Can Caring Senior Service concentrate purchases with one or more suppliers?
Caring_Senior_Service Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You must purchase all products, materials and supplies only from distributors and other suppliers approved by us from time to time.
- (ii) We may approve a single distributor or other supplier (collectively "supplier") for any product and may approve a supplier only as to certain products.
We may concentrate purchases with one (1) or more suppliers to obtain lower prices or the best advertising support or services for any group of Businesses.
We may, if we choose, take advantage of discounts offered by a supplier in connection with the acquisition of large quantities of products and resell said products to you at a profit.
Approval of a supplier may be conditioned on requirements relating to the frequency of delivery, concentration of purchases, standards of service, including prompt attention to complaints, or other criteria and may be temporary, pending our continued evaluation of the supplier from time to time.
- (iii) If you desire to purchase any unapproved items or from any unapproved supplier, you must submit to us a written request for approval of the proposed product or supplier and obtain our written approval of the product or supplier prior to purchasing any such items from said supplier.
We may inspect the proposed supplier's facilities and require product samples from the proposed supplier to be delivered at our option either directly to us or to any independent entity which we designate for testing, which testing or evaluation and ultimate approval or rejection shall be completed within thirty (30) days of submission.
We reserve the right to periodically re-inspect the facilities and products of any approved supplier and to revoke our approval if the supplier does not continue to meet any of our criteria.
We reserve the right to require you to reimburse our costs related to any such inspection or evaluation.
We shall in no event be obligated to approve any proposed supplier;
- (g) if the manufacturer or supplier of any products, equipment, supplies, goods, or other items that you purchase remits to us any rebate, allowance, discount or other sum on account of said purchases, we may keep such amount, distribute such amount among franchisees, or allocate such amount to the Fund, in our sole discretion;
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 53–204)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Caring Senior Service's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Caring Senior Service may concentrate purchases with one or more suppliers. Specifically, Caring Senior Service can do this to obtain lower prices, better advertising support, or services for any group of businesses.
Caring Senior Service also has the option to capitalize on discounts offered by a supplier for bulk purchases and then resell those products to franchisees at a profit. This means that franchisees may not always get the absolute lowest price possible, as Caring Senior Service may mark up the cost to generate revenue.
If a franchisee wants to buy items from a supplier not already approved, they must get written approval from Caring Senior Service. Caring Senior Service can inspect the supplier's facilities and ask for product samples for testing, which should take about 30 days. Caring Senior Service can also re-inspect approved suppliers and revoke approval if they don't meet the standards. The franchisee might have to cover the costs of these inspections or evaluations. However, Caring Senior Service is not obligated to approve any proposed supplier.
Furthermore, if Caring Senior Service receives any rebates, allowances, or discounts from suppliers based on franchisee purchases, Caring Senior Service has the sole discretion to keep that amount, distribute it among franchisees, or allocate it to a fund. This policy gives Caring Senior Service significant control over supplier relationships and any financial benefits that may arise from them.