BOSTON, Feb. 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TopSource LLC, division of Topco Associates, one of the largest U.S. cooperative buying organizations for retail food, is pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with Centralized Supply Chain Services, LLC (CSCS®), the sole purchasing agent for Applebee's and IHOP restaurants. The partnership will provide additional savings opportunities for CSCS by leveraging the significant buying power of TopSource's customer base. TopSource is a strategic sourcing company for indirect business spending. It supports food and retail companies, including grocery, restaurants and other organizations, in managing the procurement costs across non-food areas. The extensive list of products and services supported by TopSource includes packaging and disposables, operations, hired services, HR benefits, IT/Telecom and more.
Kansas City, Missouri-based CSCS formed as a purchasing cooperative to leverage the combined buying power of its member operators from Applebee's and IHOP restaurant systems. The Applebee's casual dining chain operates a system of more than 1,850 restaurants in the United States while IHOP operates over 1,500 locations nationwide. Working with TopSource, CSCS has already identified several savings opportunities.
"Since partnering with TopSource, CSCS has been able to identify cost savings in the disposables category by leveraging our volume with TopSource," said Tomia Smith, senior category manager, non-food procurement for CSCS. "They have been a valuable resource and have been able to bring win-win cost savings solutions to our members."
Since 2006, TopSource has successfully expanded its customer base to include not only grocery companies but also businesses, including restaurants, convenience stores, drug stores and other retail. For CSCS, the TopSource business model is a strong fit to support the needs of its restaurant members and better control of operational expenses.
"Similar to our current customers in the grocery retail and foodservice space, CSCS has many of the same strategic indirect sourcing needs that are at the very core of what TopSource does," said Dave Picarillo, senior vice president of TopSource. "In addition to sharing innovative ideas, we introduced and demonstrated the competitive savings advantage that TopSource delivers to its customers through a recent packaging event. We're excited about the results thus far and look forward to a great 2014."
Leveraging the purchasing power of its more than 60 customers, TopSource is working closely with CSCS to identify other significant opportunities across several business areas.
About TopSource
TopSource is a wholly owned subsidiary of Topco Associates LLC, an $11.9 billion, privately held company that provides aggregation, innovation and knowledge management solutions to leading mid-size U.S. businesses, including retailers, hospitals, foodservice providers and manufacturers. TopSource leverages the collective volume, knowledge and commitment of these companies to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace by reducing costs and offering winning business-building capabilities. To learn more about TopSource, visit www.topsourcellc.com.
About CSCS
Centralized Supply Chain Services, LLC (CSCS), a purchasing cooperative, was launched on February 16, 2009 by DineEquity, Inc., whose subsidiaries franchise and operate Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar® and IHOP® restaurants, and by the franchisees of the Applebee's and IHOP systems. With the formation of CSCS, DineEquity designated CSCS as the sole purchasing agent for the Applebee's and IHOP systems. To learn more about CSCS, visit www.cscscoop.com.