From left: Bob Keyes, senior business analyst, Vince Glaviano, director of supply management, and Peter Horvath, president and CEO

QCS Purchasing LLC is a food industry procurement organization serving over 500 locations within its community. The company is owned by three partners: SECO (South East Cooperative Organization), Lisle, Ill.; Quality Chekd Dairies, Lisle, Ill.; and Allied Purchasing, Mason City, Iowa. Each has been in business dating back to the early 1940s. Since the incorporation of QCS in early 2005, annualized purchasing volumes have more than doubled, which can be attributed to the company’s ability to create value by leveraging the buying scale of its membership.

To better understand why its members so strongly support QCS, one needs to look at two fundamental principles that drive its business model. The group’s first priority is to deliver the absolute highest level of return to its members with regard to pricing and value, and to continue to operate as the “low-cost provider” in its chosen market segment. One important thing to note is that QCS is a not-for-profit organization whereby all profit (after expenses) is returned to its owners in the form of discounts, rebates and patronage.

The QCS program offers world-class buying solutions in most common procurement areas such as: packaging, resin, ingredients, MRO, cleaners/sanitizers and fleet items. QCS has also developed proprietary and innovative programs that include:

• corrugated box pricing based on a formula which helps offset industry pricing escalators
• orange juice futures hedging
• corn sweetener tolling 
• a program for retail sales data

A full array of online training programs are also available including: CIP, HAACP, GMPs, route driver training and employee safety training; all of which are available in English and Spanish.

While operating primarily in the area of dairy supply procurement, the group also represents significant volumes in natural food, bottled water, carbonated beverages, fruits and vegetables, as well as craft beer. Overall, QCS represents a robust and diverse community, which continues to expand beyond the traditional programs that its competitors offer.

The annual QCS Leadership Conference that is held each spring provides the community additional benefits such as educational workshops, a full-scale supplier tradeshow, member networking activities and performance-based awards that recognize excellence. This year the conference had record attendance as its members and suppliers continue to recognize the value of the organization and the opportunities presented within it.

Peter Horvath, president and CEO, and a dedicated staff of professionals have more than 90 years of combined dairy and food industry experience.

“The growth that we’ve experienced over these past few years can be directly attributed to the creativity and innovation of our team members, the support of our suppliers, as well as the continued commitment of our owners and their confidence in QCS to deliver necessary results,” Horvath says. “I can say that without a doubt, we represent the very best companies in the industry and are very proud and fortunate to be a part of their success.”  n

QCS Purchasing’s core objectives are:

• To maximize returns for our shareholders
• To remain the low-cost provider in our field
• To innovate and grow for the benefit of our owners
• To create lasting and valued supply-partner relationships