How To Manage Your Kitchen Equipment Assets Without Draining Your Hospitality Business Profits

Insights By: Mike Berman – Chief Operating Officer of Day & Nite / All Service

What if managing your large-scale foodservice equipment wasn’t a constant scramble but a carefully orchestrated system that both drives guest satisfaction and controls costs? We’re talking thousands of pieces of equipment, each on has thousands of moving parts. It’s a daunting task, but there IS a solution. 

First, let’s learn some lessons from two large QSR brands for some context. Each had hundreds of locations, but their strategies couldn’t have been more different.

 

Chain A: Fast Growth, Using Lots Of Local Vendors To Manage Equipment Assets

 

Chain A’s brand grew quickly to several hundred locations without having the time to properly outline a strategy for managing kitchen assets. When things broke, they relied on local HVAC, kitchen equipment, and refrigeration contractors, orchestrating a hodgepodge of vendors in many locations. They got jobs done, yes – but lacked centralized service records for equipment, consistency, and momentum. Over time, this strategy (or lack of one) began to drain profits. 

Here’s why:

• They couldn’t track equipment history, so decisions on repair vs. replace were just expensive guesses.
  
• ChainA would have to manage lots of different vendors, which led to widespread inefficiencies.
  
• Contractors focused strictly on reactive tasks – no innovation, no real improvement.
   

Result? High MRO spend and little operational intelligence.

 

Chain Z: Seasoned Management Opted For In-House Mechanics, But At What Cost?

 

Chain Z went all‑in with in-house mechanics, believing unified standards would bring efficiency. And it did, briefly. However, after a while, the HR challenges of keeping skilled mechanics on staff and working efficiently would get the best of them. 

Here’s why:

• Technicians worked exclusively on Chain Z gear, building repeatable routines.
  
• Strangely but not surprisingly, the longer a mechanic stayed, the slower the fixes. Over time, performance ebbed.
  
• Labor challenges arise and turnover spiked, records weren’t kept, and lost expertise hurt efficiency.
• On-staff mechanics would be hesitant to bring in newer, innovative equipment they were not familiar with.
• As a food service business, ChainZ did not have adequate HR expertise to keep fully trained mechanical teams firing on all cylinders.

The result? A tug-of-war between stretched facilities teams, human resources, and frustrated store managers.

 

Blending the Best: How Day & Nite Delivers The Best Solution 

 

Here’s the magic that shifts reactive chaos into strategic confidence. Day & Nite has nearly 50 years of experience and helps you avoid the pitfalls experienced by ChainA and ChainZ. 

This is how we do it:

1. Smart Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
   Day & Nite blends local flexibility and deep chain experience—customizing service rather than forcing one‑size‑fits‑all. With one firm knowing your hot and cold systems like the back of their hand, managing them as if it’s one synchronized asset, you will experience maximum uptime.  
2. Data‑Driven Decisions
   Real‑time service histories reveal what to repair vs. replace and when—no more guesswork. Day & Nite / All Service keeps track of every time a set of hands touches your equipment. 
3. Built‑In Tech Tools
   We have proprietary mobile apps called DNAS Connect and FM Anywhere that don’t just track equipment—they streamline tech workflows and save VALUABLE TIME. Your managers have easy access to our techs when something goes wrong. Our techs have all your equipment data to fix things quickly or even anticipate failures long before they affect your business.
4. MRO Savings
   By standardizing equipment and service delivery, clients like Chain A could easily cut MRO spending by over 25% in just two years. Having one company to call for all their kitchen asset service needs is less confusing and stressful for management teams. HR teams can focus on other things related to running a great hospitality business.
5. Rapid Ramp‑Up of Expertise
   Chains like ChainZ will find that our techs can build deep expertise on their specific equipment very quickly. Our techs are constantly trained with support from the largest manufacturers in the industry. The people working on your equipment are the best in the business, thanks to proprietary recruiting, training, and diversity-driven teams.

 

Ready for a Smarter, More Profitable Portfolio?

 

You might face a Chain A scenario—too many contractors and no central insight. Or you might be more like Chain Z—strong in-house skills but lacking structure and data retention. Maybe you’re a hybrid.

Day & Nite / All Service meets all cases.

Our Client Management teams work with you to build KPI‑driven, chain‑wide programs that deliver both intimacy and cost efficiency.

When you’re ready to transform equipment management into a strategic advantage—rather than reactive chaos—let’s talk.