Strategic issues series explores the future environment for foodservice distributors, with titles in this series including "Foodservice 2020: Global, Consolidated, and Structured", "GPOs in Foodservice: Landscape & Growth Opportunities", "Consumer of the Future: The Arbiter of Success or Failure", and "Foodservice Distributors of the Future: The Evolution of the Foodservice Distributor Sector".
Research & Publications
http://www.ifdaonline.org/
Research and publications section features an extensive selection of reports and studies dealing with
various aspects of the foodservice distribution industry, with content categories covered in this section
including sales and marketing, warehouse and transportation operations, supply chain management, economic
outlook reports, strategic research, human resources, and industry benchmarking surveys.
IFDA Semi-Annual Economic Report
http://www.ifdaonline.org/
Semi-annual economic report prepared by ITR Economics analyzes current macro-economic trends and provides
forecasts for leading indicators that impact the foodservice distribution industry. Reports are published
in the first and third quarters of each year, with a summary of top-line findings from the report included
in the online report description. Complimentary copies are available to members only.
IFDA Operational Trends Survey
http://www.ifdaonline.org/
Biennial operational trends survey allows IFDA members to compare their operational practices and performance
to other similar distributors based on annual sales volume and type of facility, with key areas of the
business covered by the survey including inbound and outbound distributor warehouse practices, transportation
and delivery practices, fuel and energy practices, and regulatory matters.
U.S. Foodservice Digest
https://www.technomic.com/
Monthly e-digest features news and information for foodservice distributor executives, with contents
including the front-page headlines section which addresses the most important news stories for the month;
operations, menu, and noncommercial segment sections which highlight leading trends and news in each
of these specific areas, and restaurant industry and economic trends data and charts.
Distributor Intelligence Report
https://www.technomic.com/
Monthly e-report features news and information for foodservice distributor executives, with contents
including the "DI Indices" section which provides business performance indices for measures such
as dollar and unit sales growth, cost of goods sold, gross
profit, and operating costs, and in-depth studies covering topics such as best practices, growth and
performance, and broker relationships.
Market analysis report provides industry statistics for a user-defined area on a national, state, county, metro area, or zip code level, with data provided including number of companies, market volume and sales trends, average company sales, sales per employee, staffing and employment trends, average employee wage, and business start up activity and failure rates. Sample report can be viewed online.
Financial benchmarking section of this report provides an analysis of industry income and expenses as a percentage of revenue by major category (e.g., purchases, wages, depreciation, marketing, rent, utilities, other costs, and earnings before interest and taxes) for the most recent year and line graphs indicating trends for each category over the past five years. Sample report can be viewed free online.
Comprehensive survey provides compensation data for hourly personnel in warehouse and driver job positions on a national, state, and local market basis, with job positions covered in the survey including inventory control specialist, warehouse team leader, warehouse worker, shipper/receiver, forklift operator, order selector, loader, dispatcher, and route delivery driver (with/without helper).
Free online service provides salary, bonus, and hourly wage rate data for positions such as district sales manager, outside sales representative, warehouse manager, forklift operator, order selector, and delivery driver, with food distributors for which salary or wage data is provided including Sysco Food Services, Inc., US Foods, Inc., Gordon Food Service, Inc., and Performance Food Group, Inc.