How to Measure Buying Team Performance in Food Distribution

In food distribution, buying decisions are where a huge chunk of your profit is won or lost. Yet for many distributors, the buying function still runs on gut feel, spreadsheets, and “the way we’ve always done it.” That might be fine when things are predictable. But today? Demand swings, vendor lead times slip, and perishable waste eats margins alive.

If you’re feeling the pain of missed forecasts, overstocked inventory, or product expiring on the dock, you’re not alone. Here’s how leading distributors are measuring and improving their buying teams — and the signals to watch for if you’re ready for a more systematic approach.

Track the Metrics That Actually Protect Margin

We recommend starting small, with three buckets:

• Service Metrics: Outbound fillrate to your customers as well as inbound fillrate from your vendors.
• Waste Metrics: % of perishable items expiring before sale, spoilage write-offs, slow-moving stock, overstocks in general.
• Profitability Metrics: Not just gross margin but a truly burdened profitability taking carrying cost into account is eye opening. What are the costs of emergency or fill-in orders? Do the buyers have rules for how many days extra they should buy forward on a 3% discount or a 7% TPR? Are they buying in on all deals or missing some?

When you put these numbers in front of your team, you get a very different conversation than “When did we or why didn’t we place the PO?”

Make It Transparent and Predictive

The vital part of buying isn’t the math; it’s the visibility. Most ERPs weren’t built to give food distributors a true forward-looking view. Buyers end up reacting instead of being proactive.

Tools like BFC Replenishment Optimizer were created because operators needed a way to:

• See future sellable inventory at a glance (not just what’s in stock today)
• Factor in lot expiration automatically so you buy what you can actually sell
• Run quick profit simulations to choose the most profitable order frequency that also meets vendor constraints and/or show how much it is costing you in profits to meet those vendor requirements.

That’s the level of transparency buyers, who buy on feel or only have an ERP or a spreadsheet, have been missing that they would get with a dedicated forecasting and replenishment solution to help them. The best buyers don’t rely on one individual or siloed internal expertise. They implement a system that can make virtually anyone an effective buyer. It is quite illuminating to consider that the CFO got the system they wanted, the warehouse manager got the system they wanted, the transportation manager, etc. but a tool to help manage the company’s largest asset, it’s inventory, is being managed by feel, spreadsheet or an accounting centric offering. We believe that buyers should have a system designed and dedicated to their success and the companies profitability.

Use Metrics to Coach, Not Punish

Your buyers aren’t trying to waste money or cause stockouts. In most cases, they simply don’t have the right information. When you start measuring at the outcome level and give them predictive insights, you move from blame to coaching. That’s where the real margin gains show up to margins, productivity, profitability, and even quality of life.

For example, one distributor implemented an incentive structure where half of each buyer’s bonus was tied to maintaining outbound customer service levels within 2% of their goal. Over time, their team got so precise that management had to tighten the target even further — now, buyers are expected to stay within just 0.5% of goal, and they’re consistently hitting it.

Watch for These Signals You’ve Outgrown “Manual” Buying

If any of these sound familiar, it’s time to upgrade your approach:

• Weekly “fire drills” to cover stockouts or surprise shortages
• Cash flow tied up in slow-moving inventory
• Spoilage creeping up but no clear cause
• No way to simulate profit impact of buying decisions
• Warehouse space! Are you running out of space in your warehouse?

Bringing It Together

Measuring your buying team’s performance isn’t about making more spreadsheets or reports. It’s about focusing on the right metrics and giving your team the visibility to act on them. Start with profitability, waste, and service metrics. Share them openly. Then add predictive tools that factor in demand, replenishment, and profitability automatically.

That’s how food distributors are cutting perishable waste, optimizing safety stock, and making smarter, faster decisions without adding headcount.

Takeaway: The buying function drives your largest investment. By measuring outcomes and adding predictive visibility, you can improve your top and bottom lines and turn your buying team into a competitive advantage.