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The Fresh Produce Wholesaling
System: Trends, Challenges,
and Opportunities

Edward W. McLaughlin
Kristen Park

FOOD INDUSTRY
-
PMA '"
MANAGEMENT

~ Produce Marketing Association CORNELL

UNIVERSITY
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853
Produce Marketing Association, Newark, Delaware 19714

© 1997 by Cornell University and Produce Marketing Association

All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
01 00 99 98 97 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this book is to be reproduccd in any form or by any means without permis­
sion in writing from the publisher.

It is the policy of Cornell University actively to support equality of educational and

employment opportunity. No person shall be denied admission to any educational
program or activity or be denied employment on the basis of any legally prohibited
discrimination involving, but not limited to, such factors as race, color, creed, reli­
gion, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, or handicap. The University is committed to
the maintenance of affirmative-action programs which will assure the continuation of
such equality of opportunity.

-
 Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
Foreword vii

Section 1: Dynamics of the Produce System 1

Introduction: Rationale for Systemwide Study 1

Section 2: Study Goals, Methodology and Respondent Profile 5

Goals 5
Methodology 6
Respondent Profile 6

Section 3: Wholesale Produce Industry: Structure,

Operations and Competition 9
Respondents 10
Sales 16
Product Mix 19
Wholesaler Customers and Customer Services 27
Supplies and Suppliers 33
Operations 38

Section 4: Summary and Industry Perspectives 53

Wholesaler Profile 54
Inventory Management and Service Opportunities 55
Growth Through Relationships 56
Operations 59

Appendix 63
Appendix A 63
Appendix B 65

References 71

FRESHTRACK 1997 iii

 -

iv
Acknowledgments
We had substantial and essential help in preparing this report. First, we are
grateful to the Produce Marketing Association for its confidence in asking us to
conduct this multi-year research project. The PMA staff, its Board of Directors
and Retail Board provided all the support needed while always ensuring that
this industry project be carried out independently by Cornell University.
Next, we would like to especially thank the industry "steering committee"
who gave freely of its time to review draft questionnaires and to share insights
regarding appropriate interpretation of the study results.
A number of individuals were instrumental in producing the report. Marc
Umscheid orchestrated all mailings, data entry and maintenance with the craft
of a grand maestro. Janelle Tauer and Steve Kern provided artistic and graphi­
cal expertise in a highly professional and timely manner. We offer them our
heartfelt thanks.
Finally, we owe a great debt to the produce industry members who patiently
filled out thousands of pages of surveys and answered an equal number of
interview questions out of a genuine interest of improving the performance of
their industry. Although they were guaranteed anonymity, we thank them indi­
vidually and collectively. Without their participation, this report would not have
been possible.

FRESHTRACK 1997 v
vi
Foreword
The fresh fruit and vegetable industry has been one of the most dynamic in the
U.S. food system for the past quarter century. Approaching the Year 2000,
consumer demand for fresh fruits and vegetables is increasing, more sophisti­
cated retail, foodservice and wholesale management practices are producing
strong and expanding sales, and suppliers are responding with more flavorful
varieties, new technologies and overall increases in efficiency. Yet information
about the dynamic fresh produce wholesaling system is lacking.
This rep~rt, prepared by the Food Industry Management Program at Cornell
University for the Produce Marketing Association, provides an in-depth assess­
ment of the produce wholesaling industry and establishes a set of "benchmark"
measures to assist executives in understanding their opportunities and chal­
lenges. The report contains results from extensive interviews and mail surveys
with executives and organizations from virtually all segments of the wholesale
system.
This report is a special in-depth study conducted by Cornell University's Food
Industry Management Program in cooperation with the Produce Marketing As­
sociation. We hope you find it both provocative and useful in planning your
company's own future. We welcome your comments.

Edward W. McLaughlin Bryan Silbermann

Professor of Marketing President
Cornell University Produce Marketing Association
[email protected] [email protected]

FRESHTRACK 1997 vii

 -.
"

viii
List of Figures
Section 1
1.1 U.S. Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Marketing System, Mid 1990s 3

Section 3
3.1 Wholesaler Respondents by Firm Size 10
3.2 Primary Business Classification of Wholesaler Respondents 11
,
3.3 Age of Wholesaler Companies by Years in Business, 1958 and 1997 14
3.4 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Imports, 1970-1992 15
3.5 Bulk vs Packaged Wholesaler Sales 19
3.6 Wholesaler Sales by Label Type 20
3.7 Wholesaler Sales by Coding Type 21
3.8 Wholesaler Sales of Non-Traditional Produce Items 22
3.9 Wholesaler Sales of Specialty Produce, by Firm Size 22
3.10 Wholesaler Sales of Packaged Salads, by Firm Size 23
3.11 Produce Sales Mix, by Foodservice Supplier 23
3.12 Produce SKUs, by Firm Size 24
3.13 Produce SKUs, by Region 25
3.14 New Non-Produce Items Introduced in 1996, by Firm Classification 25
3.15 New Produce Items Introduced in 1996, by Foodservice Supplier 26
3.16 Wholesaler Sales by Customer Type 27
3.17 Wholesaler Firms Offering Merchandising Services, 1958 and 1997 29
3.18 Sales Delivered by Wholesalers, 1958-1997 30
3.19 Frequency of Providing Selected Services 31
"'0

3.20 Sources of Wholesaler Produce Purchases 33

3.21 Sources of Wholesaler Produce Purchases, by Region 34
3.22 Highly Regarded Supplier Attributes: Quality Rankings by Wholesalers 35
3.23 Highly Regarded Supplier Attributes:
Reputation Rankings by Wholesalers 36
3.24 Highly Regarded Supplier Attributes: Supply Rankings by Wholesalers 36
3.25 Highly Regarded Supplier Attributes: Price Rankings by Wholesalers 37
3.26 Highly Regarded Supplier Attributes: Packaging and
Logistics Rankings by Wholesalers 37
3.27 Wholesalers' Primary Purchase Methods 39
3.28 Wholesaler Purchases by Purchase Terms 40
3.29 Wholesaler Purchases Via Brokers, by Firm Size 41
3.30 Wholesaler Purchases Via Brokers, by Firm Classification 42
3.31 Percent of Produce Purchases Made with Contract Pricing 42
3.32 Respondents Purchasing More Than Ten Percent Via
Contract Pricing, by Firm Classification
3.33 Computer Usage by Produce Wholesalers
43
44
-
3.34 Computer Usage by Produce Wholesalers, by Firm Size 44
3.35 Wholesalers Using Computers for EDI, by Firm Classification 45

FRESHTRACK 1997 ix
3.36 EDI Use by Wholesaler Suppliers and Customers,
1997 and 2002 46
3.37 Wholesaler Suppliers and Customers Using EDI,
1997 and 2002, by Firm Size 46
3.38 Number of Wholesaler Partnerships, by Firm Classification 47
3.39 Number of Wholesaler Partnerships, by Region 48
3.40 Wholesaler Reconsignment and Shrinkage, by Firm Classification 49
3.41 Wholesaler Use of Case Coding and Returnables 49
3.42 Wholesaler Use of Case Coding and Returnables, by Firm Classification 50

Section 4
4.1 Source of Produce: Foodservice 57
4.2 Average Rankings for Customer Characteristics, by Customer Type 59

Appendix A
A 1 Location of Produce Brokers by Region, 1997. Percent of Total Brokers ....... 63
A2 Location of Produce Wholesalers, by Region, 1997.
Percent of Total Wholesalers 63
A3 Location of Produce Shippers by Region, 1997. Percent of Total Shippers 64

'.

x
List of Tables

Section 1
1.1 Farm Numbers and Values of U.S. Fruit and Vegetables, 1982-92 2

Section 2
2.1 Response to FreshTrack 1997 Wholesaler Mail Survey 7
2.2 Survey Response by Location 7

Section 3
3.1 Blue Book Wholesalers Categorized by Survey Business Classification 11
3.2 Wholesaler Activities: Primary and Secondary Functions 12
3.3 Age of Wholesaler Companies, by Firm Classification 14
3.4 Legal Business Forms of U.S. Fresh Produce Wholesalers 15
3.5 Sales Profile of Wholesaler Respondents 17
3.6 Produce Sales as a Percent of Company Sales,
by Firm Size and by Classification 17
3.7 Top 15 FreshTrack 1997 Produce Buyers 18
3.8 Product Mix of Produce Wholesaler Respondents 24
3.9 Wholesaler Customers, by Firm Classification 28
3.10 Wholesaler Deliveries, by Firm Classification 30
3.11 Ranking of Frequency of Providing Merchandising Services,
by Firm Classification 32
3.12 Performance Ratings for Attributes of Highly Regarded
Suppliers by Attribute Category 35
3.13 F.o.b. vs Delivered Price Terms, by Firm Classification 40
3.14 Consignment and Price-After-Sale Terms, by Firm Classification 41
3.15 Sources of Wholesaler Losses 48

Section 4
4.1 Evaluation of Customer Characteristics, by Customer Type 58

Appendix B
B.1 Business Classification, by Region of the U.S 65
B.2 Business Classification, by Firm Size 65
B.3 Percent Gross Margin, by Firm Classification 65
B.4 Labeled Produce Sales, by Firm Classification 66
B.5 Non-Traditional Produce Sales, by Firm Classification 66
B.6 Percent Growth in New Items, by Firm Classification 66
B.7 Sources of Wholesaler Produce Purchases, by Firm Size 67
B.8 Sources of Wholesaler Produce Purchases, by Firm Classification 67
B.9 Sources of Wholesaler Produce Purchases, by Foodservice Supplier 67
B.10 Produce Purchases from Top Ten Suppliers, by Firm Size •
and by Firm Classification 68
B.11 Highly Regarded Supplier Attribute Categories, by Firm Classification 68
B.12 Leading Supplier Attributes, by Firm Classification 69

FRESHTRACK 1997 xi
 -

xii
SECTIOI\J 1

Dynamics of the Produce System

Introduction: Rationale for Systemwide Study

The fresh fruit and vegetable industry has been one of the most dynamic in the
U. S. food system for the past quarter century. As we approach the Year 2000,
consumer demand for fresh fruits and vegetables is increasing, more sophisti­
cated retail and wholesale management practices are producing strong and
expanding sales, and suppliers are responding with more flavorful varieties,
new technologies and overall increases in efficiency. What's more, numerous
federal and state governmental agencies, academic institutions and national
health organizations have elevated the importance of the industry further with
formal endorsements of the need for increased produce availability and con­
sumption.
A considerable number of opportunities and challenges are the by-products
of such dynamism. The objective of this report is to assist in the identification
of these opportunities and challenges for the produce wholesale sector through
analyses of the structure and standard operating practices of wholesalers in the
latter part of the 1990~.~ The basis of our analyses is a combination of (l)

•
2 SECTION 1

industry and governmental data with (2) comprehensive mail surveys and (3)
formal interviews of produce wholesalers (see Figure 1.1).
The intermediate goal of these surveys is to develop a set of "benchmark"
measures that will assist produce wholesale managers in gauging where their
firms stand in comparison to their customers and their competitors. Moreover,
these benchmarks will examine operational changes, marketing preferences
and performance standards. Such information is essential in guiding firms in
their strategic planning for the future.
The need for this information is especially keen during such a time of indus­
try growth and change. Although gaps exist in the data, using various federal
and industry sources, we are able to estimate the volumes of fresh fruits and
vegetables flowing through U.S. distribution channels. We know, for example,
that in 1992, U.S. farms produced approximately $15.6 billion of fruits and
vegetables (Table 1.1), slightly over one-third of which is utilized for the fresh
market according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Thus, when adding
approximately $4.5 billion worth of fresh fruit and vegetable imports and, ad­
justing for packing and shipping costs, the total supply of fresh fruit and
vegetables in 1992 may have ranged from approximately $16-20 billion. After
subtracting $4.6 billion of exports, the total supply entering the U.S. distribu-

TABLE 1.1

Farm Numbers and Values of U.S. Fruit and Vegetables, 1982-92

1982 1987 1992

Vegetables
Farms 68,725 60,753 61,924
Value ($ billion) 4.1 4.7 6.4

Fruit and Nuts

Farms 90,291 96,908 89,417
Value ($ billion) 5.9 7.1 9.2

Total (Fruit & Vegetable)

Farms 159,016 157,661 151,341
Value ($ billion) 10.0 11.8 15.6

Source: 1992 Census of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of the Census, 1994.

tion system was roughly $12-16 billion. Similarly, we can estimate the annual
value of total consumption of fresh fruit and vegetable sales to consumers in
the mid-1990s to range from approximately $85-100 billion including some
non-fresh "produce" and floral items (Figure 1.1).
However, the very substantial difference between the two, total supply and
total consumption, approximately $75 billion, represents thc economic value
added by the overall produce wholesaling system: produce packers, field buy­
ers, distributors, brokers, repackers, and various types of wholesalers located
both off and on terminal markets that service retail outlets and food service

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 3

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© Produce Marketing Association

 4 SECTION 1

establishments. But where exactly this value is added and by whom is not
currently documented, and indeed the operating practices and expectations of
these sectors are not terribly well understood. Although this may be considered
the "black box" of the produce distribution system, it is a vital part of the
system and essential to its successful operation.

© Produce Marketing Association

SECTION 2

Study Goals, Methodology and

Respondent Profile

Goals
This study reports on the wholesaling sector as part of a systemwide investiga­
tion of the U. S. fresh produce industry. The study proposes to establish market­
ing, operational and performance measures to be used for planning and evalu­
ation purposes for both private firm managers and public policy makers who
interact with the produce wholesaling industry. Many of these benchmarks will
be tracked over time in an annual systemwide study, FreshTrack, in order to
develop an accurate picture of industry status, detect new developments in the
industry and to signal changes in industry direction and operating practices.
This year, the wholesale sector is identified for special in-depth examination.
This theme is common to all industry members and was selected in conjunc­
tion with the PMA professional staff and its Board of Directors, to be "the

-
...
6 SECTIOI\J 2

changing role of the produce wholesaling system." Here, "wholesaling system"

is interpreted very broadly to include virtually all organizations and individuals
who playa role in the fresh produce distribution channels between the grower/
shipper and the retailer: terminal market operators, various types of produce
distributors, brokers, field buyers and importer/exporters.

