Buying In Numbers

QSR Web:

Skyline Chili franchisee Mike Misleh used to have as many as three distributors’ trucks making deliveries to his locations every week. And each delivery meant paying another fuel surcharge.

So when Skyline’s parent company and several operators formed the Skyline Chili Purchasing Cooperative in September 2006, Misleh was one of many franchisees to join. He said he saw it as a way to cut down on the number of deliveries to his stores.

“The goal for all of us was to find one chain distributor that would allow us to put as much food and paper on one truck as possible,” he said.

Another goal in forming the cooperative was to consolidate owners’ buying power to save costs, said Tom Hannon, president of Skyline Chili Purchasing Cooperative Inc. Now, the cooperative makes purchases of higher volume, ensuring full truckloads, lower overhead costs and even product rebates.