Thriving Acquisitions

Indeed, were it not for careful and strategic relationship-building, neither company would have exclusive dibs on a unique product.

In these tough economic times, inventories are smaller as companies are loathe to sit on product that isn’t moving, a problem often compounded by large minimum orders. As a result, securing the amount of product when needed, and ensuring future availability, is more critical today than ever. Strong relationships that keep open lines of communication with suppliers can help, as can working with more than one source of a particular product.

“We’ve had a lot of problems with suppliers trying to keep a low amount of inventory,” says Mark Purpura, technical service manager, Advanced Food Systems, Inc., Somerset, NJ. “If the ingredient is for a flavor, a manufacturer might need only enough for a first batch, and the minimum could last you 10 years.” Meanwhile, he adds, a few suppliers have reduced their minimums, but at the same time, they’ve eliminated made-to-order and other less-popular ingredients.

“For all our key ingredients, we like to have a secondary or tertiary supplier, and we test products from all suppliers to make sure they work in the system without reformulating,” Purpura says. “We have always worked carefully with suppliers to ensure that raw materials are readily available, and we check with them to make sure lead times are legit and that minimum orders are reasonable. If not, we try to source ingredients that do meet these requirements.”

SECURING ASSURANCE

If relationships with vendors are critical, so, too, are relationships with customers. How do restaurant owners and retailers trust that a food product is pure and safe and won’t damage an operation’s reputation?