1. HIM Delivered Wholesale 2011 Mark Butler September 2011 (Version 2)

2. Methodology Survey conducted by HIM! During (May/June 2011)
1000 Independent caterers from the following business types are interviewed:
Restaurant
Cafe / Coffee Shop
Pub / Bar / Night Club
Delicatessen
Baker / Sandwich bar
Takeaway
Mobile caterer (e.g. burger van)
Caterer at a hotel / hostel / guest house
Caterer at a Hospital
Caterer at Nursing home
Caterer at School, College, University
The respondent completing the survey must be responsible for buying at least half of the products sold in their business.
Each delivered wholesaler supplied HIM with a list of their current customers, which was used to recruit respondents. This is a change in methodology to last year, and affects the ability to directly compare results with last year.

3. Profile Of Respondents

4. Base on the customer listed provided to HIM, 23% of respondents were care home operators.
However the predominant channel for Brakes was pubs, with 19% of respondents
62% of the respondents who predominantly use 3663 fall into the “cost” sector, compared to 54% of the Brake’s respondents being “commercial” outlets.
This may affect how customers of the two operators respond to the survey

5. As required by the survey, the respondents are decision makers within their operation
A greater proportion of Brakes respondents were head chefs

6. Inline with the preference to commercial outlets, Brakes respondents where most likely to be offering table service, and evening meals.
DBC respondents were least likely to be offering breakfast, lunch, and evening meals

7. Criteria For Selecting A Delivered Wholesaler

8. 70% of Brakes customers value the convenience of the delivery service over having to visit a C&C.
17% believe that Brakes price is also a factor
18% of Booker respondents valued the fact that their goods were delivered free of charge

9. Price #1 selection factor, especially for Booker customers.
Brakes customers rated VFM, range, and reliability higher than our competitor’s customers

10. 3663 customer claim that they spend 66% of their total spend with 3663, whereas Brakes would seem to only account for 53% of our customer’s total spend
However, unlike 3663 ho would seem to lose their customer’s spend to another delivered wholesaler, Brakes customers spend is lost to local suppliers

11. Delivered Wholesaler Ratings

12. Booker delivered customers score their supplier highest at 8
Booker delivered customers score their supplier highest at 8.1 out of 10
However service from telesales, product availability, and ease of ordering are all ranked lowest, as is accuracy of order and delivery timing. All of these factors would seem to be compensated by the fact that the service of delivery staff receives the highest of all scores at 8.67 out of 10

13. 3663 have the greatest proportion of complete deliveries, with 49% of customers having had no shortages in their last 5 orders
1 in 5 of Booker customers (19%) experienced a shortage in all of their last 5 deliveries
12% of DBC customers had items missing from all of their last 5 orders

14. Although 3663 has the headline worst rate for delivery times, with only 68% of the last 5 turning up on time, it is in fact Booker that perform worse as 11% of customers report that all of their last 5 deliveries were late
Conversely, although although DBC would appear top of the list for timeliness, Brakes average over the last 5 deliveries is in factbest at 0.53

15. Product availability is the #1 improvement requested by customers, especially for Booker customers
Top 3 improvements required by Brakes customers :- Product availability, order accuracy, & Loyalty bonus/discount
10% of Brakes customers would like to see the minimum order quantity to be reduced

16. What Customer Will and Wont Buy From Their Wholesaler

17. Brakes penetration of most of the highlighted product categories is lower than average (confectionery, milk, cheese, soft drinks, fresh meat, crisps & snacks, breakfast cereals, and tea & coffee)
However perhaps most obvious is the penetration of fresh meat when compared to 3663

18. 31% of Brakes customer’s spend goes to local suppliers.
The attached list would indicate that many of the products categories that we are most likely to lose to local suppliers are fresh, and chilled categories
The list also includes cleaning products and alcohol
Grocery items include tea, coffee, sugar, soft drinks, and oil
19% of Booker delivered customers claim that they would be unlikely to buy frozen food from Booker

19. Marketing, Communications & Promotions

20. Just under 2/3rds of Booker customer had recalled receiving marketing communication in the post during the previous quarter. This compares to 49% of Brakes customers, and just 42% of 3663 customers.
Booker have the highest recall rating at 14%
34% of 3663 customers don’t recall receiving any communication

21. BOGOF promotions are most popular with caterers, with Booker customers valuing this mechanic the most
Money off and special price are most popular with Brakes customers, together with extra quantity free

22. 3663 and DBC customers claim the lowest penetration rates, with 45% of respondents claiming not to have bought a promotional item in the last 5 orders. Brakes in only marginally better at 43%
In comparison 40% of Booker delivered customers claimed to have bought a promotional product in all 5 of their last 5 orders

23. 55% of Booker’s customers place there order on-line

24. Factors Affecting Caterers

25. With 3663’s customer respondent profile being bias towards the cost sector, health factors are most likely to affect what they place on their menu.
In comparison Brakes, where 53% of customers were commercial outlets, price and consumer demand drive menu content, together with quality fresh produce, seasonal, and local