Restaurants can order through a distributor portal or app, a sales representative, email, or another channel agreed with a local supplier. Confirm the supported channel for each account. A restaurant may combine a broadline distributor with produce, protein, bread, dairy and beverage specialists.
This guide explains how the whole system works — accounts, order guides, cutoffs, pricing, delivery, credits — for operators setting up purchasing for the first time, and for anyone who inherited "how we've always ordered" and wants to understand it before improving it.
The vendor lineup
Broadline distributors can combine food and operating supplies in one supplier account. Compare the actual catalog, service area, prices and delivery terms against your menu and storage capacity.
Specialty vendors may offer the specification or service a particular ingredient needs. Compare those benefits with the additional ordering and receiving work.
Cash-and-carry suppliers can provide another source. Confirm availability, eligibility and pickup or delivery arrangements, and include travel or delivery costs in the purchase decision.
Each account needs a named owner, ordering instructions and a reliable record of its commitments.
Getting set up with a distributor
To open an account, ask what business details, tax documentation and credit application are needed for your account and jurisdiction. Ask who supports the account and how to build an order guide: the subset of the catalog you buy, with supplier item codes, purchase packs and agreed prices.
Two things worth negotiating on day one, before the first recurring order:
- Pricing basis. Distributor pricing is quoted item by item, and the same case can be priced very differently across accounts. Ask what's contracted versus market-priced, and compare fixed, formula and changing prices for your most material purchases where those options are offered.