What criteria are used by Afuri Ramen Dumpling to evaluate potential suppliers?
Afuri_Ramen_Dumpling Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
Subject to your obligation to purchase goods and services from certain exclusively designated suppliers, with advance written notice you may request our approval to obtain products, equipment, supplies or materials from sources that we have not previously approved. We may require you to give us sufficient information, photographs, drawings, samples, and other data to allow us to determine whether the items from these other sources meet our specifications and standards, as established from time to time. These specifications and standards will relate to quality, taste, durability, value, cleanliness, texture, composition, strength, finish and appearance, and the suppliers' capacity and facility to supply your needs in the quantities, at the times, and with the reliability necessary for efficient operation. We may require that samples from any supplier be delivered to a designated independent testing laboratory for testing before approval and use. You will reimburse us for the actual cost of the tests. We will license any supplier that can meet or exceed our quality control requirements and standards, for a reasonable license fee, to produce and deliver products to you but to no other person. Our confidential recipes, ingredients, requirements, designs, systems and formulas will be revealed to potential suppliers only after we have received reasonable evidence that the proposed supplier is trustworthy and reputable; has the capacity to consistently follow our standards, requirements and testing procedures; will maintain the confidentiality of the designs, systems, formulas, ingredients and recipes; and will adequately supply your reasonable needs. We will not unreasonably withhold approval of a supplier you propose (unless we have previously designated a single supplier or exclusive suppliers for certain products or services). We will endeavor in good faith to notify you in writing of the approval or disapproval of any supplier you propose within 30 days of our receipt from you of your written notice of request for approval.
Source: Item 8 — Restrictions on Sources of Products and Services (FDD pages 22–26)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Afuri Ramen Dumpling's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee wants to use a supplier that is not already approved, they must request approval from Afuri Ramen Dumpling. To evaluate a potential new supplier, Afuri Ramen Dumpling requires sufficient information, such as photographs, drawings, samples, and other data, to determine if the items from the supplier meet their standards.
The specifications and standards used to evaluate potential suppliers relate to several factors. These include quality, taste, durability, value, cleanliness, texture, composition, strength, finish, and appearance. Afuri Ramen Dumpling also assesses the suppliers' capacity and facilities to reliably supply the franchisee's needs in the necessary quantities and at the required times for efficient operation.
Afuri Ramen Dumpling may also require samples from the potential supplier to be delivered to an independent testing laboratory for testing, the cost of which is to be reimbursed by the franchisee. If a supplier meets or exceeds Afuri Ramen Dumpling's quality control requirements and standards, they may be licensed to produce and deliver products to the franchisee, but not to other parties, for a reasonable license fee. Permission for inspection of the supplier's facilities and products is a condition of continued approval.
Afuri Ramen Dumpling will only reveal confidential recipes, ingredients, requirements, designs, systems, and formulas to potential suppliers after receiving reasonable evidence that the supplier is trustworthy and reputable. The supplier must also have the capacity to consistently follow Afuri Ramen Dumpling's standards, requirements, and testing procedures, maintain the confidentiality of the designs, systems, formulas, ingredients, and recipes, and adequately supply the franchisee's reasonable needs. Afuri Ramen Dumpling endeavors to notify the franchisee in writing of the approval or disapproval of a proposed supplier within 30 days of receiving the written request for approval.