Caterfood Buying Group is a collection of independent foodservice suppliers working together to offer both an extensive product range, industry knowledge and geographical coverage.
The group brings together foodservice businesses to share industry knowledge, collaborate and to supply its member’s customers with exceptional food and drink.
United behind one main vision, the group wants to bring its members and their communities together through food and is proud to be one of the fastest growing and most exciting buying groups in the UK.
Tom Workman, Commercial Director for Caterfood Buying Group (CFBG), tells Wholesale Manager what benefits CFBG provides for its members and how the wholesale industry has changed in recent years.
Where have you worked before and in what roles?
I originally started in this industry at DCS, the household health and beauty distributor – in their trading and later their buying teams. From there, I joined AF Blakemore in their Wholesale Distribution Division as Commercial Manager. After Blakemore, I joined Creed Foodservice, initially as a Trader, eventually becoming Director of Trading.
What does your current role involve?
As Commercial Director for Caterfood Buying Group (CFBG), I’m responsible for our Procurement Team, Technical Team and Marketing Team. I’m fortunate enough to work with some incredibly talented people in those teams, who ensure our members have the best deals, that we are safe, compliant and prepared for future legislation, as we progress, that our own-label range, The Caterfood Collection, develops at pace – and that our brand looks the best in the industry!
What are your goals for what you want to achieve in the role?
We have a robust five-year plan which covers all departments in the central team. We are on track to achieve all aspects of this plan, but the main focus areas are around growing our own label and exclusive brand ranges, increasing our branded agreements and growing our aligned Group purchases. All the while, ensuring that we are easy to do business with for all of our supply partners.
How is your company performing?
It’s hard for all foodservice operators at the moment. There has been a lot of additional forced costs recently across minimum wage, National Insurance and general food inflation to cope with. Despite this, by sharing best practice and becoming more aligned, the CFBG remains strong and is growing.
What benefits does CFBG provide for its members?
The central function is here to work for the Group’s members and future affiliate members.
We offer a vast range of services from the Central Team such as: Group commercial agreements, access to our strong own-label products and exclusive brand portfolio, technical and food safety support, NPD and bespoke product sourcing, volume forecasting and contract balances, event management, support with IT, systems, recruitment, finance, fleet and non-inventory purchasing, and marketing advice and support.
How far is the geographical reach of your business?
We currently have eight members who all operate regionally, which combined cover roughly 75% of the UK. We have plans to grow the Group to increase our coverage in the near future.
Do you have an e-commerce site for your customers?
Each of our members have their own ecommerce platform. While there would be benefits to having all members on the same system, a “one size fits all” approach does not work for CFBG. There is some cross over amongst the businesses, however most use different platforms that are best suited to their needs.
How digital is your business, and do you offer any IT support for your members e.g. ordering apps, online support, delivery tracking?
Each member is at a different stage in their digital journey. Centrally, we offer on-boarding support, implementation and deployment for any new systems in any business. This allows us to trial the latest pieces of software available and if appropriate, offer this out to all CFBG Members.
How many products does your business supply and what categories do you cover?
Across our eight members, we cover all categories and on average have 4,000 products available in each business – of which just over 500 are either in our own-label, Caterfood Collection, or an exclusive brand to CFBG, such as Devon Ice Cream.
How has the wholesale industry changed in recent years?
It’s changed in many ways. Data is becoming more widely available and when used correctly, can be extremely powerful – from sales analytics to inventory forecasting. Rather than simply competing on price, the majority of operators now distinguish themselves vs. competitors through added value services for their customers, which really is the only way to survive.
Ecommerce platforms are now more important than they have ever been. One of our members takes over 85% of their orders via their website, and by getting the customer journey right they are maximising the full basket opportunity!
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