A rack of leftovers at seven in the morning
The vans have gone. On the rack by the door are a dozen white loaves, some rolls, a tray of pastries: the overs. Some go to the bakery's own shop. Some go in the drivers' vans as spares. Staff take a loaf home. A local charity collects on Tuesdays. The rest go in the bin.
The owner has a feeling the overs have grown. The night manager says they are needed because of breakages and late additions. Neither has a number.
Why overs are invisible
Overs are deliberate and sensible: a bake that exactly matches orders has no room for a squashed loaf or a customer who rings at nine. But the extra percentage is set by habit, and where the extras end up is never written down, so the bakery cannot tell whether the margin is right.
- The overs margin is set by habit for each product.
- Extras used for shortfalls are not recorded.
- Drivers' spares are not tracked once on the van.
- Bread given away or binned is not counted.
- Nobody links overs to returns and late orders.
What unrecorded overs cost
Overs also hide other problems. If a product needs a large margin every night because breakages are high, the real issue may be in the tins, the cooling racks or the way it is packed, and a count of how often the extras are used points to it.
Ingredients, labour and energy for bread that is binned. A shop that may be getting bread it does not need. And no evidence for the conversation about whether the margin should change.
Overs tracking we build
- The overs you add for each product are set on the bake plan, visible rather than hidden in the totals.
- At the end of packing, the packer records the extras left for each product on a tablet.
- When extras are used to cover a shortfall or a late order, the use is recorded on the packing screen.
- Drivers record spares used on their round and any brought back.
- The remaining extras are recorded against where they go: shop, staff, donation or waste.
- A weekly report shows overs per product and night, how many were used for their real purpose, and where the rest went, so you can adjust the margin.
| Where extras went | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Covered a shortfall or breakage | The margin did its job |
| Covered a late order | Late orders are relying on overs |
| Bakery shop | Shop supply rather than overs |
| Donation or waste | Margin may be too large |
What you can decide with the numbers
Whether each product's overs margin is right, and on which nights. Whether the bakery shop should be supplied by its own order rather than leftovers. Whether late orders should have their own allowance. And how much bread you donate, which is worth knowing and sharing.
The night team also benefit. With overs visible on the plan, the night manager can make a clear case for keeping a margin on a fragile product, based on how often it is actually used.
It also takes an awkward conversation off the table. Staff taking a loaf home is fine, and in many bakeries it is part of the job; recording it simply puts it in the picture alongside everything else, rather than leaving the owner to wonder.
Is this your bakery?
- You bake extras of most products every night.
- Nobody knows how many extras are used.
- Leftovers end up in the bin most mornings.
- The overs margin has not been reviewed.
- Late orders are covered from overs without a record.