Dining Alliance, a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) for local foodservice operators in Rochester, N.Y., unveiled the Buyers Edge Platform, a network of GPOs, service companies, technology providers and supply chain consultants serving over 45,000 locations throughout the foodservice ecosystem. Buyers Edge Platform is made up of Dining Alliance; Consolidated Concepts, Waltham, Mass.; Buyers Edge Purchasing, New London, Conn.; Axis Purchasing, Purcellville, Va.; Sundell and Associates, Cave Creek, Ariz.; RP Procurement, Orlando, Fla.; FoodBAM, Waltham, Mass.; Source1 Purchasing, Boynton Beach, Fla.; Fresh Concepts, Murrieta, Ga., and other member GPOs and consulting companies.
Furthermore, Buyers Edge Platform and its member companies will move to entegra Procurement Services, a division of Sodexo North America, Gaithersburg, Md. The entegra portfolio of supplier agreements will be paired with custom agreements negotiated by the Buyers Edge Platform or the Sodexo teams to further enhance the Buyers Edge Platform.
“We had our choice of partners, and did 3 years of due diligence. Entegra proved to be the most flexible, competitive and forward thinking, and we’re excited about the future of this partnership,” says John Davie, chief executive officer of Buyers Edge Platform.
Beginning Oct. 1, Buyers Edge Platform will start phasing out its 8-year contract with Compass-Foodbuy, Midland, Mich.
“Entegra looks forward to supporting the growth and value-creation of the dynamic Buyers Edge Platform through the strength of our supplier portfolio of agreements, our commitment to collaboration with our clients and our industry knowledge as the leading Group Purchasing Organization in North America,” says Dana Johnston, president of entegra.
Over 20 purchasing-oriented firms have already joined Buyers Edge Platform, including purchasing consultants, technology providers, several GPOs, a loyalty rewards program, a leading fresh produce management company and several food and supplies manufacturers.
At the core of the platform is the Buyers Edge software, which provides data management, contract management and analytics tools.
“Our $7 billion in purchasing volume is about much more than just buying power,” says Davie. “That figure represents our ability to bring technology solutions and services that are normally reserved for the largest of operators to all levels of foodservice operators at very little to no cost.”
The Buyers Edge Platform offers the following benefits:
- Manufacturers of food supplies and equipment can leverage Buyers Edge Platform’s data and technology services to gain insights about their operator and GPO trade spend and use those insights from the networks 45,000 operators to sell more product, deploy customized promotions and provide feedback for product development. Manufacturers may also leverage the Buyers Edge Platform portfolio of service offerings and programs to make their direct sales teams and broker networks more efficient and effective.
- GPOs and consultants allied with Buyers Edge Platform can offer pricing advantages to members, which can access Buyers Edge Platform’s software to clean and normalize purchasing data, process rebates, audit price contracts and perform other data functions. In addition to accessing the best prices, GPOs have the opportunity to leverage Buyers Edge Platform’s sales, marketing and technology services to improve their business’s productivity, scale and value proposition.
- Food and restaurant supply distributors stand to gain new business by embracing and contracting with platform member GPOs.
