ARCOP Inc. has been innovating supply chain management since 1978 when it was officially incorporated in February in Ohio by four franchisees who served as the co-op’s first Trustees: Tom Johnson Jr., John Bohlsen, Mike Schulson and Dick Elias. The independent, non-profit QSR supply chain system was devised by Arby’s founder Leroy Raffel and several franchisee leaders, and the first President Tom Q. McKinnon to answer the call for a central, dedicated supply and procurement management team to manage day-to-day supplier relationships, logistics, and commodity price negotiations for the greater Arby’s system.
The inaugural ARCOP team developed a holistic, strategic model focused not only on mitigating costs for franchise and corporate restaurants, but establishing uniform expectations, standards, and mutual respect between the Arby’s system and its supplier community. In a matter of a few years, the first ARCOP team succeeded in evolving a multifarious, individual entity-focused commodity supply culture into a unified, sophisticated system-wide supply network – saving hundreds of thousands of dollars for the system in their first year alone.
Today’s ARCOP team manages over $1.5 billion in annual spend, maintains contracts with over 250 Arby’s suppliers, and moving over 23 million cases throughout the Arby’s system annually.
ARCOP’s founders, members, and team have made it a point to be a customer of choice, provide a winning, cohesive, and innovative culture and to “Deliver Excellence in Every Case.” ARCOP is solutions-driven and its members strive to truly embody the collaborative “family” atmosphere which has always been a key element in Arby’s success.