Foodservice Industry News

This is the ninth installment of Advanced Issues in Redistribution which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

I’m occasionally asked to throw out a figure for a “typical redistribution program.” The fact is I’ve yet to see a typical program, because the allowances are based on each manufacturer’s cost and price structure.

In addition, the final negotiations between manufacturers and redistributors often involve some “horse trading” which has no relationship to either party’s costs. That said, there are some rules of thumb which generally hold true.

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This is the eighth installment of Advanced Issues in Redistribution which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

If you’ve been reading Foodservice Marketing Insights for a while, or have worked with me, you know that I am a believer in redistribution. I have seen very few foodservice businesses that cannot be helped with a well-designed redistribution program. Done properly, redistribution supports, complements, and extends your marketing and logistics strategies. That said, there are always risks which need to be recognized and managed, so they don’t become pitfalls. When redistribution goes bad, Finance, Supply Chain, and even Sales people begin to question the wisdom of participating, casting a dark shadow over the program and limiting its effectiveness.

Here are three risks to watch out for:

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