Methodology
The method guiding this study has three principal components: (1) a review of
the relevant trade and academic literature on the fresh produce industry, (2) an
extensive national mail questionnaire, and (3) personal interviews with a large
number of industry practitioners.
A mail questionnaire was developed in concert with a steering committee of
twelve produce wholesale executives selected with help from the professional
staff of the Produce Marketing Association to be representative of the many
different facets of the produce wholesale industry.
The questionnaire was mailed to a total of 821 produce wholesale executives.
The individuals and their mailing addresses were obtained from a variety of
sources: various membership lists of the PMA; and additional terminal market
wholesalers from the Green Book, a produce market information directory pro­
duced by the National Association of Produce Market Managers. The design of
the questionnaire as well as the mailing procedures conformed to the Total
Design Method (TDM) as established by Dillman (1978).
The personal interviews had two objectives. First, through discussions with
the industry steering committee and visits to numerous produce operations,
efforts were made to ensure that the mail questionnaire solicited the types of
information that would be of optimal use and benefit for the industry. Second,
once the preliminary analyses of the survey results were conducted, interviews
were held with produce industry firms, particularly in the broad "wholesaling"
system, to assist with the interpretation of the findings as well as to allow for
industry reaction and perspective regarding the initial survey findings. Personal
visits were made to six major terII1inal markets from coast to coast and execu­
tives were interviewed from over 'forty produce companies. Although no at­
tempt was made to be random nor comprehensive in this primary data collec­
tion effort, the executives interviewed were selected for their representative­
ness, geographical dispersion and operational diversity.

Respondent Profile
A total of 205 wholesale firms responded to the FreshTrack 1997 survey pro­
ducing a response rate of approximately 25 percent of the total wholesaler
surveys mailed (Table 2.1). The respondents represent a broad and comprehen­
sive segment of the industry including brokers, wholesalers, distributors, and
importers. Of the one hundred sixty-five survey respondents who reported sales,
total company sales average $98.8 million in 1996, while fresh produce sales
average $41.6 million. Extrapolating these averages to encompass our total -.
sample, our survey represents approximately one-quarter of all U.S. produce
wholesaling activity as reported by the most recent Economic Census con­
ducted by the U.s. Bureau of the Census (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1992).

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 ..... 7

TA B L E 2.1

Response to FreshTrack 1997 Wholesaler Mail Survey

Total Response
Mailed mailed (%) Received rate (%)

Terminal market wholesalers 290 35.3 34 11.7

Other wholesalers
and distributors 371 45.1 122 32.9

Brokers 161 19.6 49 30.4

Total wholesalers 822 100.0 205 24.9

Most importantly, this sample of respondents can be counted to be "repre­

sentative" of the wholesale produce industry. Along all the most critical dimen­
sions-firm size, firm classification, and geographical dispersion-this sample is
typical of what one would expect of the average produce wholesale firm. The
geographical representation of our sample, for example, includes firms from
each industry segment from East coast to West coast, from North to South and
in the approximate density that they are found in the industry itself (Table
2.2). In general, the only area where our sample diverts from an industry "av­
erage" is in sales size: respondents to our survey tended to be biased toward a
slightly larger size for nearly all industry segments than would be expected
from an industry average. This is not surprising, given the greater interest on
the parts of larger, perhaps more sophisticated firms, in this type of market
research compared to their smaller counterparts.

TABLE 2.2

Survey Response by Location

Segment East Midwest West Other Total

Wholesalers 84 50 61 10 205

The approximate dispersion of produce firms across the United States for
produce brokers, wholesalers and shippers respectively can be found in Appen­
dix A. These figures have been compiled from the most recent data as calcu­
lated from The Blue Book.

© Produce Marketing Association

 8 SECTION 2

© Produce Marketing Association

SECTION 3

Wholesale Produce Industry: Structure,

Operations and Competition

The term "wholesalers," as used throughout this study, refers to a very broad
segment of the produce distribution system. It encompasses virtually all types
of produce handlers and operators between the shipper's sales desk and the
retailer sector, whether supermarket or foodservice. Included are various types
of commission merchants, brokers, distributors, terminal and off-market whole­
salers, repackers and importers and exporters. This broad usage is consistent
with the term established by the USDA in its 1964 classic produce wholesale
study led by Alden Manchester, The Structure of Wholesale Produce Markets.

-
10 SECTION 3

Respondents
Respondent firms are grouped into various categories to provide further per­
spectives into the survey responses. Where appropriate, these categories are
used to further refine wholesale sector benchmarks.
The firms are grouped by: size, business classification, geographic region,
and foodservice. Small sized firms are firms with less than $20 million in com­
pany sales in 1996, medium sized firms have $20 to $50 million in company
sales, and large firms have over $50 million in company sales. Almost forty­
three percent of the respondents are small firms; 33 percent are medium sized
firms; and 24 percent of the respondents are large firms (Figure 3.1).

FIGURE 3.1

Wholesaler Respondents by Firm Size

• <$20M
• $20M to $50M

>$50M

Business classifications and activities

Respondents are also classified by their primary type of business. Classifica­
tions are chosen in order to separate businesses by the different tasks they may
perform. Respondents ranked their own business operations in order from most
important to least important using a list of generalized wholesale business clas­
sifications: terminal market wholesaler, "off-market" wholesaler, broker, dis­
tributor, repacker, importer, and "other."
Thirty-two percent of respondents state that their most important operation
is that of distributor (Figure 3.2). Almost one quarter (23%) of the respondents
consider themselves primarily brokers, and 17 percent are primarily terminal
market wholesalers. The remaining respondents are: 10 percent "off-market"
wholesalers, 6 percent importers, 3 percent repackers, and 9 percent "other"
which include such operations as exporter, consultant, merchandiser and pro­
cessor.
In another technique of categorizing firms, respondents whose sales to
foodservice operators are 75 percent of company sales or greater are desig­
nated as foodservice suppliers. Respondents with foodservice sales of less than
75 percent are simply designated "other" suppliers. Firms selling primarily to
­
foodservice accounts numbered 32 or 15.6 percent of all respondents. These
foodservice suppliers were equally divided among the three size categories:
one-third were small sized firms, one-third medium firms, and one-third large
firms.

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 11

FIGURE 3.2

Primary Business Classification of Wholesaler Respondents

8.8%
• Distributor

• Broker
• Terminal market wholesaler

• "Off-market wholesaler
Importer

Repacker

23.4% Other

To interpret the extent to which our study sample fairly represents the actual
U.S. produce wholesale industry, we have categorized listings from The Blue
Book, a comprehensive credit rating service of companies that trade produce,
into the same business classifications used in our study (Table 3.1). Blue Book
definitions are in italics listed under the corresponding FreshTrack 1997 busi­
ness classification. As can be seen, with only minor variation, our sample of
wholesaler respondents fairly well represents the U.S. fresh produce wholesal­
ing sector.

TABLE 3.1

Blue Book Wholesalers Categorized by Survey Business Classification

Wholesale Classifications % of Blue Book wholesale firms

Terminal market wholesalers 13.7

"Off-market" wholesalers
commission merchants, receivers,
and jobbers 38.8
Brokers
buying, selling 17.9

Distributors
distributors and foodservice distributors 18.6
Repackers
repackers 1.2
Importers
importers
Others
5.5 -
exporters 4.2
Total 100.0
Source: Produce Reporter Co., The Blue Book, Fall 1996.

© Produce Marketing Association

12 SECTION 3

Although wholesalers classify themselves according to their primary business

activity, most also perform "secondary" operations. Distributors and wholesal­
ers may also broker product or act as repackers. For example, although 32
percent of respondents consider themselves as primarily distributors, an addi­
tional 37 percent of respondents claim to perform distribution activities some
of the time (Table 3.2). The result is a total of 69 percent of respondents who
report conducting at least some distribution activities.
Furthermore, although only 3 percent of respondents are primarily repackers,
many more firms, fully 33.2 percent, provide repacking activities as supple­
mental business functions. As a matter of fact, repacking is the second largest
"secondary" activity performed by all wholesalers, and only slightly less than
the number of firms which perform distribution as a secondary activity. The
same scenario is seen with importers. Although few firms act primarily as im­
porters, only 5.5 percent, an additional 31.2 percent of respondents import
produce as an additional activity of their business.
Several wholesalers interviewed for this study projected that importing may
become even more important as a secondary business function, because im­
porting is a difficult activity retailers cannot yet perform well, therefore making
them dependent on those who do import. Since retailers and foodservice often
find it infeasible to buy direct from grower/shippers overseas, wholesalers can
perform this business function for them.
In total, 68.8 percent of all respondents perform distribution activities, buy­
ing in large volumes and distributing to accounts without actually handling the
physical product. In addition, 54.1 percent serve as brokers for at least some of
the time, arranging or negotiating sales for other parties but not physically
handling or taking title to the product. Therefore these are the leading activi­
ties performed in the wholesale sector. Slightly more than one-third of all whole­
salers also perform importing, repacking, and "off-market" wholesaling activi­
ties and 28.3 percent terminal market wholesaling. Twenty percent of whole­
salers perform other activities including exporting, processing and merchandis­
ing.

TA B L E 3.2

Wholesaler Activities: Primary and Secondary Functions

Percent as Percent as
Wholesaler classification primary activity secondary activity Total

Distributor 31.7 37.1 68.8

Broker 23.4 30.7 54.1
Importer 5.9 31.2 37.1
Repacker 2.9 33.2 36.1
"Off-market" wholesaler
Terminal market wholesaler
10.2
17.1
25.4
11.2
35.6
28.3 -.
Other 8.8 11.2 20.0

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 13

The impact of firms becoming more diversified points to a new "blurring of

boundaries" in the wholesale sector. During interviews with produce wholesal­
ers, it became evident that traditional definitions of wholesale operations and
business classifications have become less distinct, even among industry mem­
bers. For instance, brokers, in the classic definition and in PACA definitions, do
not take title of their product and do not physically handle it. However, in the
last two decades firms considering themselves produce brokers have increas­
ingly taken title to product. Moreover, many brokers also now have their own
warehouses. However, many still call themselves and primarily consider them­
selves as brokers.

Location and size of wholesalers

By far, the majority (70.6%) of terminal market wholesaler respondents are
from the Eastern region of the U.S. (see Appendix A for definitions of geo­
graphic regions). They are also generally smaller than the average produce
wholesaler, with 55.6 percent having less than $20 million in annual sales (see
Tables B.l and B.2 in Appendix B). Importers, too, are located primarily on the
East coast (81.8% of respondents) and are relatively small in size with 58.3
percent having annual sales of less than $20 million.
"Off-market" wholesalers, in general, tend to be medium sized firms: 57.9
percent have annual sales of $20-$50 million with more located in the Midwest
(52.4%) than in the East or in the West.
There are slightly more distributors and brokers in the East and West coast
regions of the U.S. than in the Midwest, and in general, distributors are larger
than wholesalers, as only 25.4 percent of distributor respondents are small
firms having less than $20 million in annual sales. Almost 59 percent of bro­
kers are small firms according to annual company sales, however, strictly speak­
ing, brokers do not sell or buy product; they only receive a commission on
product. Therefore "sales" may not reflect the actual volume of broker busi­
nesses when compared to other firms that actually take title to the product.
Repackers are distributed evenly across the three regions of the U.S. and
tend to be medium sized firms with $20-$50 million in annual sales, however,
there are more large repackers than there are large "off-market" wholesalers.

Age of Wholesale Companies

Compared to most other industries, entry into the produce wholesaling busi­
ness is relatively easy with often modest capital investment requirements. For
instance, distributors and brokers may operate without large investments in
produce warehouses and transportation equipment, and brokers can operate
without the added investment of inventory. Low capital requirements also make
exiting relatively easy.
Over 60 percent of all wholesalers in our sample have been in business for 20
years or more, while only 5 percent have been in business for 4 years or less
(Figure 3.3). Sixteen percent have been in business for 5 to 9 years and the
•
remainder, 18 percent, between 10 to 19 years. This appears to represent a
slight advance in overall age of companies within the industry in the last forty
years. It was reported by Manchester (1964) that only 53 percent of produce
.'
wholesalers had been in business for 20 years or more (Figure 3.3) indicating a
slight advancement in the maturity of the industry but not enough to indicate
stagnation or difficult entry.

© Produce Marketing Association

14 SECTION 3

FIGURE 3.3

Age of Wholesaler Companies by Years in Business, 1958 and 1997

70

V'l 60
+- --+- --+ +-_60.4
-+-'
c
Q)
-0 50
C
0 • 1958
0.. 40
V'l
~
'+-
30 • FreshTrack 1997
0
-+-'
c
Q) 20
~
Q)
0.. 10 6.0 50
0
20
0-4 5-9 10-19 and over
years in business

Interestingly, terminal market wholesalers are the oldest business class in the
wholesaling sector with 75.8 percent of terminal market wholesalers reporting
age of business over 20 years (Table 3.3). The age of terminal market wholesal­
ers may be explained by their continued location at the terminus of the rail­
transport of a generation ago combined with today's difficulty in renting or
purchasing space on the terminal market, thus limiting the arrival of new firms.
Conversely, importers are in the youngest business class. Only 33.3 percent
of importers participating in the study report being in business for more than
20 years, while nearly 60 percent of them state that they have been in business
less than 10 years. Such youth is undoubtedly a result of the ease of entry into
the import business coupled with recent increases in produce import activity,
especially over the past 15 years (Figure 3.4). Similarly, the relative ease of
entry and low capital investment requirements explain why over one-quarter of
all brokers have entered the produce business within the last decade.

TABLE 3.3

Age of Wholesaler Companies, by Firm Classification

Years in Business
0-4 5-9 10-19 Over 20
Wholesale Classification Years Years Years Years
Terminal market wholesalers 0.0 6.1 18.2 75.8
Repackers 0.0 16.7 16.7 66.7 ".
Distributors 1.6 11.1 22.2 65.1
"Off-market" wholesalers 5.0 25.0 15.0 55.0
Brokers 12.2 16.3 2004 51.0
Importers 8.3 50.0 8.3 33.3

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 15

FIGURE 3.4

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Imports, 1970-1992

4000

3500
... •
tI
~tI
3000
~,..
~
'"
::9
2500
..... ... ~ ,)y :> • Fresh vegetables
c
.Q

'E
2000

1500

1000
..,~ ~
~
~
.,I

~~
,...

c;).,
V

y
,. lY
J IY o Fresh Fruit 1

500

1972 1977 1982 1987 1992

year

Source: USDA, Vegetable Yearbook, various years and USDA, U.S.-Mexico Fruit and Vegetable Trade, 1970-92.
'Major fruits excluding bananas.

