Smoke Jumpers Magazine
March 2019
FSIC Inc's Jerry Wilhite [FoodService Insider] guest authored an article about the Gregory Packaging vs FoodBuy decision, the GPO space, and what it means for the industry.
NEW!!
With GPOs, there’s no clarity around participation costs, and location-level integrity poses major problems.
GPOs’ message to manufacturers has always been, “Give us a program and we’ll both make a lot of money.” But manufacturers are the ones required to pay to participate. And, even with a partnership, there’s no clarity around the operation. There’s no way to know how the deals impact business. Did it gain new customers? Did the program have any impact on the operator?
Additionally, GPOs are infamous for double dipping and over-billing. Think of it like this: If a manufacturer gives a $10 rebate and only $2.50 flows through to the customer, it costs them $7.50 to be in that GPO program. Then, the manufacturer is tasked with validating the bill-back on every case, even though they don’t have sufficient data or the resources to manually complete the process.
Read the full article in Smoke Jumpers magazine. Subscribe for free here:
This historically lopsided arrangement now seems poised to shift. In November 2018, Gregory Packaging, a juice manufacturer, won a multi-million dollar judgment against Foodbuy, the largest foodservice GPO in the US. At the end of their agreement, Gregory Packaging refused to pay the final four months of invoices, alleging that Foodbuy had over-invoiced them for millions of dollars worth of volume allowances over their five-year contract, which was based on Foodbuy’s template supplier agreement. Foodbuy sued Gregory Packaging for the volume allowances. Gregory Packaging counterclaimed, alleging the over-invoicing was a breach of the Foodbuy Supplier Agreement.
The Court ruled in favor of Gregory Packaging, agreeing they had been over-invoiced and that Foodbuy had wrongfully collected rebates. The court awarded Gregory Packaging $9.265 million.
Subscribe to the magazine to find out what Foodbuy admitted to during trial.
(If you’d like, you can read the full legal findings of the lawsuit.)
-Jerry Wilhite
Welcome to the Foodservice Insider! I hope you find this website & these videos informational and helpful. I appreciate the opportunity to share my 40 years of industry experience with you. It has been a great journey, and as President & CEO of FSIC, Inc., I will continue to bring opportunities to Restaurant Group Operators . With all the complexity, and lack of clarity in the FoodService Industry, we look to continue the discussion of ways to support you & your business.
Thanks again for the Opportunity, be safe, and until next time I am Jerry Wilhite Your Foodservice Insider.
Contact The Insider
If you have questions feel free to reach out to me by email here, or call me at my offices 719.576.3264, as we are here to assist in any way we can in bringing transparency to the industry. I am also available to answer questions for you, or your supply chain team, as issues may arise or speak at your function as you may see fit.
Thank you for your interest in the Foodservice Insider.