Purchasing

A managed spend of $5.4 billion for over 22,000 SKUs

Product Categories: Food - Packaging - Non Food Items - Equipment

UFPC purchasing teams negotiate prices on food, packaging, non-food and equipment items as part of our exclusive, supply chain management agreement with Yum! Brands, Inc. With world-class buying expertise, supplier-relationship management and evolving strategic processes, UFPC buyers are responsible for negotiating prices on 2,000+ food and packaging items and over 20,000 equipment items. Today, this centralized purchasing role is an integral part of an array of co-operative services provided for members.

The buyer role is complex. Buyers are responsible for product categories and the development of ongoing strategies that result in the best price from the most qualified suppliers. This objective is reached through research, detailed product knowledge and a current understanding of market conditions unique to that food, packaging, non-food, or equipment item.

From the farm (or manufacturer) to the store, our strategic purchasing teams coordinate on a national level to support the national promotions for the A&W, KFC, Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurant systems. Whether it’s a new type of tomato or oil under evaluation (quality, price, and taste), a recent technology that increases efficiencies, or the modification of a plastic/paper item that could save millions for the brand, UFPC purchasing teams deliver! Buyers understand that success is defined by price, quality, and the management of risk.

The power of combined purchasing creates a market where business owners thrive.

UFPC purchasing teams operate strategically to deliver volume savings. Co-operative business succeeds when franchise owners benefit from shared savings across commodities including beef, poultry, wheat, cheese, soybean/canola oil, corn, produce, natural gas, diesel fuel, and more. Unique to UFPC are the Centers of Excellence teams located in Louisville, Ky., Irvine, Calif., and Plano, Texas. These teams, comprised of purchasing, commodity risk management, concept co-op members and brand representatives, oversee proprietary processes utilized for purchasing and commodity risk management programs for each brand. Centralized purchasing and commodity risk management experts collaborate on fundamental decisions regarding risk, market positions, and global economies that impact food, packaging, and equipment prices.

Purchasing Role

“To provide our members with an ensured supply of specified products at the lowest cost is not only UFPC’s mission statement, but a solid definition of the buyer role,” said Pete Suerken, Vice President of Centralized Purchasing and Commodity Risk Management. Essential to the buyer role in supporting five competing brands are:

Coordination of pricing and supply for forecasted and base business items
Supplier-relationship management
Market expertise and analysis across dozens of food and paper categories
Precise supply management to avoid obsolescence as well as supply shortages
Exploration of new technologies that can reduce owner costs

"The development and execution of the correct buying strategy within a food, equipment or non-food category is crucial to the buyer’s success," said Suerken. "UFPC's purchasing role continues to evolve to meet the rapidly changing landscape of the world's food supply, commodity markets, government legislation, and key supplier relationships."