Wholesaler Legal Business Form

Almost 83 percent of wholesale respondents are organized as corporations.
This continues a trend documented by the Bureau of the Census where during
the past twenty years, a growing percentage of firms have become incorporated
(Table 3.4). The proportion of produce wholesalers that are corporations has
increased from 55.3 percent in 1972 to 78.9 percent in 1992, the last Census
year. According to FreshTrack respondents, corporations further increased to
82.9 percent of the total in 1997. Individual proprietorships, partnerships, and
cooperatives have generally all experienced declines from 1972 to 1992.

TABLE 3.4

Legal Business Forms of U.S. Fresh Produce Wholesalers

Proprietorship Partnersh ips Corporations Cooperatives Other
1972 18.5 11.1 55.3 * 15.0
1977 22.1 8.6 64.4 4.8 0.1
1982 17.6 6.5 73.4 2.2 0.2
1987 15.4 5.7 76.7 2.1 0.1
1992
1997 1
15.1
7.3
4.3
6.7
78.9
82.9
1.7
1.0
0.0
2.1 -
* Not reported for 1972; unusually large "other" seems to account for the omission.
Source: Compiled from Bureau of Census, U.S. Census of Business, Wholesale Trade, 1972-1992.
'Fresh Track 1997 wholesale respondents.

© Produce Marketing Association

 16 SECTION 3

Summary
• Entry and exit into the produce wholesale sector continues to be rela­
tively easy with reasonable capital investment requirements. This along
with a low concentration of firms and an increase in per capita con­
sumption of fresh fruit and vegetables indicate a competitive industry
with opportunities for growth in new directions.
• Although wholesalers classify themselves according to traditional defini­
tions-e.g., broker, distributor, receiver, and commission merchant-they
have increasingly taken on numerous secondary activities which have
caused a "blurring of boundaries" such that there are many fewer "tra­
ditional firms" in the wholesale sector.
• Morefirms (68.8%) in our FreshTrack 1997 survey perform distribution
activities (e.g., buying in full lots and breaking lots to sell without physi­
cally handling produce) than any other type of wholesaling activity.
Brokering may be considered the second most important activity and is
performed by 54.1 percent of all wholesale respondents. Wholesale han­
dling, narrowly defined as purchasing and physically handling produce
merchandise, is performed by firms having "off-market" and terminal
market wholesaler activities and represent 35.6 and 28.3 percent of re­
spondents respectively.
• Although importing is a growing activity, not many wholesale firms con­
sider themselves to be primarily produce importers. It has remained a
secondary function despite its d~[ficult nature. Retailers and foodservice
operators are generally not 'willing to take on this function, creating an
opportune competitive advantage for wholesalers.

Sales
Average 1996 company sales for wholesalers in our study is $98.8 million (Table
3.5). However, half of the businesses are relatively small produce wholesalers
with $22 million or less in 1996 company sales. Company sales from respon­
dents range widely from $20,000 to $4.5 billion.
Sales from respondents' top three commodities were collected as one indica­
tion of the extent to which companies are specialized or, alternatively, whether
they carry a broad array of commodities. The average sales from the top three
commodities for wholesalers in our study is only 53.5 percent (Table 3.5),
indicating that many companies probably carry a broad line of many different
commodities.
Percent gross margin is probably most highly correlated to the type of busi­
ness operation or classification rather than size or geographic region, because
gross margin is more a function of the activities performed and the costs that
must be covered the company. The average gross margin for our group of whole­
sale respondents is 15.0 percent (Table 3.5), but this varies by firm classifica­
tion. Percent gross margin is significantly less for broker and import firms, 9.9
and 6.7 percent respectively, than for other firm types whose percent gross
­
margin ranges only slightly from 16.0 percent for terminal market wholesalers
to 18.9 percent for "off-market" wholesalers (see Table B.3 in Appendix).

© Produce Marketing Association

I
 FRESHTRACK 1997 17

TABLE 3.5

Sales Profile of Wholesaler Respondents

Sales Profile Respondent average

Company sales (million) $98.8
Produce sales (million) $41.6
Percent of sales from top 3 commodities (%) 53.5
Average gross margin (%) 15.0

On average, produce sales were only $41.6 million (42%) of total company
sales (Table 3.5). However, this average is misleading. When viewed closely in
terms of company size and company classifications, the importance of produce
sales relative to sales of non-produce items within the company varies consider­
ably. In small and medium size firms, produce sales are basically the driving
force of the firms. Produce accounts for 95 percent and 92.6 percent respec­
tively of overall company sales (Table 3.6). Larger firms, however, are consider­
ably more diversified with produce contributing less than one-third of their
overall sales.
On average, brokers and distributors, which include foodservice distributors,
can deal in a wide range of other products; fresh produce only accounts for 37.6
percent and 26.6 percent respectively of their total company sales (Table 3.6).
However, these results are influenced importantly by the dominance of certain
very large brokers and distributors whose sales mix tends to be more diversi­
fied than the typical firm. Many small and medium size brokers and distribu­
tors do in fact conduct their business in fresh produce exclusively.

TABLE 3.6

Produce Sales as a Percent of Company Sales, by Firm Size and by

Classification
Produce sales as
% of company sales

Wholesaler annual sales

small: < $20 million 95.0
medium: $20 to $50 million 92.6
large: > $50 million 32.2

Primary business classification

Terminal market wholesaler
Importer
100.0
99.5
-
Other wholesaler 97.4
Repacker 96.3
Broker 37.6
Distributor 26.6

© Produce Marketing Association

I
 18 SECTION 3

Buying Power
Generally, the largest supermarket buyers are larger than the largest produce
wholesalers in terms of produce purchasing power. When ranking the total pro­
duce purchases of FreshTrack 1997 retail and produce wholesale respondents,
11 out of the top 15 were retail chain buyers and 4 were wholesaler buyers
(Table 3.7). Thus whereas major supermarket chains generally purchase a greater
volume of produce as a function of their hundreds or even thousands of retail
stores, a few of the largest wholesalers have purchasing power equal to or greater
than most chains.
According to U.s. Bureau of the Census numbers, there are approximately
6,000 fresh produce wholesale outlets and perhaps as many as 4,000 different
produce wholesale firms. Yet these wholesale firms are generally smaller, and
more fragmented with less individual purchasing power than their supermarket
customer/competitors. Fewer than 250 integrated wholesale-retail grocery com­
panies buy nearly all the produce for over 150,000 retail supermarkets and
other grocery outlets.

TABLE 3.7

Top 15 FreshTrack 1997 Produce Buyers

Buyer Type 1 1996 Produce Purchases 2

($ million)
1 retail chain buyer 923
2 retail chain buyer 793
I
3 produce wholesaler 765
4 produce wholesaler 680
5 retail chain buyer 532
6 retail chain buyer 384
7 retail chain buyer 300
8 retail chain buyer 286
9 produce wholesaler 255
10 retail chain buyer 238
11 produce wholesaler 233
12 retail chain buyer 189
13 retail chain buyer 198
14 retail chain buyer 154
15 retail chain buyer 170
1 retail chain buyer includes supermarket chains and grocery wholesalers; produce wholesaler includes

wholesalers, distributors, brokers and foodservice distributors who sell produce.

2 estimates
-

© Produce Marketing Association

I
FRESHTRACK 1997 19

Summary
• Company annual sales ranged from $20,000 to $4.5 billion with 50 per­
cent offirms reporting sales of $22 million or less. However, a number of
substantially larger '"wholesale firms exist. These largest firms tend to be
highly diversified into areas other than fresh produce.
• In general, the largest retail chains are larger than the largest produce
wholesalers in terms of the volume of produce purchased. Thus, gener­
ally, the individual chain buyer tends to have more purchasing power
than the individual wholesale buyer. However, the industry has many
more wholesale firms than retail firms and thus contributes substan­
tially to moving product from gro'wer to final consumer.

Product Mix
Fresh produce commodities in their natural form have not changed substan­
tially. What has changed, however, is the proliferation of new varieties and of
new forms now carried by the industry. New imported fruits and vegetables
have flooded the industry as well as numerous new varieties of existing produce.
In addition, demand for convenience has coupled with new technologies to
generate development of numerous new packages for fresh vegetables, precut
salads, and fruits.

Bulk vs packaged
Historically, produce wholesaler sales have been predominantly in bulk, com­
modity form. Today, the major portion of wholesaler produce sales is still bulk
product, generally packed in corrugated cartons (53.6%). However, packaged
produce accounts for the remaining 46.4 percent, almost half of sales (Figure
3.5). Packaged products may include boxed fruit or vegetables ready for retailer
shelves or may include numerous packs of tomatoes, shrink wrapped fruit, pack­
aged salads, bagged carrots, etc. Many wholesalers indicate the demands for
items such as packs of tomatoes alone have increased over the last decade to
now include two, three, four, and eight packs, shrink wrapped trays, and display
ready cartons packed for easy assembly in a retail store.

FIGURE 3.5

Bulk vs Packaged Wholesaler Sales

464%
•
•
Bulk
Packaged
-

© Produce Marketing Association

20 SECTION 3

Labeling
Labeling is generally viewed as a means of distinguishing certain products and
of differentiating one commodity from another. In retailing, private label refers
to a supermarket or chain label applied as a method of providing an alternative,
usually lower cost, product to consumers and also of enhancing the image of
the retailer. Wholesalers in our study indicate that 5.5 percent of their produce
sales are packed with the retailer private label and an additional 21.8 percent
with their own wholesaler label (Figure 3.6). In some cases, wholesalers may be
selling both retailer private label and their own wholesaler label produce to the
same retailer.
Sales of labeled produce appears to vary most by firm classification. "Off­
market" wholesalers and repackers sell more retailer private label than any
other firm type, selling 11.8 and 15 percent respectively with a retailer private
label (see Table B.4 in Appendix B). The other wholesalers only sell between
4.0 to 4.9 percent as private label. Most of these do not physically label pro­
duce themselves but will order labeling from the packer/shipper. In addition,
firms with a large retailer customer base relative to foodservice are likely to
have greater private label sales than those with fewer retail customers.
Wholesaler label sales are somewhat different. Repackers and importers are
more likely than other firm types to have significant sales of product with their
own label.
Repackers, whose sales are 51.0 percent own wholesaler labeled and 15.0
percent retailer private labeled, add significant value to the produce commodi­
ties they sell through sorting, handling, and packaging activities. Therefore,
they can likely gain more value through a developed labeling program than a
simple distributor or broker who does not add value through further grading
and packaging activities. Repackers also often customize produce packages to
retailer specifications. In addition, the products that a repacker most frequently
handles-potatoes, onions and tomatoes-are high volume items that fit natu­
rally into a labeling program.
One reason why importers sell such a large percentage of their produce as
own wholesaler labeled product may be because imported product is coming in
largely unlabeled, or with a shipper label that is unrecognizable to the U.S.
customers.

FIGURE 3.6

Wholesaler Sales by Label Type

5.5%

72.6%
• Retailer private label

• Own wholesaler label

All other
-

© Produce Marketing Association

 FRESHTRACK 1997 21

Product codes
Every segment of the produce industry is affected by the opportunities and
challenges provided by coding. Opportunities include the ability of codes to
streamline inventory and ordering, to better track customer demand, and to
provide better customer service in terms of pricing and promotions. Challenges
include numerous inventory demands for PLU labels, management time, and
packing inefficiencies associated with changing labels and cleaning packing
equipment. In addition, as of 1997, there are not yet enough PLUs defined for
the increasing number of SKUs being sold through the produce industry chan­
nels.
At least three retail coding options may be provided by wholesalers: Universal
Product Codes (UPC), Price Look Up (PLU) labels, and no coding at all. Whole­
saler respondents indicate that 32.5 percent of their produce sales are UPC
coded, while 15.8 percent of sales are coded with standard PLU codes devel­
oped by the Produce Electronic Identification Board (PEIB) (Figure 3.7). Some
retailers have developed their own PLU codes and these account for 3.8 per­
cent of wholesalers' produce sales. In total, over half (52.1 %) of produce being
sold by wholesalers is coded in some form.

FIGURE 3.7

Wholesaler Sales by Coding Type

No coding

UPCs

PEIB standard PLUs

Chain specific PLUs

o 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

percent of produce sales

Non-traditional items
Non-traditional produce items are becoming more important and available in
most parts of the industry. Wholesalers, for example, indicate that 13.5 percent
of their produce sales are specialty products other than organic, while organic
produce accounts for an additional 3.2 percent of total sales (Figure 3.8). Pack­
aged salads alone account for an average of 8.4 percent of respondent produce •
sales.
Wholesalers' involvement in these non-traditional produce items is correlated
to company size. Firms whose sales are less than $20 million report a signifi­
cantly greater proportion of specialty produce sales than larger firms (Figure
3.9). Specialty produce, generally associated with low relative volumes but high
relative prices, may be providing a niche opportunity for these smaller firms. In

© Produce Marketing Association

I
22 SECTION 3

FIGURE 3.8

Wholesaler Sales of Non-Traditional Produce Items

Specialty

Packaged salads

Organic

Fresh squeezed juice

Fresh cut fru it

o 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

addition, terminal markets and importers, which also tend to be smaller whole­
sale firms, report that specialty produce was 16.6 percent and 49.4 percent
respectively of their total produce sales, greater than any other firm classifica­
tion (see Table B.5 in Appendix B).

FIGURE 3.9

Wholesaler Sales of Specialty Produce, by Firm Size

25
V1
Q) 21.4
(ij
V1 20
Q)
U
:J
-0 • <$20M
e
Q.
15

'+­ • $20M-$50M
0
.....
c
10
Q) >$50M
~
Q)
Q. 5

Specialty produce

Sales of packaged salads as a percent of total produce sales also vary by

wholesaler firm size. Firms with annual sales over $50 million report that al­
most 15 percent of their produce sales are from packaged salads whereas pack­
aged salad sales from small firms of less than $20 million are only 5.6 percent
of produce sales (Figure 3.10).
Wholesaler companies were categorized by their proportion of foodservice
­
sales in order to differentiate those wholesalers who sell primarily to foodservice
operators. Firms with 75 percent or more of their total sales directed toward

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 23

FIGURE 3.10

Wholesaler Sales of Packaged Salads, by Firm Size

16

V1 14
cu
ra
V1 12
cu
u
:::l 10
• <$20M
"ea.
-0
.....
c
cu
u
8

4
• $20M-$50M

>$50M

Q:;
a. 2

0
Packaged salad

foodservice operators are considered here as foodservice suppliers. These sup­

pliers offer a somewhat different product mix than other produce wholesalers
(Figure 3.11). Packaged salads alone account for 21.4 percent of foodservice
supplier sales versus only 5.6 percent of sales from other wholesalers. They also
sell proportionately more fresh cut fruit, but relatively less specialty and or­
ganic produce. Labor saving produce items are important to foodservice opera­
tors caught between rising labor costs and a dwindling labor pool for food
preparation. But, at the same time they need a consistent quality standard for
their menu offerings.

