Plate IQ Teams With Foodbuy Foodservice On Rebates

Food service procurement and supply chain company Foodbuy Foodservice has announced a partnership with hospitality-focused accounts payable (AP) automation and expense management company Plate IQ, according to a Thursday (Aug. 26) press release.

The Foodbuy-Plate IQ pairing is “designed to enhance Plate IQ’s service offerings to the restaurant community and help them increase margins by opening up access to the Foodbuy Foodservice Manufacturer Rebate Program,” the release stated.

Plate IQ customers will now get manufacturer rebates on restaurant supplies because of the Foodbuy Foodservice Manufacturer Rebate Program, according to the release.

“Foodbuy’s best-in-class group purchasing and procurement services represent Plate IQ’s commitment to helping our restaurant customers bounce back with more efficient operations and better margins,” said Bhavuk Kaul, co-founder and CEO of Plate IQ, in the release.

The partnership also means Foodbuy Foodservice customers can tap into Plate IQ’s AP automation and payments platform to process, approve and pay more than 40,000 vendors through its Bill Pay Network, the release stated.

It also means Plate IQ customers will earn rebates from Foodbuy Foodservice’s more than 3,000 suppliers and $26 billion in purchasing power on top of their existing cash back rebates through Plate IQ’s Bill Pay and The Plate IQ Card, which is Plate IQ’s corporate card and expense management program. Foodbuy customers will be able to eliminate manual data entry and get their rebates faster, according to the release.

Foodbuy customers who use Plate IQ’s Bill Pay Network and The Plate IQ Card can also pay their vendors directly and earn cash back on their purchases.

The food sector has been among the hardest hit by pandemic-triggered supply chain issues. Wholesale food distributor Sysco has been forced to turn away customers in some areas because demand is higher than the supply. Chicken, pork and paper takeout packaging products prices are on the rise and the production of bacon, ribs, wings, tenders and other high-labor cuts of meat are also slowing down.

Read more: Supply Chain Woes Crippling US Food Sector

Fellow food distributor United Natural Foods is also struggling to get food to stores on time because of the labor shortage and delays in cheese, coconut water, spices and other imported goods.

SpartanNash President and CEO Tony Sarsam said earlier this month the company is changing how it operates its warehouses, how it plans for sales and operations, how it optimizes its inventory, how it manages its network and how it approaches procurement.