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2.8% average labour savings per site
7.7% increase in like-for-like sales
9 hours p/w less operations admin
“The wage is the biggest expense and the hardest one to control. Fourth gave us the visibility to see where we were over-scheduling and align staffing with real demand. That’s made a huge difference to our bottom line.”
— James Bull, Operations Director, Distinctive Inns
Distinctive Inns is an independent pub group that aims to offer high-quality, honest food and drink served in a relaxed and informal environment. Operating across the East Midlands, it has grown from its first outlet, The Riverside, launched in 2010, to include three more venues, with an additional two new venues opening early 2025.
Locations: 4 | Employees: 98
Distinctive Inns faced increasing cost pressures from April 2024’s minimum wage increase and rising operational expenses. Lingering overstaffing habits from post-pandemic recovery contributed to labour inefficiencies, particularly in food-led and seasonal venues.
Managers relied on manual forecasting, which was time intensive and resulted in challenges scheduling the right staff to meet demand, with restaurant waiting staff often having excess downtime while the bar was overwhelmed, or vice versa.
Fourth’s Labour Optimisation and AI Forecasting solutions provided Distinctive Inns with the insight to deploy staff more accurately. AI-driven forecasting replaced estimations from managers, ensuring staff scheduling is aligned to accurate demand forecasts.
Fourth’s Advanced Analytics offered full visibility into labour costs, site performance, and deployment efficiency across all venues for the first time. These granular insights allowed the team to pinpoint over-scheduling issues, ensuring labour was allocated to match demand, particularly during bar spikes and quieter restaurant times.
Distinctive inns then engaged Fourth’s Productivity Consultants to tailor the labour rule metrics to venue-specific needs, such as seasonal or wet-led locations, driving maximising operational efficiency.
Fourth’s Workforce Management solutions have enabled Distinctive Inns to achieve:
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