Is Craters & Freighters an approved supplier?
Craters_Freighters Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
To maintain the high standards of our system and to fulfill the quality packing and shipping of products, you must purchase various equipment, products, and other items or services that meet or exceed minimum requirements and specifications that we establish. Such requirements and specifications may appear in our Operations Manuals and include the following: warehouse tools and equipment (e.g., power tools such as saws, nail guns, and drills); warehouse equipment (e.g., packing systems, forklift, and a scale); hardware and fasteners (e.g., nails, staples, screws, gloves, and utility knives); packing material (e.g., lumber, corrugated, and foams); hardware and software, Internet connection and service, dedicated telephone and power lines, and other computer related accessories, peripherals, and equipment to operate the computer, Proprietary Software, and select software we provide you (See ITEM 12), as well as fax machine and telephone; office furniture; office and miscellaneous supplies; and a 16' to 26' box truck.
We may revise these requirements and specifications from time to time. We are not an approved supplier, but we reserve the right to become an approved supplier at any time in our discretion. None of our Affiliates is an approved supplier. None of our officers or directors owns an interest in an approved supplier. Neither we nor any of our Affiliates derived any revenue in 2024 from franchisee purchases or leases of products and services from our designated suppliers, but we and our Affiliates reserve the right to do so in the future. The precise basis by which we may derive revenue in the future is undetermined at this time. If we derive revenue in the future from your purchases or leases of products and services from our designated suppliers, the precise basis by which we will do so will be disclosed to you.
If you desire to use suppliers other than those which have been approved by us, you must submit your request to us in writing. We will then review the request and notify you of our approval or disapproval within 30 days. We apply the following general criteria in approving a proposed supplier: ability to provide sufficient quantity of product; quality of products and/or services at competitive prices; production and delivery capability; and dependability and general reputation of the supplier. If we develop additional criteria for supplier approval, those criteria will be made available to you. We may revoke our approval of an alternative supplier in the event that we receive complaints from franchisees, customers or other sources.
We estimate that the purchase of products and services from us or our designated or approved sources, or those meeting our standards and specifications, will be approximately 0% of your total cost to establish a Craters & Freighters Franchised Business, and 2% to 3% of your total cost of operating a Craters & Freighters Franchised Business.
We have purchasing cooperatives with certain suppliers as of the date of this Franchise Disclosure Document. We may negotiate purchase arrangements with suppliers and distributors of approved products for the benefit of our franchisees and we reserve the right to receive rebates on volume discounts from our purchase of products that we may re-sell to you. We do not provide material benefits, such as renewing or granting additional franchises to franchisees, based on their use of designated or approved suppliers and distributors. There are no caps or limitations on the maximum amount of rebates we may receive from our suppliers and distributors as the result of franchisee purchases.
We also have a national accounts program ("National Accounts Program") developed in connection with our Affiliate, CFGL. CFGL solicits and administers business accounts (each a "National Account") for packaging and shipping from businesses or institutions with operations in two or more territories within the System.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 18–20)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Craters & Freighters's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Craters & Freighters is not currently an approved supplier, but they reserve the right to become one at any time. The FDD specifies that none of Craters & Freighters's officers or directors owns an interest in an approved supplier. Furthermore, neither Craters & Freighters nor its affiliates derived any revenue in 2024 from franchisee purchases or leases from designated suppliers, but they reserve the right to do so in the future. If they do derive revenue in the future, the basis for doing so will be disclosed to franchisees.
As a Craters & Freighters franchisee, you are generally required to purchase various equipment, products, and other items or services that meet or exceed minimum requirements and specifications that Craters & Freighters establishes. These requirements and specifications may be found in the Operations Manuals and include items such as warehouse tools and equipment, packing material, hardware and software, office furniture, and a 16' to 26' box truck.
If a franchisee desires to use suppliers other than those approved by Craters & Freighters, they must submit a written request. Craters & Freighters will review the request and notify the franchisee of their approval or disapproval within 30 days. The general criteria Craters & Freighters applies in approving a proposed supplier include the ability to provide sufficient quantity of product, quality of products and/or services at competitive prices, production and delivery capability, and dependability and general reputation of the supplier. Craters & Freighters may revoke approval of an alternative supplier if they receive complaints from franchisees, customers, or other sources.
Craters & Freighters estimates that the purchase of products and services from them or their designated or approved sources, or those meeting their standards and specifications, will be approximately 0% of the total cost to establish a Craters & Freighters Franchised Business, and 2% to 3% of the total cost of operating a Craters & Freighters Franchised Business. Craters & Freighters may negotiate purchase arrangements with suppliers and distributors of approved products for the benefit of franchisees and reserve the right to receive rebates on volume discounts from their purchase of products that they may re-sell to franchisees. They do not provide material benefits, such as renewing or granting additional franchises, based on the use of designated or approved suppliers and distributors, and there are no caps or limitations on the maximum amount of rebates they may receive from suppliers and distributors as the result of franchisee purchases.