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PUBLISHER'S VIEWPOINT
September 2007
What Big Operators Want
We held our 2008 E&S Market Forecast President's Preview last week. We forecast another year of positive growth for the equipment and supplies market in '08 and reviewed the outlooks for operators and materials prices. If you want to know more, you can get the full details at our second forecast seminar, the 2008 FER E&S Market Forecast Focus on Channels Oct. 25 at the Embassy Suites O'Hare near Chicago. For information and a registration form, go to www.fermag.com/events.
Before all the numbers started flying, however, we kicked off the meeting with a diverse panel of four big multiunit operators who discussed their issues and challenges.
First up, alphabetically, was David Biederman, senior v.p. of Cervantes Capital, the holding company of Quizno's. He'd helped Quizno's coordinate store operations and is now working on a startup fast-casual concept, Smashburger. Darlene Gracci, v.p. of purchasing for Sodexho USA, oversees both facilities design and equipment and supplies purchasing functions for more than 6,000 operations, and several thousand more "partner" facilities. Del Fugate, maintenance supervisor at Frisch's Restaurants, oversees everything from specifying and purchasing to installation and maintenance at the 150-unit chain, including both Big Boys and Golden Corrals. Our final panel member was David Harpring, engineering supervisor at Yum! Brands.
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" 'I almost never get a call after the sale,' said one operator."
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The interchange was frank and revealing. The operators as a group had three big issues. Two could be considered requests, one a complaint. On the request side, all the operators said they need more help on assessing "total cost of ownership" of the equipment they specify. None of the operators, not even at Yum!, has enough resources to do this on his or her own. All are very aware of the complexities of life-cycle testing, but they urged manufacturers and the industry to help develop tools and techniques to push this type of analysis forward.
They also asked for more aggressive R&D on alternate materials—given the long-term resource issues of stainless, aluminum, copper and other key metals—as a way to stem spiraling costs of equipment. While performance and energy savings are very big issues, price still matters and will continue to do so, whether in a startup chain or a mature chain re-equipping thousand of stores.
Finally, all the operators gently chastised those suppliers in attendance about follow-up. "I almost never get a call after the sale," said one of the panelists, "asking how the piece is working out, whether there are any service and maintenance issues. And sometimes it's long after I switch suppliers that the original manufacturer understands he's lost my business."
Supplying big multiunit operators is no easy thing. It takes commitment and follow-through. It often means assuming a lot of risk. But the rewards can be spectacular.
Cheers,
Robin Ashton
Publisher
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