Supply Chain issues

[ErinAkey]

Anyone else having trouble getting basics like packaging for takeout etc?  We use WebstaurantStore a lot but are really struggling with out of stock items.

What are your go-to places for good pricing on packaging?

[Rooben]

No real answers besides shopping around. In the Seattle area we have basically three chains for our packaging products - Restaurant Depot, US Chef  Store (fmrly Smart Foodservice), and Costco. Between the three we’ve found substitutes, but there are times when we simply can’t find a size and have to partially fill a larger one, which makes customers question the value (half full 16oz seems like less than a full 8oz).

[ErinAkey]

I wish we had Restaurant depot on the Gulf Coast.  Never heard of US Chef?  Sams and COSTCO are even out of a lot of what we need here.  Im going to look these two up online.  Thanks!

[TheZaar]

There are 10 RD locations on the Gulf Coast — 4 in Florida, 2 in Louisiana, and 4 in Texas. Visit:

https://www.restaurantdepot.com/locations/find-a-warehouse

[koicoffee]

Barista Underground and Barista Pro Shop, we also use a local supplier DWC. Sometimes Sysco has stuff. 

[ErinAkey]

Thanks!  Even places like Sams and Costco are out here.  

[TheZaar]

There seems to be a nationwide shortage of plasticware, especially PET. I get a lot of my cups and lids from lollicupstore, which has the Karat brand. Unfortunately, their Web site does not always show out-of stock items. My last order to them was partially refunded due to an out-of-stock item that their site allowed to be added to my cart.

I'm currently researching ordering directly from a manufacturer in China, through Alibaba. I've used Alibaba to order from China before and although it's a bit of a hassle corresponding with a manufacturer due to the 12-hour time difference, I was happy with the experience. If you can wait 4–6 weeks for your shipment to reach you, you can save money by buying Chinese products from China rather than Chinese products from an American importer.

[Rooben]

I’ve stayed away from Alibaba due to uncertainty, much like Amazon it feels like there’s no verification of vendors or products that they are actually what you think they are…disposables that have matching lid/cup sizes that we can order more of (need a steady supply of the same thing so we don’t end with extra/unusable lids or cups). I stopped with Amazon due to pricing and unreliable vendors.

[Allyson]

check into base food places like Sysco or US foods BUT make sure you abolutely always stay on top of them for food costs! They inch up all the time supply line issues or not. Costco and Sam's deliver as does Walmart if the cost is above a certain amount ($250 for sams and costco, $50 at walmart) Sometimes you'll be surprised where you can find things hiding. 

Also make SURE you have back stock on cups and all plastic wares. With the unstability in CHina those things will become harder to come by AND more expensive. 

[VanKalkerFarms]

we basically use Webstaurant for all items.  And yes supply chain is a disaster.  I'm keeping double on hand and order when I get to what I normally would stock and so far I'm mostly keeping up with a few occasions having to swap a different item etc.  There are others out there but not near the Webstaurant price that I can find.

[Rooben]

I’ve found that the shipping cost has made webstaurantstore cost prohibitive. Do you use their plus subscription?

[VanKalkerFarms]

yes, we do. in less than 2 years it would have been $7k in shipping costs vs the $2,200 of the membership plus it also has other benefits and savings.  You definitely need to buy a good amount of stuff so do the math on what you would be ordering on a typical month.

[vhovar]

We have been faced with issues getting supplies since mid April. I have had some success using Amazon (Business) but you do have to be very aware of the going price because there are some listings that are simply ridiculously priced. I've also been able to get some things from Karat. We also have a local supplier what has been able to locate a few things but they are also having issues.

[YourMoms]

We use Labatt and no issues with finding to go containers. 

[LinWoodSweets]

I just recently hit a snag on supplies in the last month. Not only packaging, but food items. My food rep at GFS says it's nationwide. It's the companies producing the products not having workers, or not having drivers to get it to the distribution warehouses, or the distribution centers not having workers. It's the full supply chain. I'm trying to stock what I can as much as I can when something is in stock. I'm waiting on things from GFS, webstaurantstore, and even my local Sam's. It's a crazy time.

[Uncommon]

We are in Eastern Pennsylvania and use Restaurant Depot as our most affordable supplier for takeout containers and many other items. Webstaurant has a physical Restaurant Store location but still has higher prices. We also have Remo, again higher prices but good to have options when certain items can’t be found in stock elsewhere. We’ve gotten resourceful and even purchased through other friendly restaurants whose regular suppliers had stock of something that we couldn’t find elsewhere. Since the beginning of Covid we’ve learned to stockpile our takeouts especially and try to always have a few extra weeks worth of supply of most used items just in case. Also have gotten things from Costco and Walmart in a pinch. Latest difficulty is finding canned corn, who knew!?! We are a ramen restaurant and our cuisine specific supplier out of NYC/north Jersey recommended we start buying extra stock of anything that we can’t operate without that comes from overseas. Prices will continue to rise and delays will continue to mount. We haven’t gotten some of our specialty Japanese soft drinks in months!!!! It’s really nuts these days, like we don’t have enough problems to deal with like staffing. 

[townhouse275]

Hi there, where in eastern PA is your ramen restaurant? 

[Uncommon]

Phoenixville, 30 mi west of Philly 

[TheSweetSide]

We are a bakery and use brpboxshop.com for almost everything. If we are not getting it from them, we use ULINE. I am not sure what type of biz you have, but ULINE is very reliable and has a lot of options.