FIGURE 3.11

Produce Sales Mix, by Foodservice Supplier

Packaged salads J~~~!~~~!~~!~~~!~~J

21.4

Specialty

• Other
Fresh cut fruit
II Foodservice
Fresh squeezed

Organic iij.n~--T---r--1--l

o 5 10 15

percent of sales
20 25
-

© Produce Marketing Association

24 SECTIOI\J 3

Produce SKUs
With the proliferation of specialty products, packaged salads, and other con­
sumer packages, wholesalers are now responsible for managing a larger num­
ber of items than in the past. Stock keeping units (SKUs) have increased tre­
mendously. The average number of produce SKUs carried by wholesalers as
reported by the FreshTrack 1997 survey is 425.4 (Table 3.8). However, this
number varies widely by company size. Firms in the largest size category (>$50
million in company sales) report carrying, on average, almost 741 SKUs. (Fig­
ure 3.12).

TABLE 3.8

Product Mix of Produce Wholesaler Respondents

Number of SKUs
Total produce SKUs 425.4
local produce SKUS 31.7
New produce SKUs in 1996 24.1
l\Jew non-produce SKUs in 1996 26.9

Most wholesalers on the terminal market that were interviewed indicate that
they, too, have broadened their product lines in response to the decrease in
volume of historically staple items as chains purchase more of these larger
volume items direct. When broadening their product line, terminal market
wholesalers indicate that they carry smaller volume items which retailers can­
not generally afford to purchase direct.

FIGURE 3.12

Produce SKUs, by Firm Size

800

700

600
Vl
:J 500 • <$20M
~
V'l
Q)
u 400 • $20M-$50M
::J
-0
0 300
et >$50M
200

100

0
14 32 40 -
Produce SKUs Local SKUs

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 25

As a means of distinguishing themselves, a number of retailers and restau­

rants take advantage of local growers and have initiated programs which handle
and market locally grown produce. This strategy helps promote freshness, a
local, community image for retail and foodservice and also helps maintain sales
during the summer season which often have been eroded by local farmers'
markets and roadside stands. Some wholesalers also carry locally produced
product although the number of local SKUs carried average only 31.7 or just
under 7.5 percent of total SKUs (Table 3.8). In general, wholesalers in the West
region, closest to the major growing areas, tend to carry more local SKUs than
other regions (Figure 3.13).

FIGURE 3.13

Produce SKUs, by Region

500
450
400
V>
::> 350
:><: • East
V"l
.... 300
Q)
..c 250 • Midwest
E
:::J 200
Z West
150
100
50
0
Produce SKUs LocalSKUs

Wholesaler respondents introduced on average 24 new produce items in 1996

(Table 3.8). And similarly, they carried on the average 26.9 new "non-pro­
duce" items (Table 3.8). Distributors and repackers added more produce items
in 1996, adding 29 and 37 new items respectively, while distributors tended to
add more "non-produce" items than any other operation (Figure 3.14), adding
a substantial 42 non-produce items in 1996.

FIGURE 3.14

New Non-Produce Items Introduced in 1996, by Firm Classification

Distributors 42

"Off-market" wholesalers 10

Brokers . 2
•
Terminal market wholesalers 0.3
..
Repackers 0

Importers 0

o 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
number of items

© Produce Marketing Association

26 SECTION 3

During interviews, some wholesalers indicate that the expansion into non­
produce items has been an effort to carry more items normally carried in a
retail produce department. This way, they can be the primary produce depart­
ment supplier for retailers, especially smaller independent retailers.
The substantial number of new, non-produce items may also be explained
when examining the foodservice segment of the wholesale population.
Foodservice suppliers introduced substantially more non-produce items in 1996
than did other wholesalers (Figure 3.15) due to their more diversified food
lines and the heterogeneity of their clientele relative to the specialization in
fresh produce of most other produce wholesalers.

FIGURE 3.15

New Produce Items Introduced in 1996, by Foodservice Supplier

70 - , - - - - - - - - - - . - - - - - - - - - - - ,

60 +---------+--
50 +---------+--
Vl
::J
~ 40 +---------+-- • Foodservice supplier
a; II other
.D 30 +---------+--
E
~ 20

10

o
Fresh produce Non-produce

Summary
• Wholesalers' product mix is expanding and becoming more complex in­
cluding substantial sales of value-added produce, retailer private labels
and own 'wholesaler labels, produce coding by UPC or PLU codes, and
non-traditional produce items.
• Wholesalers sell more of their own wholesaler label than they do retailer
private label, perhaps indicating an opportunity for partnering with re­
tail customers to proVide them with a labeling program for their grow­
ing produce department.
• Every segment of the produce industry is affected by the challenges and
opportunities provided by produce coding. Retailers demand coded pro­
duce to assist with category management, however, foodservice opera­
tors demand non-coded produce to eliminate labor involved in removing
the code labels. This creates problems for wholesalers who handle
reconsigned and rejected produce or who need to reroute shipmen~<;,
because many times they need to either remove unwanted stickers or
'.
apply by hand requested stickers. Greater management care is also needed
to verify that correct stickers or codes are applied to the correct size and
grade of product.

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 27

• The use of PEIB standard PLU codes in the retail sector is growing which
should eliminate today's non-standard codes and reduce some of the
problems with label inventory management.
• Non-traditional produce sales are growing. Specialty sales have perhaps
created a niche for smaller wholesalers who can specialize in these smaller
volume yet often higher priced items. Larger firms, howe-ver, sell propor­
tionately more prepackaged salads than smaller firms perhaps indicat­
ing that larger firms are better able to maintain the cold chain from
processor to retailer or that larger firms have the customer base desiring
more packaged salads.
• The variety and product mixes described above are responsible for a
continued increase in the number of items (SKUs) carried by produce
-wholesalers. A large wholesaler today may carryover 700 SKUs in its
in-ventory. The average total number of new SKUsintroduced in 1996
was 51. However, only 24 of these were produce; 27 of them -were non­
produce items in an apparent effort by some 'U'llOlesalers to be the major
supplier of the entire retail "produce department. "

Wholesaler Customers and Customer Services

Customers
Produce wholesalers sell through numerous channels. Overall, wholesaler re­
spondents said that 34 percent of their produce sales go to major retail and
wholesale grocery chains (Figure 3.16). So, retail and wholesale grocery ehains
still aceount for a major proportion of wholesaler sales despite trade eoncern
about a trend toward disappearing sales to major retail accounts. Substantiat­
ing reports of a growing foodservice customer base is the significant proportion
of wholesaler sales to the foodservice industry (27.0%), coinciding both with
the growth in foodservice sales and in consumer food expenditures away-from­
home.

FIGURE 3.16

Wholesaler Sales by Customer Type

5.9% 4.2%

• Major retail & wholesale chains

• Foodservicejrestaurants

• Other wholesalers
16.3%
• Small independent grocers
Via brokers

other
-
27.2%

© Produce Marketing Association

28 SECTION 3

Other wholesalers and small, independent grocers account for 16 percent

and 13 percent of wholesaler sales respectively. Produce sold through brokers
accounts for 6 percent of sales. Other customers including military, processors,
and exporters total 4 percent of overall wholesaler sales.
The customer base of each wholesaler classification varies somewhat in a way
that perhaps reflects certain strengths inherent in some of these classes. Termi­
nal market sales are divided roughly equally among clientele groups listed be­
low (Table 3.9). Because they historically were the primary source of produce
40 years ago, they are the class which probably has been harmed the most by
the increase in retailer chains buying direct from grower/shippers. The major
growth in foodservice sales has helped many terminal market operators, how­
ever, and currently foodservice accounts for 24.2 percent of their sales.
"Off-market" wholesalers, who have warehouses located off the traditional
terminal markets, generally handle more produce sales for grocery and super­
market retailers. Sixty-six percent of their sales are to major retailers and small
independents. although foodservice sales are also a significant portion of their
business, roughly one-quarter. In general, distributors, which in this survey
include foodservice suppliers along with produce distributors, sell a very sig­
nificant amount to foodservice which receives 44.8 percent of distributors'
sales.

TA B L E 3.9

Wholesaler Customers, by Firm Classification

-percent of sales-

Major Small Food- Other

retailer independent service Brokers wholesaler Other
Terminal market
wholesalers 18.7 25.6 24.2 13.3 13.3 5.0
"Off-market"
wholesalers 40.5 25.1 24.1 0.7 9.4 0.2
Brokers 43.4 4.7 13.3 6.9 27.8 4.0
Distributors 24.6 11.9 44.8 1.6 12.4 4.8
Repackers 40.4 4.0 29.6 14.0 12.0 0.0
Importers 49.6 5.6 14.4 15.3 16.4 0.0

Customer Services
Although wholesalers' customers include major supermarket retailers,
foodservice operators, other wholesalers, small independent retailers, brokers
and other customers (see Figure 3.16), it may be observed that not all custom­
ers are equal. For example, the relative importance of the largest customers '.
can be judged by noting that survey wholesalers state that 61.3 percent of their
sales go to their top ten customers. This is a symptom of the consolidation
taking place generally in the retail and foodservice industries. Fewer buyers are
available, but those that remain are often of substantial size.

© Produce Marketing Association

 FRESHTRACK 1997 29

The services provided by wholesalers to their customers depend largely on

the customer group. For all retailers, who in general account for almost half of
total wholesaler sales, these services may include such items as delivery, mer­
chandising, and product information. In 1958 (USDA, 1964), the merchandis­
ing service provided by more wholesalers (15.6%) than any other was "suggest­
ing retail prices" (Figure 3.17). The other merchandising services listed in 1958
in order of frequency were "assisting retailers with displays and promotions"
(15.3% of wholesalers); "guaranteeing prices for specials" (7.0%); "training re­
tail produce personnel" (3.9%); and "providing price concessions for specials"
(2.0%).
By 1997, many more wholesalers wcre providing these merchandising ser­
vices than in 1958. In fact, compared to merchandising and logistical services
offered by their predecessors in the 1950's, today's wholesaler generally offers
an expansive set of services as the rule, not the exception. Moreover, the lead­
ing merchandising services have changed since 1958. In 1997, 95.4 percent of
FreshTrack 1997 wholesalers report that they "guarantee prices for promo­
tions" to customers compared to only 7% of wholesalers in 1958. Eighty-seven
percent in 1997 report that they "provide price concessions for promotions";
61.6 percent "suggest retail prices"; 56.2 percent "assist retailers with displays
and promotions"; but only 37.1 percent "provide retail training."

FIGURE 3.17

Wholesaler Firms Offering Merchandising Services, 1958 and 1997

Guarantee
for promotion
prices J~~~!~~~~~~!~~~~~~J
• ,
Provide price concessions
for promotions !~!~~!~!~!~~~~!~-e87~.~2
II 1958 - USDA'
Suggest retail prices J~!~!~~~~!~~~i-LJ-J 616
• FreshTrack 1997

Assist retailers with

and displays
promotion J~!~!~~~~~~l~l-LJ-J
56.2

Provide retail training --!!!!!~~!!!~::l-~lj~j~t,j

37.1

o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

percent of respondents

, Source: USDA, The Structure of Wholesale Produce Markets, 1964.

Delivery is another very important service often provided by wholesalers. In

1958, delivery was reported as the most commonly offered service, except for
credit. At that time 77 percent of all wholesalers made deliveries. By 1997, this
had changed in some ways. Currently although 88.7 percent of wholesalers
offer delivery, delivery is no longer the most commonly offered service. By
1997, "guarantee prices for promotions" was the leading service, offered by
­
95.4 percent of all wholesalers.

© Produce Marketing Association

30 SECTION 3

In 1958, 52 percent of total wholesalers' sales were delivered to customers

(Figure 3.18). FreshTrack 1997 respondents state that in 1987 they delivered
55.3 percent of their sales, only a modest growth over a 30 year period. How­
ever, by 1997, deliveries account for 62.1 percent of sales, a more significant
increase in the last 10 years than had been seen between 1958 and 1987.

FIGURE 3.18

Sales Delivered by Wholesalers, 1958-1997

70 - - - - . - - - - - - . . . , . . . . . - - - - - , . . . . - - - - - . . . . . ,

65
62.1
Vl
(I)
(ij 60
Vl
'+­
0
....., 55
c
(I)
~
(I) 50
0­

45

40
1958 ' 1987 1997

'Source: USDA, The Structure of Wholesale Produce Markets, 1964.

Numerous wholesalers stated during interviews that delivery is a very impor­

tant service which has been offered increasingly within the last ten years. How­
ever, apparently it is also a service which in the past some wholesalers have not
felt obliged to offer. Terminal market wholesalers indicate that in 1987 delivery
was arranged for only 29 percent of sales (Table 3.10). Now, ten years later
delivery is arranged for 39 percent of sales. Repackers in particular have in­
creased their deliveries since 1987 when they delivered 43 percent of their
sales. Currently they now arrange for delivery for 86 percent of their sales.
Indeed, all wholesaler classes except brokers state that they do more delivery
now than ten years ago.

TABLE 3.10

Wholesaler Deliveries, by Firm Classification

Firm Classification 1987 1997

Terminal market wholesalers 29.1 39.0
"Off-market wholesalers 55.0 73.4
Brokers 51.5 50.8
Distributors
Repackers
68.5
43.3
73.4
86.3
'.
Importers 43.8 52.2
Foodservice vs Other
Foodservice suppliers 52.6 66.5
Other wholesalers 55.8 61.3

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 31

Small independents who do not have the merchandising services available

from headquarters, may require merchandising services from suppliers along
with information about products, product care and handling, merchandising
techniques, promotions and displays and personnel training.
Wholesalers were also asked how frequently they offer the merchandising
services discussed above on a scale from 1 to 4 where 1="less than monthly,"
2="monthly," 3="twice per month," and 4="at least weekly." For those whole­
salers who provide these merchandising services, delivery is the service which
wholesalers provide most frequently with an average frequency rating of 3.7,
somewhat less frequently than "at least weekly" (Figure 3.19). Those wholesal­
ers who "assist with displays and promotions" and "provide retail training" do
so approximately monthly.

