If you have read our Big Boy’s  page, we brag about how the ProBuy procurement program is structured very much like all of the major chains
That deal, like all deals has two sides.

Chains approach a distributor and negotiate great margins but they know going into the deal that they need to offer some concessions to earn those margins. 

Concessions like:

  • Pay on time – some deals demand as low as net 15. The ProBuy program is net 30.
  • The participating units must buy at least 90% of all purchases through the program. It is expected that the program distributor should be offered the opportunity to find and bring in any of those 10% of products not currently in stock.
  • Staff needs to be organized and receive as little as 2 deliveries per week. Habitual “hot shots’ are typically addressed and eliminated by chain management to keep the deal solid.
  • Place their orders on line. A local rep may only physically visit once per month. They are always available for service by phone, text or email

What’s the truth?

  • Some ask…What do you guys charge to belong to ProBuy? We get paid 1% by the distributor. Getting paid an “administrative fee” is the way all GPO’s (group purchasing organization) get paid. The difference is that some GPO’s take as much as 6%. When we say that we can save your Club between 6% and 12% that is WITH our fee included in your delivered prices.
  • Some Chef’s say… “I’ve been told that programs force you to buy inferior products and I will never do that to my Members” . So basically this Chef is saying that high end Clubs like La Cima, Firestone Country Club, Country Club of Hilton Head, Nicklaus Golf Club at Lionsgate and 200 other ClubCorp® properties must be using inferior products to save money. Not likely. I was personally involved with 64 ClubCorp® Clubs and the highest quality was always SOP.
  • Some Chef’s say, I need 3 to 4 deliveries a week to get the freshest produce. This just highlights the level of misconception out there. The truth is that produce companies and all broad liners receive the mass majority of their produce twice per week. Does it really matter if the produce is sitting in your cooler or in theirs?
  • Some Chef’s just need that commotion of seeing multiple reps many times throughout the week. It’s an ego thing. Salespeople suck up to basically all buyers. ProBuy did an analysis on a large Club that spends just over $1 Million per year in F&B. Our ProBuy program showed an 8% savings compared to actual invoices paid the previous month. The yearly savings projection was just over $94,000. They passed on the deal. We believe only 40% of potential Clients will actually give us a try. Many buyers find changing the way they do things not viable for them regardless of the actual savings dollars.
  • When I was with ClubCorp®, I was on the Regional Acquisition Team. I did a spreadsheet analysis of our program prices vs. the newly acquired Club invoice prices. The average of the 7 properties that I was privileged to service was just around 14% savings by using our Sysco Program compared to what they were doing.
  • Lastly, this is a difficult one but a true one. In three out of the seven Clubs we acquired we found that the Chef was stealing. Some actually had a deal with their salesperson letting the salesperson overcharge and then getting paid back in cash for a split. It is a horrible thing to consider but a true margin over cost contracted program completely eliminates that possibility.