Foodservice manufacturers can build long-term relationships with restaurant chains by “sharing the good, bad and ugly,” said Sara Burnett of Tropical Smoothie.
Open communications, supply chain transparency and the building of innovation pipelines are other attributes that can help manufacturers become strategic partners. Building and maintaining long-term chain restaurant customers was the subject of the IFMA Live Restaurant Conversation on June 8 with members of the IFMA Restaurant Foodservice Leadership Council.
Moderated by IFMA’s Charlie McConnell, featured speakers included:
- Sara Burnett, Senior Director Supply Chain Operations, Tropical Smoothie, 1,200 cafes in 44 states
- Louis Basile, President and Founder, Wildflower, 16 locations in Arizona
- Bill Hancox, COO, Pieology Division of Akash Management, 130+ franchise locations
McConnell asked the restaurateurs how many of their suppliers are “strategic.” Each said about six out of 50+ suppliers. Hancox defined strategic suppliers as “critical to the ongoing livelihood of our business.”
Basile added, “They need to know where the pain points are and come up with ideas as to how we can help each other. You are their priority.”
All three stressed the importance of open communication, regarding supply issues, price increases and other factors. Knowing of problems in advance assists with planning. For instance, if there is an anticipated spike in the cost of a protein, menus can be adjusted to lessen the impact on customers’ wallets and the bottom line.
“We want our suppliers to come to us with a solution, not a problem,” said Burnett. “And we expect them to include all aspects of the business in their thought process. Even if they provide food, they can advise us on our transportation network. They are an extension of our team.”
Even though these suppliers are “partners,” all three restaurateurs will periodically do an RFP to which they need to respond. Basile said, “Not doing RFPs is irresponsible. But we do inform our strategic suppliers first and share the motivation behind the RFP.”