Caterforce ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
he begins . “ We ’ ve come a long way from a combined turnover of around £ 85 million to now be approaching £ 800 million , with all our profits going back to the wholesalers . We ’ re also a member of European Catering Distributors ( ECD ), which comprises 15 businesses across 17 European countries .
“ With an in-house marketing team , we offer our members a fully integrated marketing solution that covers digital and print marketing . We even have an in-house photography studio to shoot product images . It ’ s all about making the product look right , with an accurate description and correct allergen information , which then feeds into the members ’ ecommerce systems .
“ We optimize all products that come through our system , whether from central suppliers or our own brand items ,” he continues . “ We also have a sales platform that allows suppliers to access real-time data to see what ’ s happening with the products . They can filter the selection to see how products are performing within the relevant category , for example by weekly sales , wholesalers , or by customer type .
One-stop solution
“ We also run events where we get all of our wholesalers under one roof and allow suppliers to pitch products and present new ideas , as well as biannual conferences where we discuss the strategic position of each of the wholesalers .”
Gary proposes : “ The two biggest benefits of being part of Caterforce are economies of scale to secure better commercials to help our wholesalers compete with national distributors in the marketplace , as well as the benefit to their businesses of sharing best practice . Our members see each other as colleagues , rather than competitors , so 92