Do You Have the Best Contract Rates? Here’s How to Check

You’re in procurement at a large foodservice business. A few years ago, you negotiated a multi-year equipment contract, and your vendor promised competitive pricing. As the years have passed, have you ever stopped to wonder, “Was that actually a good rate?”

After all, you may have done negotiations without visibility into what the current market rate for that specific SKU was, or what your competitors were paying for it. In an industry where margins are known to be razor-thin, and food and labor expenses continue to climb, even just 5% savings on equipment purchases can translate to significant bottom-line impact. And the benefits just compound if you run hundreds or thousands of units.

Backhouse was built to eliminate the mystery of procurement pricing and give operators true visibility into fair rates. Here's why it's a better way to buy, and how you can use it to verify that your contract rates are actually as competitive as you think they are.

Why Enterprise Contract Rates Aren't Always Competitive

Enterprise groups usually rely on master distribution agreements (MDAs) or group purchasing organizations (GPOs) for equipment sourcing. And those resources work! They offer convenience, consistency across locations, and streamlined ordering processes.

But they may not truly offer competitive pricing. 

The issue isn't that your vendors are deliberately trying to overcharge, it's that pricing is typically set through one-time negotiations without any ongoing market validation. Equipment pricing fluctuates constantly due to supply chain changes, tariffs, manufacturer updates, and competitive pressures. And yet, the pricing on your five-year contract stays static. What was a great deal in year one might be significantly above market rate by year three.

You’re not just lacking insight into up-to-date pricing, you’re lacking visibility into the negotiation tactics of your GPOs. Do you actually know how their rates compare to real-time market alternatives? You're told you're getting "pre-negotiated savings," but savings compared to what? 

Let's put this in perspective: Imagine you work at a 50-unit QSR that purchases $2 million in equipment annually. If the contract rate for all equipment is just 10% above true market rates, that's $200,000 in unnecessary spending every single year—enough capital to open a new unit.

Without regular benchmarking, you're flying blind.

How Backhouse Benchmarks

Traditional procurement follows a familiar, time-consuming pattern: send out RFPs, wait days or weeks for quotes to trickle in, compare three to five options if you're lucky, negotiate back and forth, and then hope you got a good deal when you sign on the dotted line. There's no way to know if you left money on the table because you rarely experience a truly open market.

Backhouse changes that equation entirely. When you submit an equipment request through our platform, you see price estimates up front, then we collect competitive bids from every possible vendor within 24 hours. You get actual market data in front of you faster and more efficiently than ever before.

But speed is only part of the advantage. If you don’t need a specific SKU, our AI-powered platform can quickly search a catalog of over 500,000 items to match your specs and show you options across multiple suppliers and price ranges. No more wondering if one quote includes specs the others don't, or if you're looking at equivalent products across different manufacturers!

This transparency translates directly into negotiation power. When the procurement team sits down to renegotiate contracts or evaluate new suppliers, they're armed with competitive pricing data from Backhouse that shows exactly where the market stands. You're not guessing whether you could do better. You're negotiating with real data.

Think of Backhouse like a modern alternative to a GPO. Instead of locking you into predetermined pricing that may or may not reflect current market conditions, we give you access to competitive rates based on the collective purchasing power of our network, while you still maintain full visibility into real-time market options. You get the benefits of group buying without sacrificing the transparency and flexibility you need to make smart, cost-effective decisions.

Three Steps to Verify Your Contract Rates

Checking your rates is actually easier than it sounds. All it takes are three simple steps:

1. Identify Relevant Equipment Categories

Start by focusing your benchmarking efforts where they'll have the most impact. Look at equipment you purchase most frequently or at the highest cost, like refrigeration units, ovens, or fryers.

You may also want to prioritize items that are coming up for replacement or that you'll need for new builds. There's no point benchmarking equipment you won't be buying again for five years, but if you're planning three new locations next quarter, that's exactly where you want competitive intelligence.

2. Check Backhouse and Analyze

Submit equipment specs for the items you selected. If you want to make a purchase, you’ll submit a request to receive bids from suppliers within your service area in 24 hours. If you truly just want to benchmark, you can use our Market Scan feature to see recent pricing data. These prices come from the latest relevant bids in our network, giving you a solid benchmark without purchase commitment.

From there, you can analyze your results from Backhouse against your current contract pricing. 

3. Leverage Your Data

​​With competitive market data in hand, you can approach your suppliers from a position of strength. For existing contracts, use the data to request pricing reviews or mid-contract adjustments. After all, most vendors would rather adjust pricing than lose your business entirely. For new contracts, enter negotiations with concrete intelligence rather than hoping your vendor's "best price" is actually their best. 

If you’re a franchisor, be sure to share benchmarking insights with franchise owners so they understand their best potential rates and can reinvest those savings back into their business.

Take Control of Your Equipment Spend

Foodservice equipment sourcing shouldn't be about accepting the pricing you're given and hoping for the best. It should be about having the data to control the conversation.

In an industry where the difference between profit and loss can come down to a few percentage points, Backhouse gives enterprises the visibility and negotiation power to protect those margins. We save procurement teams countless hours on research and negotiations while adding transparency into major equipment investments.