission is to simplify these processes significantly. 

“We took what we thought to be the biggest problem, which is managing food cost…and we decided, maybe there’s a better way to handle this.” recalls Lindsey while speaking to host Shawn Walchef of Cali BBQ Media

One of the standout features of COGS-Well is its fast installation process. Unlike most inventory systems that require extensive initial setup by the users, COGS-Well handles most of the setup work, including the creation of an inventory item database. This allows restaurants to be operational in a fraction of the time, and is complemented by a hands-free receiving process that imports invoices and handles new inventory items, vendors, and packaging changes without requiring staff time.

COGS-Well also excels in simplifying recipe management. The system automatically configures recipe units and their factors for inventory items, allowing for multiple units of measure per ingredient. This feature, along with a recipe unit library that scales recipe units appropriately, ensures that ingredients can be portioned using different recipe units across various recipes. The end result is a more efficient and user-friendly system that makes inventory control and recipe management much easier and more efficient for restaurant operators.

Bill Lindsey and his partners have integrated advanced AI techniques, which he fondly refers to as “old-fashioned data mapping,” to streamline the inventory setup process further. By utilizing data from invoices, whether EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) or scanned images, COGS-Well can build an accurate inventory database quickly, and is validated by a thorough audit to ensure data accuracy, eliminating the need for manual input and connecting seamlessly with POS systems, like Toast.

Lindsey explains, “COGS-Well can build out an inventory database with all the items and pack sizes for customers in a couple of hours.” 

Lindsey is a firm believer in the transformative potential of AI. He sees AI as a way to integrate various applications and their data in a meaningful manner, moving beyond isolated apps. Lindsey finds the development of personal AI particularly compelling, as it can understand individual needs and provide tailored information to enhance job performance. 

Drawing inspiration from Steve Jobs’ philosophy, Lindsey notes, “I think the promise of AI is that instead of silos of apps, there will be an overarching technology that knows how to take advantage of all those different applications and all the data that they collect in some meaningful way.”

Through COGS-Well, Bill Lindsey and his team have created a solution that addresses the most significant pain points in restaurant inventory management. By focusing on fast installation, hands-free receiving, innovative recipe management, and leveraging AI, COGS-Well has made inventory control and recipe management much easier and more efficient. As Lindsey and his partners continue to innovate, their work stands as a testament to the power of technology in simplifying and enhancing business operations in the restaurant industry.

“At the end of the day, it’s not about selling software. It’s about helping people run their companies more productively and more profitably and maybe easier.”

Digital Hospitality is an interview-based video podcast hosted by business owner Shawn P. Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) and produced by his Cali BBQ Media company sponsored by Marqii (@getmarqii) The weekly digital series explores the ways successful businesses and entrepreneurs have merged old and new with innovative digital strategies that harness the power of the Internet and social media. Shawn is the founder of Cali BBQ Media and creator of the Restaurant Influencers podcast on Entrepreneur Media.
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