Companies Changing Technology in Franchising: MarketMan

Founded just five years ago by entrepreneurs Noam Wolf, Igal Wolf and Or Mintz, MarketMan has already become one of the most sought-after vendors in the restaurant industry. By providing restaurants with a single, streamlined inventory management system that allows both restaurant owners and their suppliers to track and collaborate on virtually every aspect of the supply chain, MarketMan has filled a gap in the business that has long been one of the primary operational headaches for restaurant owners.

1851 spoke with Matthew Hardoon, MarketMan’s director of sales, to learn more about how MarketMan works and why it’s so crucial for restaurants to have comprehensive and granular oversight of their supply chain.

1851: In a nutshell, what is MarketMan?

Hardoon: MarketMan is a cloud-based inventory and supply management system designed specifically for restaurants and chains. The software is both mobile and online, and it comes with a full suite of features and tools designed to streamline and simplify essential inventory and supply management operations, including stock-taking, purchasing, order optimization, food costing, invoice management and more.

MarketMan offers unparalleled versatility by enabling owners and managers to stay in control over their restaurant’s inventory and other processes using a mobile phone, tablet or PC. You can place orders for supplies using the smartphone app without worrying about miscalculations and unseen errors. MarketMan helps restaurants boost profitability by allowing owners and managers to monitor changes in prices and track errors, shorts, food costs and other expenses. It is also designed to completely eliminate paper ordering, transferring essential operations to your smartphone and making it possible to place orders electronically.

In a nutshell, MarketMan keeps your inventory operations under control and saves a tremendous amount of time and money when it comes to keeping things organized. The system sends alerts via email and phone in real time and enables streamlined POS integration to make sure your inventory is well managed.

1851: What makes MarketMan better than other inventory management solutions?

Hardoon: Simply put, MarketMan is the only inventory control system that offers complete end-to-end integration between restaurants and every one of their vendors and suppliers.

1851: Why is essential for restaurants to have such detailed oversight of their inventory and supplier costs?

Hardoon: Restaurant profit margins are razor thin. On average, between four and 10 percent of inventory products are thrown out as waste. The difference between profitability and losing money is often found in the details. A commitment to efficiency, organization and careful management of suppliers and inventory is key.

1851: How have the technological needs of the restaurant industry changed over the past five or 10 years?

Hardoon: The ever-changing technological landscape in restaurant marketing and management has led to great strides in the software and services available. Reservations, websites, booking, mobile ordering software, cloud POS and more have all led to new and interesting ways to enjoy restaurant experiences for consumers and industry professionals. Back-of-house management, however, has lagged behind.

1851: Does MarketMan have any plans to expand its scope beyond inventory management?

Hardoon: MarketMan's main focus is to be best in breed rather than a jack of all trades, master of none. That being said, MarketMan is constantly releasing new features that expand and complement the currently available suite. In the past six months, MarketMan has released invoice scanning and AP automation technology, a new cookbook and recipe functions and expanded warehouse and production management tools. These plans certainly expand the scope beyond simple inventory management and help improve every aspect of back-of-house operations and the supply chain.