Answers

I recently read an interesting article about chicken, yes chicken. It was about the change over the past year in wholesale chicken prices for restaurant chains. Over the course of the past year, the majority of the time, the price per pound of chicken wings has been higher than the price per pound of chicken breast. This dramatic shift in what is considered the most lucrative part of the chicken has wing chain operators scratching their wings, I mean heads.

 

As any wingman (or woman) would tell you, wings have typically been a low cost menu item when it comes to purchasing. It has long been the standard that the breast is considered a premium part of the chicken; therefore the purchasing cost is higher and the menu price reflects this. The wing is a not so premium part of the chicken, therefore reflecting a lower purchasing cost and menu price point. However, the wing has become a more costly commodity in recent months. According to the New York Times article I read ('Boneless Wings, the Cheaper Bite'), wholesale wing prices are currently about 27 cents more per pound than chicken breast.  

 

So I looked into this whole wing thing a little more. After some thought, two points immediately became evident to me. First, this explains why there has been an influx in boneless wings being offered at different establishments. Why wouldn’t a restaurant operator recognize the shift in meat costs and adjust the menu accordingly? Especially when the consumer still has the mindset that the breast is a “better” part of the chicken? The trick is having the tools in place to recognize the shift in purchasing costs. Being able to recognize this, and then putting agreements in place to maximize profits, what chain operator wouldn’t want to do this?!

 

As you know, wings can be purchased in a variety of ways. Particularly, you can buy wings whole or already split. Now, not only as a chain operator that sells wings, but as a chain operator in general, you want to ensure that all units are purchasing in compliance with the agreements that have been set. The reason is simple; the agreements are in place so that the organization maximizes the supplier programs that are in place therefore resulting in higher revenue. With that said if the agreement that you have in place sets the expectation that all locations will purchase a certain brand of wing, already split at a set/negotiated price, you need to have a solution in place to ensure all units are in compliance. Otherwise, you could have some units buying one brand, others purchasing from another, and the result is inconsistency in product as well as inconsistency in purchasing. And, as you can gather, consistency and compliance go hand-in-hand.

 

Does this all make sense? Keep in mind that this scenario doesn’t only apply to the world of wings. This thought can be applied to an endless number of products in any organization. All this talk about wings, I’m getting hungry, I think I’ll go have some wings for lunch!