does anyone have a spreadsheet they use to compare prices weekly from vendors they wouldn’t mind sharing? It’s breaking down the pack sizes that’s giving me trouble! Thanks! rgjujitsu@msn.com if you want to email it.
Sorry… I forgot all about it. Will send. Different pack sizes still a challenge though.
No sweat! I know you are a busy man.
Bodegahwy would you mind sharing that with me also? Thanks
Rgj…, email sent. Knightwing, I will need an email address.
I have a new software, CherryPickPrices.com, that does everything you are asking for. Line by line item price comparison. Simple set up takes a little time but saves itself and then you never have to compare a price again. Minimum orders no problem. You will need a list of everything you buy and current price list in excel format from every vendor you want to compare prices for… Cheap to use and FREE to set up, plus you maintain your own account. Order from all your vendors virtually simultaneously from one screen, instead of calling them or going to all their different online sites. Cherry knows if your vendor changed an item or if something dropped off your buying list. User optional par levels saved by location. Extra locations of same business only $10 per location per month. CherryPickPrices.com Created by and owned by a pizza store owner-operator, just like you… BTW we integrate with all inventory systems that I have seen… They tell you how much, Cherry tells you from who! Dave CEO & Founder
Be careful with shopping by prices alone, I am not saying to not see competitor pricing to know what is going on around you.
Because;
You will most likely not get serviced properly by your sales people if you are always chiseling them on pricing or buying from all over.
And this can make a huge difference for a few reasons. Imagine you screwed up, you shorted yourself on product, do you think a sales person is going to go out of their way to get you that product if you are using them occasionally, or always busting their balls over price??
I have 3 companies all wanting my meat business, (We do 60+ tons annually) my decision has actually come down to my delivery driver, he stocks my cooler shelves when he delivers,
Whereas the other purveyors dump just it just inside the cooler door so I cannot even get in my cooler without dragging a few thousand pounds of meat out of there cooler to get inside the damn cooler to stock my shelves. It is the ultimate pain in the arse for me and my staff.
The idea of letting a food distributor driver stock my shelves is foreign to me? I have owned pizzerias since 1996 and I walked away from one of Atlanta’s largest restaurant owners as a partner to develop Cherry. I used it to run my restaurant and weathered the initial storm of opposition from my salepeople and learned that this is a dog eat dog market. Salespeople make threats when faced with losing money as do vendors, yet all my prices are the best they have ever been. Buying on price alone is not the best way to shop for supplies however if 2 products are the same and you pay more for one willingly then you are physically irresponsible to yourself. I worked briefly for a food vendor in another life and have spent my career developing a software program that provides us, as owners with information and no one can deny that having all the information when making a buying decision is the best way to start your considerations. Dave
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Bodegahwy can you send that info to me also to mikegray007@yahoo.com
thanks,
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It was foreign to me also, but it sure is nice having help lifting several thousands of pounds of meat in the cooler, instead of me not being able to get inside my cooler due to boxes piled up so damn high and wide that I am forced to drag it out of the cooler just to get past it to get it back inside,
It’s not company policy for their drivers to do this, it is his own personal decision to lend a hand, so he gets thanked profusely, and gets some goodies to take along with him. Things such as food, energy drinks, etc.
We also make sure that we take care of our delivery drivers and every one of the 3 companies that visit me take great care with our deliveries, but I don’t trust anyone to rotate our shelves of food and I like to use the put away process to check the product quality, from package integrity, date, etc. I have found that when the drivers do not put things where you want them to be, a simple picture texted to my sales rep and his boss usually takes care of it immediately. That being said, everyone has what works for them which is why I built this software flexible to use in every way, from security to detail required… You can even change the way your vendor measures things on invoices so that you can read your reports the way you want to see your stuff… for example you can call boxes… boxes instead of CT… I call my trash bags, liners instead of EA… Price is one component of this tool, there was a time when some old school pizzeria dude refused to use a calculator, it was followed by resistance to DOOR sheets as order forms and then by the POS… Imagine running your business without technology… Technology for ordering is new, but rest assured it is the future… Catch it now before you kick yourself later… Dave
One of my clients lets their food service guys put cold stuff in the walkin…However, one morning Work Safe BC (workers comp) showed up for an inspection and saw how high the boxes were stacked and issue a violation of some sort…Still under appeal so I do not know the outcome…
Red onions are red onions. I do not beat on my vendors for price, but they know that we will absolutely buy from the one that has a better price when the product is identical. We order from both our vendors every week… so no-one is only getting occasional business. If one vendor is priced $1 case lower than another that vendor gets the order.
Both our vendors have reps that live in town. They come in to see us weekly. They take care of problems etc etc. I do not regard that as “extra” service that comes from buying from them regardless of price. I see it as the minimum service level without which we will not do business with them at all. I am the customer! Shamrock would love to take the place of Sysco or USFood.
My experience has been that when we shift buying a product from one vendor to another because the price is better that first vendor figures out how to get me the price I need… imagine that! This is not a feel-good, warm fuzzy, personal growth experience… it is business. Red onions are red onions.
Can send me a copy of your spreadsheet? It sure would be helpful for me if you are willing to send it to me you can send it to mikegray007@yahoo.com
Thank you in advance I’m a newbie and it would be greatly appreciated.
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Could you please send me a copy as well? dan at paparonis . com
Thanks!
Do any personal politics ever come into play with your ordering? For example Reinhart only delivers in my area 3x a week other places can only deliver on Fridays- that doesn’t work for me. I used to use a paper/non perishables distributor but stopped even though they were a little better on a few things because they only delivered on Fridays, they would always come at 11:00 when we opened( they weren’t supposed to) the driver was always wearing headphones and would load the dolly in the oddest way- I’d end up with cases of sauce all over the place. I’d say hey "I want all the sauce by my can rack! " (in the middle of making orders) he’d take off his headphones and reply with “don’t yell at me if you have a problem take it up with the owners” I saiid forget it I’ll pay the extra $20 a week to not deal with this idiot who rips a bag of salt and leaves a trail behind him as he drops it in the middle of the floor. Just wondering if price is the only deciding factor
I would not put up with the kind of nonsense you describe. My guess is that your rep would put an end to it pronto. All other things being equal, (product, service etc) price is the deciding factor for me.
On the other hand, we do also make changes to be easier to work with. Several years ago we ordered twice per week with each vendor. We now order once per week which is better for them.