Case Study: Migrating a Legacy Recipe Database Without Losing Restaurant Supplier Trust

Case Study: Migrating a Legacy Recipe Database Without Losing Restaurant Supplier Trust

Hook: Legacy recipe and pricebook migrations are a hidden source of supplier churn. This case study outlines the 7-step process our client used to maintain trust and keep operations running during a full migration.

Background

A regional foodservice brand with 1200 SKUs needed to modernize a 10-year legacy recipe and pricing database while onboarding new contract manufacturers. The stakes: supplier relationships, invoice timing, and menu integrity.

Approach

1. Discovery & mapping: Build a full map of recipes, supplier links, and pricebook dependencies.
2. Parallel run: Maintain legacy systems in read-only while the new system runs live in parallel for 60 days.
3. Supplier communication: Weekly supplier packets with sample records and reconciliation checkpoints.
4. Data stewardship team: A three-person team responsible for exception handling and supplier escalations.
5. Rollback triggers: Clear, pre-defined rollback triggers agreed with suppliers and buyers.
6. Final switchover & audit: A three-day switchover weekend followed by a reconciliation window.

Critical documentation and templates

Suppliers responded positively to two tangible items: a mechanical data spec and a human-read reconciliation workbook. For a practical example and deeper lessons, review the migration case study format at Case Study: Migrating a 10-Year Legacy Pricebook Without Losing Supplier Trust.

Outcomes

• Zero supplier churn.
• Invoice matching errors reduced by 37% in the first 90 days.
• Faster new-SKU onboarding: reduced from eight weeks to three.

Lessons for food brands

• Invest in people: a small dedicated stewardship team prevents large supplier churn.
• Publish public reconciliation windows and communicate early.
• Use scenario planning to map potential disruptions: frameworks like scenario planning help formalize contingencies.
• Expose parts of your new system via verified listings or partner sandboxes to reduce friction (see Verified Marketplace Listings in 2026).

Practical templates

We recommend three templates at migration start: supplier reconciliation workbook, exception routing matrix, and a switchover checklist that includes communications cadence. If you need templates, we can share anonymized versions from this project.

Closing

Legacy migrations are as much about people as they are about data. Put trust-building at the centre: frequent supplier touchpoints, transparent change logs, and clear rollback paths will keep relationships intact.

Further reading: Legacy Pricebook Migration Case Study, Scenario Planning Playbook, Verified Marketplace Listings, Building a High-Converting Listing Page.

Author: Dr. Mira Santos — led the data and supplier comms workstream for this migration.