FIGURE 3.19

Frequency of Providing Selected Services

Delivery 3.7

Guarantee prices
3.1
for promotions

Suggest retail price 3.0

Provide price concessions

2.8
for promotions
Assist retailers with displays 2.1
and promotions

Provide retail training 2.0

1 2 3 4
less than monthly 2x/month at least
monthly weekly
frequency

The frequency with which these merchandising services are offered varies
from company to company and indeed should be a means of differentiating
oneself from one's competition. However, variability also shows up when exam­
ining merchandising services offered by each wholesaler classification. In Table
3.11 below, each wholesaler firm classification is ranked 1 to 6; where 1=the
firm classification providing the service most frequently and 6= the firm classi­
fication providing the service least frequently.
In general, distributors and "off-market" wholesalers appear to offer the se­
lected merchandising services most frequently when compared to other whole­
saler classes (Table 3.11). Repackers provide some services quite frequently:
indeed, they rank number one or two in three of the services listed. However,
they rank quite low in frequency of providing the other services. Terminal mar­
ket wholesalers ranked consistently low in frequency of providing merchandis­ ­
ing services when compared with other classes.

© Produce Marketing Association

32 SECTION 3

TABLE 3.11

Ranking of Frequency of Providing Merchandising Services,

by Firm C1assification 1

Assist
Guarantee Price Provide retailers with
Suggest price for concessions for retail displays and
price promotions promotions training promotions Display

Terminal
market
wholesalers 4 6 6 6 6 6
"Off-market"
wholesalers 1 3 3 1 1 2
Brokers 3 4 5 3 3 5
Distributors 2 2 1 2 2 3
Repackers 5 1 2 5 5 1
Importers 6 5 4 4 4 4

1 firm classifications ranked 1 to 6; where 1=offers most frequently, and 6=offers least frequently.

Interviews with terminal market operators indicate that they see many oppor­
tunities for servicing their client groups. Many have indicated a need for more
delivery and have recently purchased delivery trucks for the first time. Value­
added services, other than merchandising services, reported by terminal mar­
ket wholesalers during interviews include ripening, breaking packages or re­
packing, and code dating.

Summary
• The customer base of each wholesaler class(fication varies in a way that
perhaps reflects certain strengths inherent in some of these classifica­
tions. While other wholesaler classifications have major clientele groups,
terminal market wholesalers divide their sales almost equally among
several clientele groups. Major retail and wholesale chains are the pri­
mary customers of "off-market" wholesalers, brokers, repackers, and
importers, while foodservice operators tend to be the primary customers
of distributors.
• A general consolidation of produce buyers is taking place in the retail
and foodservice industries, creating fewer but larger wholesaler accounts.
Sixty-one percent of wholesaler sales are to their top ten customers.
• Merchandising services are olfered by a larger portion of wholesalers
than at an:y time in the past, yet it appears that room still exists for
wholesalers to compete more aggressively on a service basis. Only 56 •
percent "assist retailers with displays and promotions" and only 37 per­
cent "prOVide retail training" yet these are ser-vices especially useful to
small independent retailers who depend on suppliers to furnish the ser­
vices otherwise pro-vided by supermarket chain headquarters.

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 33

• Delivery is cited as one Q( the most important services that 'wholesalers

can provide, and all wholesaler classifications except brokers a1Tange
for more delivery now than they did ten years ago. This may be particu­
lar onerous to terminal market wholesalers whose warehouses are usu­
ally located in downtown metropolitan areas in older facilities which
were not constructed.for the amount Q( traJfic they CU1Tent(v bear.
• ''OJ/market'' wholesalers and distributors appear to offer certain mer­
chandising services more.frequently than do other wholesaler classifica­
tions. Telminal market wholesalers offer services least frequently, al­
though some have e,vpressed an interest in the apparentgreater opportu­
nities.for servicing their customers and have added additional, non-tra­
ditional services such as ripening Q( various commodities.

Supplies and Suppliers

Suppliers
In general, wholesalers report that two-thirds of their produce purchases are
direct from grower/shippers (Figure 3.20). Fully 18.4 percent of their pur­
chases are through a broker. In addition, wholesalers purchase 7.1 percent (non­
banana purchases) from importers. Although more than half of wholesalers
indicate they do not handle any imported produce, a significant number of
wholesalers may handle 20-30 percent of their inventory as imports at anyone
point in time. Other wholesalers provide another 6.2 percent of wholesaler
purchases.

FIGURE 3.20

Sources of Wholesaler Produce Purchases

• GrowerIshipper direct

185%
67.2%
• Via broker

• Imported
Other wholesaler
Other

Interestingly all sizes of wholesalers buy proportionately the same amount

from grower/shippers and all other sources of produce (see Table B. 7 in Ap­
­
pendix B). However, brokers and importers buy direct more than do the other
wholesaler classes (see Table B.8 in Appendix B). Foodservice suppliers pur­
chase less than SO percent of their produce direct from grower/shippers which

© Produce Marketing Association

34 SECTION 3

is significantly different than other wholesalers (see Table B.9 in Appendix B).
Instead, foodservice suppliers purchase significantly more from brokers and
"other wholesalers" compared to other firms.
As a function of proximity to production areas, wholesalers in the West re­
gion purchase more direct from grower/shippers, whereas wholesalers in the
Midwest and East purchase relatively more of their purchases through brokers
and from other wholesalers (Figure 3.21).

FIGURE 3.21

Sources of Wholesaler Produce Purchases, by Region

80

70
Vl
(1)
Vl
m 60
..c
~ 50 • East
:::J
C.
'+­
0
40 • Midwest
.....c
(1)
30 West
~
(1) 20
c.
10

0
Grower other
/shipper Broker Importer wholesaler

Although produce wholesalers typically procure their products from hundreds

of different grower/shippers, their main volume comes from relatively few ma­
jor suppliers. Respondents indicate that their top ten suppliers account for 71.8
percent of their entire produce purchases. This varies somewhat according to
firm size and also by firm classification.
Smaller firms appear to rely more heavily on their top ten suppliers than
larger wholesalers purchasing 79 percent of their produce from their top ten,
whereas medium and large firms purchase 73 and 63 percent respectively (see
Table B.I0 in Appendix B). Importers vary significantly from all other wholesal­
ers and purchase 90 percent of their produce from their top ten suppliers.

Supplier Attributes
Top suppliers, besides being chosen for their size and ability to fill required
orders, may be selected for other reasons. In order to try to understand what
motivates wholesalers to conduct business with certain suppliers, wholesalers
were asked to rate how their most highly regarded suppliers perform compared
to their average suppliers on 24 key supplier attributes. These attributes can be
categorized into five broad conceptual areas: overall produce quality, supplier '.
reputation, supply, price and packaging & logistics. The performance rating
scale ranged from 1 to 7 where 1="below average"; 3="average"; 5="above aver­
age"; and 7="excels."
Among the five conceptual areas, quality attributes, overall, are found to be
most important to wholesalers (Table 3.12). This result coincides with previous

© Produce Marketing Association

--------~----_.-----
FRESH-mACK 1997 35

research conducted by McLaughlin and Perosio (1994) where supermarket buyers

were asked to rank various supplier attributes by thcir importance in making
purchase decisions. The single most important supplier attribute, as determined
by that study about supermarket buyers, was the "ability to deliver consistent
quality."

TABLE 3.12

Performance Ratings for Attributes of Highly Regarded Suppliers by

Attribute Category

Category Overall rating'

Quality 5.42
Reputation 5.34
Supply 4.63
Price 4.37
Packaging & Logistics 4.24
1 Performance rating scale ranged from 1 to 7 where 1~"below average"; 3~"average"; 5~"above average";
and 7~"excels."

In 1997, FreshTrack wholesalers responded that the supplier attribute with

the highest rating pertaining to quality is "highest quality available" with a
rating of 5.63 out of 7 (Figure 3.22 ). The quality attribute with the lowest
score is "provides proper postharvest care" which received a rating of 5.15
from wholesalers.

FIGURE 3.22

Highly Regarded Supplier Attributes: Quality Rankings by Wholesalers

Highest quality
available

Delivers consistent
quality

Freshest produce
available

Provides proper
postharvest care

3
average
4 5
above average
6 7
excels
-
Performance rating

© Produce Marketing Association

36 SECTION 3

Supplier reputation is the attribute category that received the second highest
overall rating by wholesalers (see Table 3.12). In this category, the attribute
"honesty & integrity" is not only the attribute with the highest reputation rat­
ing, it is also the highest rated individual attribute statement among all the 24
key supplier attributes with a rating of 5.79 (Figure 3.23). The attribute "posi­
tive reputation" also ranks very high with a rating of 5.70, even higher than the
highest quality rating. Other reputation attributes are not as important, and the
lowest rated is "willing to establish partnerships" with a rating of 4.57.

FIGURE 3.23

Highly Regarded Supplier Attributes: Reputation Rankings by Wholesalers

5.79

Positive reputation 5.70

Salespeople that are knowledgeable 5.44

Easy to reach/communicate 5.42

Kind and courteous salespeople 5.41

Honors satisfaction guarantee 5.05

Willing to establish partnerships 4.57

3 4 5 6 7
average above average excels
Performance rating

Supply, price. and packaging and logistics attributes are all important to whole­
salers although to a lesser extent than quality and reputation (Table 3.12). The
most important attribute pertaining to supply is "supply large enough to fill
demand" with a rating of 5.60 (Figure 3.24) while the least important is "year
around standing order agreements" rated 4.00.

FIGURE 3.24

Highly Regarded Supplier Attributes: Supply Rankings by

Wholesalers

Supply large enough

5.60
to fill demand
-+-------/------+----+-------1
1-stop shopping due
to broad line
Year- around standing
order agreement
-+-------/------+----+-----1

-/-""'-"-r--T-+...,.........,-,.-rl---,.....,.........,-,.-+--r---r--;-"'T"""l
-
3 4 5 6 7
average above average excels
Performance rating

© Produce Marketing Association

 FRESHTRACK 1997 37

In the category of price attributes, even the highest individual statement is

only rated 4.9, "price protection on rising market" (Figure 3.25). The lowest
rated statement in the price category is "lowest priced product," belying the
impression perhaps that the lowest priced supplier is one that receives loyalty
from the wholesaler customer.

FIGURE 3.25

Highly Regarded Supplier Attributes: Price Rankings by Wholesalers

Price protection on rising markets

Quantity price breaks

Lowest priced product

3 4 5 6 7
average above average excels
Performance rating

Suppliers who provide "prompt notification of any changes/problems" and

"consistent on-time delivery" are appreciated, and these attributes receive rat­
ings of 5.14 and 5.08 respectively from wholesalers (Figure 3.26). However,
"offers EDl" only rated 2.52 indicating either that it is not important to whole­
salers when selecting highly regarded suppliers or that even the most highly
regarded suppliers do not outperform their counterparts in this regard.

FIGURE 3.26

Highly Regarded Supplier Attributes: Packaging and Logistics Rankings

by Wholesalers

Prompt notification of any

5.14
changes/problems

Consistent on-time delivery 5.08

Provides accurate PLU coding 4.38

Willing to customize product/package 4.27

Able to provide trucking 404

Offers EDI 1(2.52)

I
3
average
4 5 6
above average
7
excels
.
"

Performance rating

© Produce Marketing Association

38 SECTION 3

In summary, the individual attribute statements in order of highest to lowest

rating are:
Attribute statement rating attribute category
• honesty and integrity 5.79 reputation
• positive reputation 5.70 reputation
• highest quality available 5.63 quality
• supply large enough to fill demand 5.60 product line
• delivers consistent quality 5.54 quality

Only minor differences were revealed when responses were examined by re­
gion, size and firm classification. Tables B.ll and B.12 in Appendix B illustrate
the similarity in responses by firm classification when viewing them by attribute
category and by the highest rated individual attribute statements.
The predominance of reputation, while not the category with the highest
overall rating, indicates the critical importance of such characteristics as hon­
esty and integrity in a leading supplier. Perhaps because the produce industry
has historically been one filled with "opportunism" a certain distrust evolved
between sellers and buyers. Yet in an industry where almost three-quarters of
all product purchases of individual firms are from ten suppliers, distrust can
lead to missed opportunities in discovering system efficiencies and performance
improvements.

Summary
• All wholesalers irrespective of size, source proportionately the same (2/
3 of all purchases) from grower/shippers, however sources of produce
do vary somewhat by geographic region and by firm classification. Not
surprisingly, Eastern and Midwestern wholesalers purchase relatively
more through brokers and other wholesalers than do Western wholesal­
ers. Also wholesalefoodservice suppliers purchase proportionately more
from brokers and "other wholesalers" and purchase less than 50 percent
direct from grower/shippers.
• Wholesalers rely heaVily upon their top ten suppliers who prOVide 72
percent ofall wholesaler produce purchases. Small firms rely more heavily
still on their top suppliers, purchasing nearly 80 percent (d all their
needs from ten suppliers.
• Wholesalers' most highly regarded suppliers outperform the rest in many
diflerent ways. Out of 24 selected key supplier attributes, the two at­
tributes that these suppliers performed particularly well in were "hon­
esty and integrity" and "positive reputation." After grouping the attributes
into 5 different categories, however, the leading category was product
"quality."

Operations
'.
Purchasing
The process and methods of purchasing produce have not changed significantly
since the advent of the telephone. Wholesalers' produce purchases are made
primarily by phone with survey respondents indicating that 85.2 percent of

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 39

their purchases are made using the phone (Figure 3.27). Faxes are also used for
purchasing 8.8 percent of the time. Face-to-face purchases are occasionally
made (3.6% of purchases), and purchasing via ED! and e-mail are also used to
a small extent (2.1% and 0.4% respectively).
Judging by industry response, purchasing by phone is still the most effective
method of purchasing. Although faxes are becoming very important and ED!
and e-mail are providing some additional methods, purchasing and ordering in
the produce industry still requires person-to-person contact. While "high tech"
methods are being used and will likely be used increasingly in the future, they
will likely be used only for selective orders or for confirming orders.

