2. COOK MORE, WASTE LESS WITH SOUS VIDE

Hospitality and healthcare organizations can capitalize on innovative food trends, such as sous vide, when working with a GPO. Sous vide simplifies cooking, making it possible for people with little or no cooking experience to serve great tasting meals, which helps organizations struggling to find experienced chefs.

With sous vide, pre-packaged, vacuum-sealed pouches of food ranging from meats and fish to salads, sandwiches and proteins, are placed in warm water for cooking. Food has an 18-month shelf life, so it’ll last a long time.

Organizations can easily expand their menus with sous vide. Because the food is already prepped and bagged, prep time is eliminated. Other benefits include:

• 70% less cooking time
• 50% less labor, 25% less purchase spend
• 0 waste

3. MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR PRICE PROTECTIONS ON FOOD PURCHASES

GPOs offer a variety of ways to manage costs, such as pre-established distributor mark-ups and secured prices on items like turkey, eggs and produce that can have significant spikes in pricing. Facilities can cut food costs up to 18% by working with a GPO.

Savings strategies include price protections based on specific commodity indexes, which safeguard against sudden price increases. GPOs also leverage predetermined pricing caps that won't change and contract terms that dictate the timing of price adjustments. This mitigates volatile and unstable pricing. 

4. A CUSTOMIZED FOOD PROGRAM MEETS MEMBERS’ INDIVIDUAL NEEDS

A GPO can create a custom food program based on a member’s unique needs. Consultative services identify specific pain points, then craft a solution to solve them. This can include recommendations for switching products to meet nutritional needs and quality standards at lower prices, or leveraging popular options or ghost kitchens.

Buying food at competitive prices through a GPO eliminates time-consuming weekly and monthly bids. In addition, GPOs offer continuing education opportunities for organizations to optimize food products and services. Consultants are also available to offer proven process improvements that help organizations enhance their cash flow.

5. LOCAL PRODUCE PROGRAMS ENSURE FRESHNESS

Some food suppliers offer fresh produce from local and regional sources. This enables locally grown foods to be available in the food supply chain. For example, PRO*ACT is a supplier that links GPOs with fresh produce directly from farmers.

A fresh food supply chain provides a level of assurance that produce has been grown, harvested and handled using sustainable practices. Some GPOs also partner with food suppliers to offer farm-fresh produce to meet organizations' sustainable food needs.

6. FOOD SOLUTIONS TO MEET EVERY NEED, FROM ASSISTED LIVING CENTERS TO CASINOS

Whether casino restaurants need top quality foods and ingredients for their guests, or healthcare facilities need better tasting food to improve patient satisfaction, a GPO can meet their specific needs. A GPO can also work with members to research, purchase and maintain food-specific capital equipment that best serves their needs and budget.

The ability to provide quality food with superior taste can reduce unused products by up to 50% in some cases. Plus, for long-term care facilities, food quality is a driving factor for patients' positive experience in a facility.

7. INNOVATIVE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS PROVIDE OPERATIONAL SUPPORT

GPOs help organizations maximize their food purchases with management tools, business reports and regular reviews that provide insights into purchasing. For example, food distributors US Foods and Sysco offer a powerful suite of reporting, tracking and monitoring capabilities to ensure food safety and traceability support.

Data and analytic solutions, available through GPOs and their food distribution partners, provide insights into pricing to optimize food spend and streamline purchasing. In addition, a comparative food analysis can provide visibility into pricing for better decision making.