Vision Forward
Making a Lasting, Positive Impact on Distribution
A relentless pursuit of improved supply chain performance, modern technology, and public policy priorities will bring FEDA members’ vision for a stronger, more viable distribution industry to life.
Tracy Mulqueen
Publisher, FEDA News & Views
CEO, FEDA
tracy@feda.com
Like our members, FEDA understands that staying the course, even uphill through tough terrain, is often the key to winning. FEDA’s initiatives in strategic areas such as optimizing the supply chain, enabling access to uniform product data aligned with a new quoting option, and educating policymakers on the impact of legislation and regulations are formidable challenges, but we push forward because their successful outcomes are necessary to the foodservice equipment and supplies distribution industry’s future.
That concept of working toward the future is so vital that we put it right in the name of one of our newest groups: the Future of Distribution Council (FDC). Over the past year, the FDC has brought together the leaders of foodservice equipment distributors and manufacturers to imagine what a viable and profitable tomorrow will look like for the industry and to identify solutions and possible partnership opportunities to achieve it. This group is now thoughtfully and respectfully diagnosing supply chain pain points and noting areas for possible examination and resolution. The long-term goal is to help ensure that distributors are prepared to thrive in a future supply chain landscape that looks unrecognizable from today’s in terms of logistics, transportation, technology use, and how supply chain partners can work together.
In this issue of FEDA News & Views, we highlight the supply chain specialist who is facilitating the FDC’s work, Chad Autry, Myers distinguished professor of supply chain management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Having come to recognize that the foodservice equipment distribution industry favors transactional operations between dealers and suppliers that emphasize short-term wins, Autry is advocating for a new mentality centered on working collaboratively to improve supply chain operations. These recommendations are not about creating a friendly, feel-good environment, but rather they are grounded in evidence that collaborative approaches between the right business partners structured the right way can result in what everyone wants most — improved efficiency and increased profitability. Changing this way of thinking will take time, but the FDC values the long-term benefits of this important undertaking.
As FEDA facilitated the establishment of this new forum through several years of ongoing antitrust leadership trainings and resources, the association has shown the same fortitude in its creation of the FEDA Data Portal and efforts to bring a new configure, price and quote option into the market. This work required the gradual development and refinement of data standards as well as the formation of key tech partnerships to lay the groundwork for success. The New Tech Options Energize a Future Vision for Industry Data article in this issue describes why the FEDA DP+Q project is so important for our industry and why carrying out and completing the intensive work to build these needed tools — and enduring the wait for completion — will be worth the effort and patience.
Finally, FEDA is helping dealers feel more confident that they are making a difference in public policy by creating mechanisms for them to have an impact on legislation and regulations affecting their businesses. Dealers are naturally suited for this kind of work, as their tenacity and sales acumen make them effective advocates. As the March 2025 FEDA member trip to Washington, D.C., showed, all dealers needed was some training on FEDA’s policy priorities and an opportunity to meet with their elected officials for them to effectively drum up support for policies that advance and protect the distribution industry. Their eagerness and ability to absorb information led to our most successful congressional visits to date.
Good ideas are a start, but, as our dealer members constantly demonstrate, you can’t move forward without moving. I’m excited to see all the energy and effort FEDA has spent to advance the industry coming to fruition, and I’m confident our members will realize tangible, positive results for their businesses.