FIGURE 3.27

Wholesalers' Primary Purchase Methods

• Phone

• Fax

• Face to face

• EDI
E-mail

Terms of trade: In general, close to half of all produce purchases made by the
wholesale sector are made employing free-on-board (i.o.b.) pricing (Figure 3.28).
In this mechanism, all responsibility for transportation cost and, in general, for
produce transport is with the buyer. Buyers indicate that with their own trucks
already on the road, Lo.b. terms are often preferred. F.o.b. is also favored by
many sellers who do not want to assume the risks and costs of trucking.
Delivered sales accounts for 29.0 percent of all wholesaler produce purchases.
When using the term "delivered sales," sellers are responsible for transport
charges and quality assurances to the buyers' dock. In these circumstances,
sellers may benefit when they control their own transportation network and
want to operate it to maximize profits. Sellers may also choose to offer more
delivered sales versus f.o.b. when they need to liquidate surplus inventory. In
those cases, they may offer the transportation at a very reduced rate, and
therefore not jeopardize their f.o.b. price but still offer a better overall value.
However, some in the industry believe that buyer rejection is more likely with
a delivered sale than a f.o.b. sale, since, at that late point, the seller has very
limited available alternatives.
-

© Produce Marketing Association

40 SECTIOI\J 3

FIGURE 3.28

Wholesaler Purchases by Purchase Terms

7% 1%

• F.o.b.

• Delivered sale

• Consignment
49%
• Price after sale
Via broker
o Other

Although there do not appear to be any regional or size differences in whole­

salers' preference between the purchase terms Lo.b. versus delivered price,
there are some slight differences in preference by firm classification. Repackers
and distributors use delivered price versus f.o.b. more frequently than do other
firm classifications (Table 3.13), whereas importers and terminal market whole­
salers use it less frequently. When wholesalers are grouped by food service sup­
pliers and other, foodservice suppliers in particular use delivered sales more
frequently than other wholesalers (Table 3.13).

TABLE 3.13

F.o.b. vs Delivered Price Terms, by Firm Classification

Firm Classification F.o.b. Delivered price

Distributors 49.0 31.5

Repackers 54.7 33.2
Brokers 56.6 28.1
"Off-market" wholesalers 55.3 26.5
Importers 37.5 15.9
Terminal market wholesalers 40.3 16.5

Foodservice vs other

Foodservice suppliers 43.6 36.4

Other wholesalers 50.1 27.5

Under some circumstances, sellers may send a shipment to a buyer deferring

'.
actual price establishment until after the final sale is consummated. Often,
sales of this type involve distressed produce, previously rejected merchandise,
or produce unsold by shippers' direct sales agents during a time of over-supply.
Historically, the most common price-deferred term of sale was the consign­
ment sale. Currently, consignment sales are only 6 percent of overall purchases
(Figure 3.28). However, a near equivalent technique, "price-after-sale," repre­
sents an additional 8.2 percent of purchases.

- - - - - - - ~ - -- - - - - - - - - ­
FRESHTRACK 1997 41

Price-after-sale is a purchase term that has emerged over the last 40 years. It
is quite similar to consignment in that produce is shipped to a handler with no
set price. When consignment and price-after-sale terms are combined, they
represent 14.1 percent of wholesaler purchase terms.
However, these sale conditions are much more prevalent for terminal market
wholesalers and importers. Consignment terms for these two wholesaler classi­
fications amount to 11.0 percent and 39.2 percent of all purchases for terminal
market wholesalers and importers respectively (Table 3.14). Price-after-sale terms
account for 29.3 percent and 6.9 percent respectively of purchases. The impor­
tance of terminal markets in handling products being sold in this manner ap­
pears to be significant while importers apparently handle more consignment
sales as a means to decrease risk associated with distant suppliers.

TABLE 3.14

Consignment and Price-After-Sale Terms, by Firm Classification

Consignment Price-after-sale Total

-% of produce purchases-
Importers 39.2 6.9 46.1
Terminal market wholesalers 11.0 29.3 39.3
"Off-market" wholesalers 1.8 7.8 9.6
Brokers 3.5 7.2 8.7
Repackers 5.7 2.8 8.5
Distributors 2.2 3.3 5.5

Overall, wholesale purchases made through brokers were only 7.1 percent of
their total but there are significant differences across firms sizes and classes.
Firms which make proportionately more purchases through brokers are: large
firms, distributors-in particular food service distributors-and "off-market" whole­
salers (Figures 3.29 and 3.30).

FIGURE 3.29

Wholesaler Purchases Via Brokers, by Firm Size

>$50M 10.8

$20-$50M
-
<$20M

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0

percent of purchases

© Produce Marketing Association

42 SECTION 3

FIGURE 3.30

Wholesaler Purchases Via Brokers, by Firm Classification

Distributors

"Off-market" wholesalers

Brokers
.. '

Repackers

Terminal market wholesalers

Importers

0.0 20 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0

percent of purchases

Contracting: Contracting appears to be a purchase arrangement of increasing

popularity with some produce firms. Generally contracts consist of an agreed
price and/or quantity, often with specified quality conditions, for a specified
length of time. Recent trade press reports and industry interviews indicate an
increase in the use of contracts, especially between foodservice suppliers and
their customers. However, little is known about the use of contracts between
wholesalers and their suppliers. Most of the demand for contract pricing ap­
pears to emerge from the retail and foodservice sectors.
For wholesalers contract pricing does not fit into the general tradition of
pricing by supply and demand. However, contracts for the packaged salads and
fresh-cut fruits, are becoming more important even in the wholesale sector due
to the stable f.o.b. pricing of these items.
A large majority, 76 percent, of wholesale respondents reported that 10 per­
cent or less of their purchases are made on contract, while 34 percent indi­
cated that none of their purchases are made on contract (Figure 3.31). How­
ever, 24 percent of wholesalers did indicate that contract sales amounted to
greater than 10 percent of their purchases.

FIGURE 3.31

Percent of Produce Purchases Made with Contract Pricing

11%

.0% ' .
• 1%-10%

• 11%-25%

Greater than 25%

42%

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 43

Contract pricing is a function of firm classification. Importers use more con­

tracts than do other firms. Forty percent of importers state that over 10 percent
of their purchases are made with some form of contract (Figure 3.32). In addi­
tion, foodservice suppliers use more contract pricing than other wholesalers.
Forty percent of foodservice suppliers use contracts for more than 10 percent
of their purchases. Thirty-two percent of "off-market" wholesalers state that
over 10 percent of their purchases are by contract. Terminal market wholesal­
ers on the other hand are most likely not to use contracts, as only 6.1 percent
say they use contracts for more than 10 percent of their purchases.

FIGURE 3.32

Respondents Purchasing More Than Ten Percent Via Contract Pricing, by

Firm Classification

Foodservice sales 'I I

Importers 'I I

"Off-market" wholesalers 31.6

Distributors 23.7

Brokers 200

Repackers 167

Terminal market wholesalers 6.1

I I
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
percent of respondents

Technology
Computers: Since the industrial revolution, technology has driven change in
manufacturing and retailing industries. The fresh produce industry is no excep­
tion. With the advent of the information revolution, technology is again propel­
ling changes in numerous operations and business practices. Personal comput­
ers are used in business applications from purchasing and sales to market re­
search. When wholesalers were asked how they use computers, 96 percent
indicate that they use them for accounting purposes including billing, invoic­
ing, and payroll (Figure 3.33). Fewer, 72.4 percent. report using them for in­
ventory management, and 30.2 report using them for ED!.
The use of computers for EDI purposes as reported above may be misleading.
Interviews with industry members suggest that while a number of wholesalers
may use EDI, they are likely to use it with only one account and only in the
most basic way. In addition, while many wholesalers appear to be gearing up for •
EDI and have purchased computers and software with EDI usage in mind, they
are still not operational with ED!.
..

© Produce Marketing Association

44 SECTION 3

FIGURE 3.33

Computer Usage by Produce Wholesalers

Accounting

Inventory

!~!~!!~3~0.~2[J=]=I=[=[J
Home web page
EDI
23.4
Other

Do not use

o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
percent of respondents

Perhaps not surprisingly large firms use computers for more purposes than
smaller firms. Whereas all size firms use computers for accounting, more large
firms use computers for inventory, Web page, and EDI than do smaller firms
(Figure 3.34). In fact, 59 percent of large firms state they use computers for
EDI, whereas only 11.3 percent of small firms use computers for ED!.
The costs of purchasing computers and computer software in addition to
customizing software packages and training personnel in computer use may
prohibit smaller firms from using computers for multiple tasks. Certainly smaller
firms are also likely to need inventory management that could be aided by a
computer system and may benefit from having a Web page that could advertise
the company and also serve to list prices and services which customers could
download.

FIGURE 3.34

Computer Usage by Produce Wholesalers, by Firm Size

90

80

70

60 • <$20M
50
• $20M-$50M
40
>$50M
30
20

10 -
0
Inventory Web page EDI

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 45

Not surprisingly fewer brokers (42.5%) report using computers for inventory
management than any other firm classes. But more brokers and distributors
tend to use computers for Web pages than others (25.3% and 24.6% respec­
tively).
Electronic Data Interchange: There is also a large variation in thc types of
firm which report using ED!. Distributors and repackers report using EDI much
more than do wholesalers in other classifications (Figure 3.35). Sixty-seven
percent of repackers indicate they use computers for EDI as did 45.6 percent of
distributors. It is perhaps not surprising that these two groups lead other whole­
salers in use of ED!. Distributors, for example, tend to be larger firms who often
have larger retail accounts which are more likely to be using EDI with suppliers.
What's more, repackers, as a function of their typically limited range of prod­
ucts, have less variation in product quality and condition, perhaps making stan­
dardization easier.

FIGURE 3.35

Wholesalers Using Computers for EDI, by Firm Classification

Repackers .
Distributors 45.6

Brokers 25.5

"Off-market" wholesalers 16.7

Terminal market wholesalers . 3 1

Importers 00

o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

percent of respondents

Wholesalers indicated that 5.6 percent of their suppliers currently use EDI
and that only a slightly larger number of customers, 7.4 percent, use EDI (Fig­
ure 3.36). When wholesalers project to the year 2002, they anticipate these
numbers rising significantly. They forecast that 29 percent and 35 percent of
their suppliers and customers respectively would use EDI by 2002. It is interest­
ing that even by 2002, wholesalers still anticipate using EDI more with their
customers than with their suppliers emphasizing the view that EDI is driven
primarily by the retail sector, including foodservice.
Caution should be used when trying to compare these produce industry num­
bers to those of the grocery industry. EDI in the grocery industry encompasses
electronic data interchange which often focuses on streamlining the product
ordering and delivery process. Efficiencies gained from electronic ordering then
trickle through other levels of order confirmation, inventory management, and
-
logistics. In the fresh produce industry where much of the ordering process
depends on personal communication of produce size, grade and quality condi­
tions over the telephone, EDI may not be as easily implemented. However, in
produce, EDI may come into play after ordering during the process of confir­

© Produce Marketing Association

 46 SECTION 3

FIGURE 3.36

EDI Use by Wholesaler Suppliers and Customers, 1997 and 2002

40
354
35
'"
......
c:::
<lJ 30
""0
c:::
0 25
a. • Suppliers
'"
-~
0
......
c:::
<lJ
20

15
• Customers

~ 10
<lJ
a.
5

0
1997 2002

mation, inventory management, warehousing, transportation and logistics. Many

industry members also expressed frustration regarding the cumbersome prod­
uct identification nomenclature required in order to implement ED! in produce
as was done in dry grocery.
A closer examination of responses shows that larger wholesale firms lead the
way in EDI participation. Firms with over $50 million in annual company sales
report that ED! is used by 13.7 percent of their current suppliers and 17.7
percent of their current customers (Figure 3.37). By 2002, they anticipate 35.1
percent and 46.6 percent of their suppliers and customers respectively will be
using ED! techniques.
Although relatively small wholesalers currently do not participate in ED! as
much as their largest counterparts, they, too, apparently see the possibilities in
efficiencies gained using ED!. By 2002 even the smaller firms anticipate signifi­
cantly more of their suppliers and customers-indeed a tenfold increase in only
five years time-will use ED! (Figure 3.37).

FIGURE 3.37

Wholesaler Suppliers and Customers Using EDI, 1997 and 2000,

by Firm Size
Suppliers Customers
40 50
351 45
35
'" 30 '"OJ 40
OJ E
0 35
a.
a. 25 ...... • <$20M
'"u::J 30

-
::J
'"
0
20
-0
25
20 • $20M-$50M -.
...... 15 ......
c:::
<lJ
c:::
<lJ 15 >$50M
u 10 u
OJ OJ 10
a. a.
5 5
0 0
1997 2002 1997 2002

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 47

Partnerships
Partnerships between supermarket retailers and their suppliers streamline lo­
gistics and assist in coordinating efficient responses to consumer demands. In
this study, a partnership was defined as a "formalized business commitment
with joint objectives whcre confidential information is shared." EDI and part­
nerships are often are used hand in hand.
The number of suppliers and/or customer partnerships established by indi­
vidual wholesalers ranges widely. The average number of current partnerships
is 11 per firm, however, over SO percent of the respondents report having 2 or
fewer. Wholesalers believe in the concept of partnerships, as the number of
partnerships is expected to grow to an average of 26 in 2002.
Wholesalers who transact a large portion of their sales with retailer chains
report having the most partnerships, perhaps suggcsting that partnership ar­
rangements are driven by the retail sector. "Off-market" wholesalers, 40.5 per­
cent of whose sales go to major retail firms, report having the largest number of
partnership arrangements (32) (Figure 3.38).
While foodservice suppliers report having roughly the same number of part­
ncrships as all other firms, they forecast enormous growth by 2002 when they
expect to have on average 65 partnerships per firm.

FIGURE 3.38

Number of Wholesaler Partnerships, by Firm Classification

60

50 III Terminal market wholesalers

V1
0..
..c 40
III "Off-market" wholesalers
~
Q)
c
t
III Brokers
oj
30
0.. Distributors
~
Q)
.0 20
E Repackers
=>
c 10
D Importers
0
1997 2002

The number of partnerships increases with firm size. Large firms report 17
partnerships currently, while medium and small firms report having only 14
and 9 partnerships respectively. What is more, large regional differences ap­
pear to exist regarding wholesaler partnerships. Eastern wholesalers report the
fewest number of partnerships while Western firms report the most (Figure
3.39).
•

© Produce Marketing Association

48 SECTION 3

FIGURE 3.39

Number of Wholesaler Partnerships, by Region

40

35
Vl
a. 30
£
~ • East
(l) 25
c
1:
20 • Midwest
'a".
~
(l) 15 West
.D
E 10
~
c
5

0
1997 2002

Distribution
Shrinkage and losses as well as reconsigned shipments may be used as proxies
to evaluate certain aspects of quality performance in distribution channels.
Wholesalers indicate that 5.3 percent of product is reconsigned and 3.6 per­
cent is lost due to shrink and other losses (Table 3.15). Reconsignment occurs
when, instead of rejecting a load of produce outright, many wholesalers are
able to find an alternative outlet for the product and renegotiate purchase terms
with the original seller.

