Broadline Foodservice Distributors Drive Efficiencies; Alternative Distributors Find A Place

摘要

The broadline distributors emerged in the early 1970s offering the concept of a "one-stop-shop" distributor, according to The Hale Group. By 2010, they accounted for nearly 60 percent of all distributor sales to operators. The broadline distributor services multi-unit operators with a streamlined and tailored set of services valued by these large operators. As broadline distributors improve operating efficiencies, they will increase the minimum purchase size per delivery and that will cause smaller operators to be unable to meet this requirement, The Hale Group notes. Also, operators will realize alternative distributors offer lower prices for products because the alternative distribution outlets have a different business model and part of this model is lower gross profit margins.