[Psychlone]

While I agree with Kim that purchasing from smaller 'independents' is more beneficial for some items, I personally can't go this route because of time and distance (64 miles to the nearest Sams and Costco) and time, because my restaurant takes MOST of my time from me.

But, I've found that just talking with your sales reps about going 'Prime Vendor' with them will give you an idea of what kind of savings are available to you.

For instance, my Sysco rep told me that if I purchase 80% of my product from Sysco, that they will waive my fuel surcharge, along with a 4% total invoice discount - which really adds up when I'm receiving 3 trucks a week from JUST Sysco.
The US Foods rep one-upped Sysco by stating that I wouldn't even have to sign any sort of contract of purchase percentage, because my sales volume through them is sufficient to allow a 7% discount on all individual items purchased through them, but would still charge the $7.90 per drop (again, 3 times a week) (I purchase alot of the Escoffier line which can be really expensive)...so it's really sixes at this point, but my main goal is to sit down and do a comparative analysis of items purchased and determine which vendor would really be the best one to go with.
(i.e. price EVERY item in my inventory (~$66,000 at it's lowest) through Sysco, then do the same through US Foods - with the exceptions of special items that only one or the other carries that aren't interchangeable.) - I won't sacrifice quality for price...my customers would know it in a single bite, and those are my Le Cordon Bleu and ACF accreditation certificates on my wall 1 step inside my front door of my restaurant, so I have a reputation to uphold.

On the other hand, what Kim had said would most certainly work for a smaller operation - the cost differences would be sufficient enough to justify the time and distance for me if we were smaller.
Another thing that could be of interest, is going direct to the manufacturer of specific goods, like Styrofoam, plasticware, etc. - We happen to have a Genpak and Nampak here in my town that makes Styrofoam and plastics (buckets, plasticware for to-gos, etc.) and I've spoken with them directly and can order whatever I need, whenever I need at obviously seriously discounted prices. Could possibly work for paper product manufacturers as well, I just have none near me to try.

Psychlone