TABLE 3.15

Sources of Wholesaler Losses

Percent

Reconsigned 5.3% of arrivals

Shrinkage & loss 3.6% of sales

Reconsignment and shrink vary by wholesaler classification and by firm size.

Importers report the highest reconsignment rate at 20.8 percent of sales, a rate
very high compared to other wholesalers but perhaps to be expected consider­
ing the product deterioration that may occur during the long distances some
imported produce travels (Figure 3.40). Repackers, also not surprisingly,
report the highest shrink at 8.6 percent. Importers report the lowest shrink
(1.4%) perhaps because their reconsignment is so high coupled with the infea­
sibility of returning the shipment.
Distributors and brokers, who often do not physically handle product, report
-
the smallest reconsignment and shrink when combined.

© Produce Marketing Association

 FRESHTRACK 1997 49

FIGURE 3.40

Wholesaler Reconsignment and Shrinkage, by Firm Classification

25 - , - - - - - - - - - . . . , . . . . - - - - - - - - - - ,

20.8
• Terminal market wholesalers
20 +------~
Vl
Q)
ra • "Off-market" wholesalers
: 15 +------~
o
.....
c
• Brokers
Q)
u 10 • Distributors
t
0..
Repackers
5
Importers
o
Reconsignment Shrinkage

Among the current initiatives to improve distribution system efficiency are

case coding, returnable packaging, and returnable pallets. Case coding, used
extensively to facilitate inventory flow and warehouse management as well as
cross docking in the grocery distribution system, has met with mixed accep­
tance in the produce wholesaling sector. Overall, 40.7 percent of wholesalers
indicate that they use case coding (Figure 3.41). Seventy percent of "off-mar­
ket" wholesalers, those wholesalers not located on a terminal market site, indi­
cate that they use case coding at least to some extent (Figure 3.42). This may
be expected given the greater presumed need for inventory handling efficien­
cies for wholesalers who own large warehouse facilities. Only 21.1 percent of
terminal market wholesalers, however, indicate that they use case coding.
Returnable packaging, such as plastic cases which can be returned to the
packing source, has benefits in terms of stackability, durability and economics.
However, few companies, only 14.4 percent of wholesalers, indicate that they
use returnable packaging of any sort. And when viewed by wholesaler classifi­
cations, only brokers, distributors and repackers report they use returnable
packaging at all (Figure 3.42).

FIGURE 3.41

Wholesaler Use of Case Coding and Returnables

50 -r------..,....------,..--------,
46.2
45 +------+------+--­
40
35
30
25
20
15
-
10
5
o
Case coding Returnable Returnable
packaging pallets

© Produce Marketing Association

50 SECTION 3

Repackers and "off-market" wholesalers report using returnable pallets more

than other wholesale classes (Figure 3.42) while fewer terminal market whole­
salers report using them.

FIGURE 3.42

Wholesaler Use of Case Coding and Returnables, by Firm Classification

70

V1 60 • Terminal market wholesalers

-+-'
c:
Q.)
-0 50
c: • "Off-market" wholesalers
0
0­ 40
V1

~ • Brokers
'+-
30
0
-+-'
II Distributors
c
Q.) 20 Repackers
~
Q.)
0­ 10
Importers
a
Case coding

25

-+-'
V1
• Terminal market wholesalers
c: 20
Q.)
-0
c: • "Off-market" wholesalers
0
~ 15
~
II Brokers
'+­
0
-+-' 10 II Distributors
c
Q.)

~
Repackers
Q.)
0­ 5
Importers
0.0 0.0 0.0
a
Returnable packaging

80

V1 70
-+-'
c:
• Terminal market wholesalers
Q.)
-0
60
C • "Off-market" wholesalers
0
0- 50
V1

~ 40 • Brokers
'+­
0
-+-' 30
II Distributors
c:
Q.)

~ 20 Repackers
Q.)
0­
10

a
Returnable pallets
Importers
-

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 51

Summary
• In general, wholesalers' preferences for terms of purchase vary accord­
ing to their own level of involvement with transportation systems,
although thef.o.b. terms are still the most preferred. The importance of
terminal market wholesalers in handling consignment or price-after-sale
terms is evident as 39 percent of all their purchases are handled using a
price deferred mechanism.
• Demand for contract pricing appears to be driven by retail and
foodservice sectors. For ·wholesalers, contract pricing does not fit into
the strong tradition of supply and demand pricing. However. contracts
for certain packaged products, especially salads, are more acceptable
due to the stable f.o.b. pricing of these items.
• Wholesaler use ofEDI may be misleading. Interviews with industry mem­
bers suggest that while a number of wholesalers claim to use EDI, they
are likely to use it with only one account and in only the most basic way.
In addition, while many wholesalers appear to be gearing up for EDI
and have purchased computers and software with eventual EDI usage
in mind, they are believed not to be currently operational with EDI.
• In an industry where much of the ordering process depends on personal
communication of produce size, grade and quality conditions over the
telephone, EDI may not be easily implemented. However, in produce,
EDI may come into play after completion of ordering, during the process
of confirmation, inventory management, warehousing, transportation
and logistics.
• Industry initiati'ves to improve distribution system efficiency include:
case coding, returnable packaging, and returnable pallets. Implementa­
tion of these initiatives is a function of wholesaler cla..'isification and
business activities. Activities which include produce handling, warehous­
ing, and/or repacking facilities benefit from the use of these initiatives.

© Produce Marketing Association

 52 SECTION 3

© Produce Marketing Association

SECTION 4

Summary and Industry Perspectives

Changes in the fresh produce industry from producers to final consumers are
posing challenges to the wholesale sector in such a way that those who can
meet them will be the future industry leaders.
The wholesale sector of the fresh produce industry is composed of widely
diverse wholesaling firms. The firms are diverse in the activities and functions
they perform whether they are traditional terminal market wholesalers or bro­
kers offering importing and warehousing services. They also vary substantially
in the size of their operations. Some companies report over $1 billion in 1996
company sales, while others sell less than $1 million annually. Such diversity
makes reporting industry "averages" difficult as averages in some cases can be
misleading. However, the diversity also points to the many opportunities open
for companies and the myriad of market approaches employed by industry
members.

-
54 SECTION 4

Wholesaler Profile
The survey response consisted of 205 wholesale firms whose company sales
totaled an estimated one-quarter of the U.S. fresh produce wholesaling sector.
Entry into and exit from the produce wholesale sector is still relatively easy
with moderate requirements in capital investment. This along with a low con­
centration of firms and an increase in per capita consumption of fresh fruit and
vegetables point to an industry with many growth opportunities.

UBlurring of Boundaries"
The number of operations in which individual wholesale firms are engaged is
becoming more numerous and diverse. Former boundaries of wholesale busi­
nesses defined by tradition have become indistinguishably blurred. Although
wholesalers classify themselves according to traditional definitions such as bro­
ker, distributor and receiver, they have increasingly taken on numerous second­
ary activities. Today wholesalers who physically handle and warehouse produce
also often engage in brokering services and brokers often engage in physical
wholesaling activities and often own product. Some "wholesalers" charge com­
mission; some "brokers" take title. In addition, today's distributors may re­
pack, import, and cut and package produce.
This expansion of the traditional wholesaler into non-traditional activities has
allowed them to expand their operations in ways other than merely expanding
volumes and/or product lines. Many wholesalers have become a "one-stop shop­
ping" supplier for their customers in the sense that the company can fulfill
many more customer needs. For example, retailers who need stone fruit year­
around, along with fresh cut fruit, drop shipments at each store, and produce
category management may now find all their needs in one wholesale company
rather than finding four different suppliers to fulfill each need separately.

Financial Status
1996 wholesale company sales range widely from $20,000 to $4.5 billion with
an average of $98.8 million. Average wholesaler produce sales in 1996 were
$41.6 million. However, the importance of produce versus non-produce sales
varied considerably by firm size. Small and medium sized firms tend to sell
produce as their primary business. In general, the very largest firms, whose
annual sales exceed $300 million, are considerably more diverse with produce
sales accounting for a much smaller portion of their total business. However,
even though these firms cannot be fairly classified as "traditional produce whole­
salers," they sell very large volumes of produce usually in direct competition
with the produce wholesaler.

Buying Power
When combined, retail stores and foodservice operators purchase roughly 50
percent of the volume of U.S. fresh produce directly from grower/shippers, •
while approximately 50 percent of U.S. produce moves through wholesalers
including brokers. From these estimates it appears that the purchasing power
of the wholesale sector is equal to that of the retai1/foodservice sectors when
assessing grower/shipper conduct towards retail and wholesale customers.

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 55

Grower/shippers rely on individual accounts, with 57.5 percent of their sales

going to their top ten customers. Because there are fewer individual retailers,
on average, each retailer has more buying influence and purchases greater
volume than each individual wholesale account. And according to U.S. Bureau
of the Census numbers, there are approximately 6,000 fresh produce wholesale
outlets and perhaps as many as 4,000 different wholesale firms. These indi­
vidual wholesale firms, being somewhat smaller than retailers, are perhaps more
fragmented with less individual purchasing power.
However there are many more individual wholesale firms-and thus buyers­
with which to conduct business than there are integrated grocery wholesale
and retail chains of which there are only approximately 250. On a practical
basis, this means that for every retail account, a produce shipper may have 16
wholesaler accounts. Of course, a few large wholesalers do have as much buy­
ing power as leading retail firms (see Table 3.7). Also the function of a whole­
saler account to a grower/shipper may be much different than their retailcr
account. This is discussed under "Supplier Relations" below.

Inventory Management and Service

Opportunities
The growing and complex array of SKUs handled by today's fresh producc
industry is being driven by contemporary consumer interests in convenience,
improved taste, quality, and variety. This has impacted the wholesaler's product
mix which is expanding and becoming more complex, including substantial
sales of packaged produce, retailer private labels and own wholesaler labels,
UPC and PLU codes, and non-traditional produce items. Proliferation of new
produce varieties and new packaging has enhanced sales of value-added pro­
duce by wholesale companies. In addition, non-traditional produce items in­
cluding specialty produce, packaged salads, organics, fresh squeezed juice, and
fresh cut fruit now contribute up to 27 percent of total wholesaler sales.
With the proliferation of specialty products, packaged salads, and other con­
sumer packages, wholesalers are now responsible for managing a larger num­
ber of items than in the past. The number of SKUs carried by wholesalers
depends on firm size. New produce items were introduced by wholesalers at a
rate of 24 new items in 1996. In addition, 27 new non-produce items were
introduced. However, most of the new non-produce items are introduced by the
largest firms who tend to carry more non-produce items than the "average"
produce wholesaler.
Wholesalers' customers are experiencing the same situation. Retailers are
expanding the number of items in the produce department, however, physical
capacity is limited in existing supermarkets, and retailers have not substantially
increased the square footage of their produce departments since 1994. As re­
tailers accept more items and increase their SKUs of non-traditional items such
as packaged salads and specialty produce, shelf space for the traditional, high
volume produce items will be sacrificed. Therefore, retailers will need to rely
more heavily on more advanced management practices such as: category and
­
shelf management, just-in-time delivery, cross-docking, and merchandising analy­
ses.

© Produce Marketing Association

56 SECTION 4

Produce wholesalers need to be aware of the opportunities this is likely to

create. Retailers are increasingly interested in services which help them man­
age the produce department. Services such as shelf-space management and
planograms have already become more important along with PLU coding to
facilitate predicting product movement during promotions.

Growth through Relationships

Customers and Services

The two most significant customer bases for produce wholesalers are major
retail/wholesale grocery chains (34 percent of sales) and foodservice opera­
tions (27 percent of sales). As such, many wholesaler services are directed at
these customers. The number of wholesalers offering merchandising services
has increased tremendously in the last 40 years, to the point that wholesalers
offer an expansive set of services today as the rule not the exception. "Guaran­
teeing prices for promotions" and "providing price concessions for promotions"
are now services offered by the vast majority of wholesalers. However, many
fewer wholesalers offer "assistance to retailers with displays" and "providing
retail training" perhaps suggesting further opportunities for distinguishing per­
formance through expanded services_
Wholesalers who understand how to conduct and analyze merchandising and
promotions in the retail produce department will be better able to provide
tailored services to their customers. Retailers in the FreshTrack 1997 survey
report that the greatest sales increase from a sales promotion occurs in re­
sponse to a 25 percent price reduction combined with a demonstration and/ or
sampling; a nearly similar sales response is achieved with a major ad.
Produce wholesalers cannot compete against grocery manufacturers with their
substantial promotional budgets. However, knowing the tremendous response
achieved by demonstrations, they can use this opportunity to better align their
service offerings to that of their retail customer. In addition, since small retail­
ers use produce in more cross-merchandising than do large chains (FreshTrack
1997), the former may be looking for more products and information on cross­
merchandising from their suppliers.
This is especially true for small independent retailers who do not have the
headquarters personnel large chains do to assist with such things as merchan­
dising, promotions, and category management. Small retailers, with annual
sales of less than $300 million, report that 40.4 percent of their produce pur­
chases are from full-line grocery wholesalers and 23.6 percent from produce
wholesalers. This suggests an enormous opportunity for produce wholesalers to
provide the services and the quality that independents need.
For the produce wholesaler, the growing trend of consumption away-from­
home has created another huge opportunity. Already, foodservice operators are
a growing customer base. In fact, 62 percent of foodservice produce purchases -.
are from wholesalers while only 38 percent are grower/shipper direct or broker
facilitated (Figure 4.1). Foodservice operators' needs for frequent deliveries of
small volumes will preclude many of them purchasing direct from grower/ship­
pers. The challenge for the wholesaler will be to continue to develop transporta­
tion and logistics systems that will enable them to fully service these smaller
volume operators.

