Download quality

Sysco Produce
Dan Martin, Director of Produce,
Eastern Canada
WHERE TO BUY PRODUCE,
WHERE SHOULD YOUR
PRIORITIES BE?
Traditional Priorities
•
•
•
•
Quality
Cost
Availability
Frequency of delivery
3
New Priorities to consider
•
•
•
•
•
Food Safety
Traceability
Sustainability
Local buy
Government regulations
4
LET’S REVIEW EACH PRIORITY
LISTED TO ASSIST IN MAKING
GOOD DECISIONS
QUALITY
• What would you say if you walked in a
store to buy something and they told
you with a smile “we just need to let
you know the more you pay here, the
more inferior the quality will be!
• Generally speaking that is the rule of
the supply and demand world of
produce.
6
QUALITY
• When supplies are plentiful prices are
low, growers are able to select top
quality product out of their fields and
leave the average quality product in the
field.
• When there is a demand exceeds supply
circumstance prices are high and the
grower will put anything in the box that
resembles the product.
7
QUALITY
• Solutions
– Choose products within their peak availability
whenever possible. Adding blueberries to a menu
in November may not be a good idea.
– Align yourself with a distributor that has
strengths in their Quality Assurance program at
their facility and at the field/packing facilities.
– Expect good consistent marketing material from
your supplier keeping you updated on market
conditions.
– Be sure your specifications and expectations are
in line. Mother Nature does not manufacture
product, it is not always perfect. Don’t expect #28
product to be #1 product.
COST Solutions
• Understand your food cost and try to fit
your produce program accordingly vs.
“how cheap can I buy today?”
• Over specifications is a common
mistake. Do you need medium/large
peppers vs. choppers, or fancy citrus
vs. Choice….etc.
9
COST Solutions
• Processing vs. whole product
– Consider labor savings
– Consider employee safety
• Too many split packages! Buying partial
cases of produce is very expensive.
Buying it more often does not always
mean it is fresher. Buy full cases
whenever possible.
10
AVAILABILITY
• Be sure to study produce availability
charts when developing a menu
– Although most products are
available year round, certain
products specifically fruits are very
seasonal and have defined peak
times.
• This not only affects cost but FLAVOR.
Peaches taste better in July from
California than they do from Chile in
January.
11
FREQUENCY OF DELIVERY
SOLUTIONS
• There is an old saying in the produce
business, “It can sit in my cooler or
yours.” Meaning most produce
companies get fresh produce in twice
per week. Getting more frequent
deliveries does not necessarily increase
freshness but it does increase cost.
• If your cooler storage area is too small
consider further processed items to
save room and keep product fresh for
your customers.
12
FOOD SAFETY
• This is the #1 concern and priority of
the industry today. We cannot afford to
lose the trust and confidence in the
integrity of our product by the
consumer. This is a risk that you
cannot afford to take.
13
FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS
• What is being done
– GAP – The most impactful component
is assuring the supplier has Good
Agricultural Standards audited by an
accredited 3rd party audit company.
This is a preventative method of
reducing the risk of food borne
illnesses.
– GMP’s and HACCP – Auditing packing
facilities to insure they are meeting set
Good Manufacturing Practices.
– Distribution facility inspections.
14
Traceability
• All cases must have code and lot date
information.
• Formal recall program
• Mock recalls
• Country of Origin
15
Sustainability
• Environmental responsibility
• Social responsibility
16
Buy Local
• Reduced cost due to less transportation
• Consumer demand of the concept
• Challenge of food safety
17
Government regulations
• Mandatory Country of Origin in place
• Mandatory Traceability requirements
coming
• Mandatory 3rd party audits coming
18
HOW DOES SYSCO ADDRESS
THESE TOPICS?
Sysco QUALITY
• Sysco has 14 fulltime QA people in the field
fully devoted to fresh produce
• All lettuce fields proposed for Sysco brand are
pre-inspected to insure they meet Brand
specifications
• All Sysco brand lettuce products exceed USDA
#1 specifications
• Our Natural produce Brand requires minimum
ship-time from time of harvest.
• All Sysco brand facilities are independently
audited annually by Sysco QA
20
Sysco Cost/Availability/Frequency
of delivery
• Sysco has 2 produce buying offices in place
(Salinas, CA. and Pompano FL.) employing 65
individuals exclusively dedicated to procuring
fresh produce daily.
• Sysco sells over $3 billion annually of fresh
produce and distributes it through 110
distribution centers in North America
• Sysco has centralized all of its produce purchases
through periodic RFP’s allowing for true leveraged
purchasing and guaranteed availability year
round.
21
Sysco Food Safety
• The industry leader in produce food
safety
• Largest QA staff in the industry of highly
trained professionals
• Verifies GAP 3rd party audits on
suppliers that grow “ready to eat
produce” through exclusive agreement
with Primus data base.
22
Ideal Supply
Chain
h
h
R4a
h
R1a
Buyer-A
G/S-A
R3a
R2a
h
Buyer-B
h
h
R5b
h
R1b
Buyer-C
G/S-B
R4b
R2b
R3b
h
h
h
© 2007 Powered by PrimusLabs.com
Produce Supply Chain:
Organized Chaos
h
h
R4a
h
R1a
Buyer-A
G/S-A
R
R3a
R
R
R
Distributor-A
R2a
Broker-A
h
Buyer-B
h
h
R5b
h
Broker-B
R1b
Distributor-B
Buyer-C
G/S-B
R4b
R2b
R3b
h
h
h
© 2007 Powered by PrimusLabs.com
Search for suppliers by Product and Location
GPS Mapping
- Visually view supplier activity
- View supplier location to the field
- Track increase activity to the field
- View water sources: canal, well,
etc
- View area around fields: cattle,
industrial, river, etc.
© 2007 Powered by PrimusLabs.com
Sysco Food Safety
• Environmental program for produce
specifying microbiological sampling
• Lettuce will not be packed in brand from
field ditch, drain or edges.
• HHA and Liability insurance for all
vendors
27
Sysco Traceability
• Sysco is one of 34 industry leaders that
developed and endorsed the Produce
Traceability Initiative this last October
committing the industry to a timeline of
specific initiatives to guarantee 100%
traceability back to the field.
28
Sysco Traceability
• All Sysco broad line distributor locations
scan product in and out of our
electronically in order to insure
traceability today.
• Formal recall program with crisis call
system in place
• Mock recall to verify ability to track
product
29
Sysco Sustainability/Local Buy
• Partnered with Wallace Center in
development of local grower workshop
to provide education on GAP’s
understanding compliance.
• Introducing concept of grouping local
growers to help provide liability
insurance
30
Sysco Sustainability/Local Buy
• Integrated Pest management program.
• Growers are not to use bio-solids on
crops or genetically modified organisms
used in the program.
• Supplier code of conduct includes
ethical and social responsibilities.
31
As you can see it is not as easy as it may
appear to provide fresh produce to our
customers. Sysco is committed to make all
the investments to insure we are providing
high quality, competitively priced safe and
sustainable food to our customers.
32
Thank you
33