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 57

FIGURE 4.1

Source of Produce: Foodservice

-percent of total purchases­

• Grower/shipper

• Via broker

62%
Wholesaler/ distri butor

Suppliers and Supplier Key Attributes

Although produce wholesalers typically procure their products from hundreds
of different grower/shippers, their main volume comes from a relatively few
major suppliers. Almost three-quarters of the quality, price, delivery, and over­
all performance of wholesalers' products are determined by ten principal sup­
pliers. Small firms in particular rely even more heavily on their top suppliers,
perhaps because they are purchasing in smaller volumes and do not need a
large number of suppliers to fill their demands.
In general, wholesalers purchase 67 percent of their produce from grower/
shippers. This does not vary by firm size. However, Eastern and Midwestern
companies purchase less of their produce direct than do Western wholesalers
and they also utilize brokers more than Western firms indicating there is still an
opportunity for wholesalers to service customers located away from the pro­
duction areas.
Wholesalers were asked to rate how their most highly regarded suppliers per­
form compared to their average suppliers in order to try to understand what
motivates wholesalers to do business with certain suppliers. Attributes grouped
under the category "quality" are considered most important by wholesalers.
"Reputation" is also very important with "supplies," "price," and "packaging
and logistics" somewhat less important.
The two individual attributes with the highest rankings are: "honesty and
integrity" and "positive reputation." This indicates that in an industry filled
with "opportunism" and highly competitive pricing behavior, a strongly positive
reputation may, for many, be a differentiating factor. Companies recognizing
the importance of their suppliers may recognize also that distrust can lead to
missed opportunities in discovering system efficiencies and performance im­
provement.
Wholesalers' customers, specifically retailers and foodservice operators, were
also asked to rate their most highly regarded suppliers on exactly the same
attributes. Retailers indicate that quality and reputation were the major catego­
­
ries important to them when doing business with their produce suppliers.
Foodservice executives rely very heavily on suppliers' reputations when select­
ing a preferred supplier. Apparently implicit within the idea of "reputation" is
"quality." Therefore, according to these responses, wholesalers should practice
honesty and integrity along with providing quality produce.

© Produce Marketing Association

58 SECTION 4

The Wholesaler as Grower/Shipper Customer

Wholesalers purchase approximately 67 percent of their produce directly from
grower/shippers. Due to such volume of business and growing importance of
business relationships and indeed partnerships, wholesalers should be aware of
how their performance is evaluated by their grower/shipper suppliers.
Grower/shippers' customers possess certain characteristics which may be
important to grower/shippers' needs for sales and profitability. To understand
these characteristics and how different customer types perform, grower/ship­
pers were asked to rank each customer type on various characteristics from 1
to 5; where 1 is the customer type with the "poorest performance" and 5 is the
"best."
For clarity, characteristics were grouped into four categories: business con­
duct, product movement, market knowledge and innovation, and prices and
payment. In general, grower/shippers express a higher level of satisfaction with
the performance of large chains and smaller retailers than with other buyer

TABLE 4.1

Evaluation of Customer Characteristics, by Customer Type 1

Customer large Small Food- Whole-
Characteristic chain retailer service saler Broker

Business Conduct
Easy to conduct business with 3.35 3.69 3.07 3.28 3.03
Contributes to my firm's profits 3.78 3.60 2.91 3.04 2.63
Offers EDI 3.96 2.76 2.69 2.15 1.93
Provides regular orders 3.90 3.63 3.23 3.41 2.90

Product movement
Ability to move surplus product 3.00 2.74 2.09 3.79 3.51
Willing to accept
multiple quality standards 2.05 2.71 2.51 3.82 3.28

Market knowledge
and innovation
Innovative 3.57 3.72 2.93 2.65 2.43
Willing to try new ideas/products 3.34 3.72 2.98 3.04 2.65
Knowledgeable about product
care and handling 3.47 3.39 3.36 3.60 2.65
Knowledgeable about
local markets 3.18 3.58 2.83 3.98 3.35

Prices and Payment

Flexibility in ad pricing 3.27 3.86 2.55 3.03 2.83
-
Pays good price 3.59 3.79 3.45 2.76 2.45
Pays promptly 3.80 3.73 3.35 3.00 2.76
1 Firm types ranked from 1 to 5; where 1 ~ "poorest performance" and 5 "best performance."

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 59

categories. Large chains and small retailers rank very well in business conduct
characteristics. Conversely, brokers rank poorest in terms of business con­
duct (Table 4.1).
Wholesalers perform well in product movement characteristics, offering the
ability to handle surplus product and multiple quality standards, while
foodservice does not perform as well in this category. Small retailers are per­
ceived as the most innovative by grower/shippers while wholesalers are seen
as most knowledgeable about product care and handling and also about the
local market. Prices and payments are seen as being handled best by retailers,
both large chains and small retailers.
When individual characteristic rankings are averaged by firm type, the dif­
ferences in rankings among firms are not large. The firm type that grower/
shippers rank with the overall best performance, according to the characteris­
tics provided in this survey, is small retailers with an overall ranking of 3.46
(Figure 4.2). Large chains rank second with a score of 3.40, with wholesalers
ranking 3.20, foodservice 2.92, and brokers 2.80. Despite the importance of
their role and the stability of the business. brokers rank last among customer
types in 10 out of the 13 characteristics assessed in this study.

FIGURE 4.2

Average Rankings for Customer Characteristics, by Customer Type

Small retailer

Large chain

Wholesaler

Foodservice

Broker

2 3 4 5
Score

The interviews conducted for this study clearly demonstrate that wholesalers
are indispensable to grower/shippers in moving surplus produce and produce
of variable quality. However, challenges for wholesalers lie in convincing grower/
shippers of their willingness to try new products and ideas and to experiment
with new approaches. Opportunities may also exist in partnering with the small
retailers, who are ranked very highly by grower/shippers, and continue to serve
them in ways that will also benefit the grower/shipper relationship.
•

© Produce Marketing Association

60 SECTION 4

Operations
Terms of trade
In general, wholesalers' preferences for terms of trade-f.o.b., delivered price,
or price deferred-vary according to market conditions, individual commodi­
ties, and involvement with transportation systems. Supply conditions on the
grower/shipper side of the distribution system can influence the proportion of
produce sold via delivered price. If shippers need to move surplus produce they
can offer certain "deals" on produce that is delivered to customers (delivered
price) and thereby not sacrifice their Lo.b. price.
Retail chains and foodservice operators who buy direct may not be as flexible
as wholesalers in being able to accept delivered price "deals" because they
often already have trucks on the road and need to utilize them most efficiently.
This is one example of how wholesalers are critical components of the produce
system and particularly to grower/shippers by helping to absorb extra product
in long market situations.
In addition, the importance of the terminal markets for handling and absorb­
ing produce being sold by price deferred methods-consignment or price-after­
sale-is significant, especially since no other business type (except importers)
handles any significant amount of produce on price deferred terms.
Much of the demand for contract pricing is from the food service and retail
sectors. Foodservice executives report extensive use of contract pricing when
procuring produce: on average, about two-thirds of firms report using contracts
for over 25 percent of their purchases, while only 6 percent report they do not
use contracts at all when purchasing produce. For traditional wholesalers, con­
tract pricing contradicts the time-honored method of pricing by supply and
demand. However, contracts for prepackaged product, especially salads, are
becoming more acceptable due to the stable pricing of these items from ship­
ping points.

Logistics
Generally, retailers are much more experienced using EDI techniques with their
grocery businesses, however, using EDI with produce is still emerging. Much of
the ordering process for fresh produce is still very dependent on the personal
communication of produce size, quality, and grade conditions and therefore
may not yet be appropriate for ED!. As numbering standards become defined
for some of these criteria, however, EDI use is likely to become more wide­
spread for the processes of order confirmation, inventory management, ware­
housing, transportation and logistics, and category management.
Currently, larger produce wholesaler firms are leading the way in ED! accep­
tance, yet small and medium sized firms anticipate using ED! significantly more
in the future. At this time, ED! is a mystery to most firms who have yet to make
the large investment in time and money to become operational with ED!.
Use of case coding and returnable packaging and pallets depends on whole­
saler business type. Case coding is currently being used more by "off-market"
­
wholesalers than any other business class, apparently for better inventory man­
agement and cross docking purposes. No terminal market wholesaler, "off-mar­
ket" wholesaler, or importer reported using any returnable packaging. Some
returnable packaging is being used by repackers, distributors, and brokers.

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 61

ED! has huge potential for being used with the growing complexity of the
fresh produce system. The information from this report only serves to reinforce
this. First, growing numbers of items from value-added packaging and products
to non-traditional produce and growing interests in private label and branding
programs are stressing a distribution system unaccustomed to handling the
volume of information needed to efficiently manage the huge growth in items.
Also, supermarkets and foodservice establishments are not growing in physi­
cal size at a rapid enough pace to accommodate the increase in number of
produce items. This creates a huge demand for logistics systems that will ser­
vice the retail and foodservice sectors with such services as just-in-time deliv­
ery, effective ordering, planograms, and re-stocking systems especially for high
volume products whose shelf space is being encroached upon by non-tradi­
tional items.
These demands for greater information handling and logistics systems are
challenges which should also create opportunities for any company that is a
produce supplier whether grower/shippers or wholesalers. The companies who
respond to these challenges and turn them into opportunities will be the future
leaders in the fresh produce industry.

© Produce Marketing Association

62 SECTIOI\J 4

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 ..... 63

Appendix A

APPENDIX A-1

Location of Produce Brokers by Region, 1997. Percent of Total Brokers

APPENDIX A-2

Location of Produce Wholesalers, by Region, 1997. Percent of Total

Wholesalers

© Produce Marketing Association

64 APPENDIX

APPENDIX A-3

Location of Produce Shippers by Region, 1997. Percent of

Total Shippers.

Source: Produce Reporter Co. (1996) The Blue Book.

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FRESHTRACK 1997 ~ 65

Appendix B

TABLE B.1

Business Classification, by Region of the U.S.

East Midwest West
Terminal market wholesalers 70.6 17.6 11.8
"Off-market" wholesalers 23.8 52.4 23.8
Brokers 39.1 23.9 37.0
Distributors 36.5 27.0 36.5
Repackers 33.3 33.3 33.3
Importers 81.8 9.1 9.1

TABLE B.2

Business Classification, by Firm Size

<$20M $20M-$50M >$50M

Terminal market wholesalers 55.6 29.6 14.8
"Off-market" wholesalers 36.8 57.9 5.3
Brokers 58.5 19.5 22.0
Distributors 25.4 37.3 37.3
Repackers 25.0 50.0 25.0
Importers 58.3 25.0 16.7

TABLE B.3

Percent Gross Margin, by Firm Classification

%GM
Terminal market wholesalers 16.0
"Off-market" wholesalers 18.9
Brokers 9.9
Distributors 16.6
Repackers 17.1 •
Importers 6.7

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66 ..... APPENDIX

TABLE B.4

Labeled Produce Sales, by Firm Classification

Retailer Own
private label wholesaler label
Terminal market wholesalers 4.2 16.4
"Off-market" wholesalers 11.8 10.0
Brokers 4.2 15.3
Distributors 4.9 16.9
Repackers 15.0 51.0
Importers 0.0 47.9

TABLE B.5

Non-Traditional Produce Sales, by Firm Classification

Prepackaged
Specialty salad Organic Juice Cut Fruit

Terminal
market
wholesalers 16.6 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3
"Off-market"
wholesalers 10.9 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.5
Brokers 10.6 0.1 9.1 9.1 0.1
Distributors 10.5 1.5 2.8 2.8 1.5
Repackers 12.0 4.0 0.2 0.2 4.0
Importers 49.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

TABLE B.6

Percent Growth in New Items, by Firm Classification

New produce items New non-produce items

-percent-
Terminal market wholesalers 4.7 0.1
"Off-market" wholesalers 7.3 3.1
Brokers 9.1 0.8
Distributors 4.6 6.9
Repackers 12.1 0.0
Importers 7.1 0.0

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FRESHTRACK 1997 67

TABLE B.7

Sources of Wholesaler Produce Purchases, by Firm Size

Other
Growerjshipper Broker Importer Wholesaler Other
<$20M 67 18.1 7.6 7.3 o
$20M-$50M 65.1 18.6 7.4 8 0.9
>$50M 64.5 22.4 6.3 4.5 2.3

TABLE B.8

Sources of Wholesaler Produce Purchases, by Firm Classification

Other
Growerjshipper Broker Importer Wholesaler
Terminal market wholesalers 66.3 19.8 9.6 4.4
'Off-market wholesalers 63.8 22.8 2.9 10.5
Brokers 80.3 9.3 6.7 3.7
Distributors 53.8 26.5 7.1 11.1
Repackers 54 27 o 5
Importers 72.3 3.6 24.1 0

TABLE B.9

Sources of Wholesaler Produce Purchases, by Foodservice Supplier

Growerjshipper Other
direct Broker Importers wholesaler Other
Foodservice supplier 44.5 34.3 3.4 15.1 2.7
Other 71.1 15.3 7.9 5.3 0.5

© Produce Marketing Association

68 ~ APPENDIX

TABLE B.10

Produce Purchases from Top Ten Suppliers, by Firm Size and by Firm
Classification

Percent of purchases from top ten suppliers

Firm size
< $20 million 79.0
$20·$50 million 72.7
> $50 million 62.6
Firm classification
Terminal market wholesaler 70.0
"Off-market" wholesaler 78.7
Broker 74.6
Distributor 68.2
Repacker 70.6
Importer 90.3

TABLE B .11

Highly Regarded Supplier Attribute Categories, by Firm Classification

Packaging &
Quality Reputation Supply Price logistics
Terminal market
wholesaler 5.25 5.23 4.38 4.27 4.06
"Off-market"
wholesaler 5.75 5.68 4.89 5.14 4.70
Broker 5.30 5.31 4.73 4.24 4.10
Distributor 5.19 5.16 4.44 4.08 4.01
Repacker 5.54 5.33 4.87 4.60 4.00
Importer 4.75 4.89 4.49 4.39 4.19
All 5.42 5.34 4.63 4.37 4.24

-.­

© Produce Marketing Association

 FRESHTRACK 1997 69

TABLE B.12

Leading Supplier Attributes, by Firm Classification

Terminal "Off­
Attribute market market"
Rank wholesaler wholesaler Broker Distributor Repacker Importer

1 Salespeople Honesty & Honesty Positive Supply large Supply large

that are integrity & reputation of enough to enough to
knowledgable integrity supplier fill demand fill demand

2 Supply large Highest Supply Honesty & Honesty & Price

enough to fill quality large Integrity Integrity protection
demand available enough on rising
to fill markets
demand

3 Positive Delivers Positive Supply large Highest Kind and

reputation of consistent reputa­ enough to fill quality courteous
supplier quality tion of demand available salespeople
supplier

© Produce Marketing Association

 70 APPENDIX

© Produce Marketing Association

FRESHTRACK 1997 71

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Produce Reporter Co., The Blue Book. Produce Reporter Co., Blue Book Ser­
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National Commission on Food Marketing, 1966. Organization and Competi­
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Commission on Food Marketing, Washington, D.C.
National Association of Produce Market Managers, Green Book: Produce Mar­
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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Situation and Outlook for Vegetables. Eco­
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© Produce Marketing Association