How does Hardees recover its costs related to performing supply chain services?
Hardees Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Finally, we and our affiliates provide supply chain, quality assurance, distribution and logistics services for the franchise system. These services include negotiating with suppliers and distributors who will sell and
distribute goods to our franchisees, designating one or more distributors to service our franchisees, and managing distribution logistics. As a result, we and our affiliates reserve the right to recover our costs related to performing these services by collecting a per-case distribution fee for all cases sold by an approved supplier to our franchisees and from other logistics-related programs.
Source: Item 8 — Restrictions on Sources of Products and Services (FDD pages 39–42)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Hardees' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Hardees and its affiliates provide supply chain, quality assurance, distribution, and logistics services for the franchise system. These services include negotiating with suppliers and distributors, designating distributors, and managing distribution logistics. Hardees reserves the right to recover its costs for these services.
Hardees recovers these costs by collecting a per-case distribution fee for all cases sold by an approved supplier to Hardees franchisees. They may also recover costs from other logistics-related programs. This means that a portion of the price Hardees franchisees pay for supplies goes towards reimbursing Hardees for managing the supply chain.
This cost recovery method is fairly common in franchising, as it allows the franchisor to maintain control over the supply chain and ensure quality standards while also being compensated for their efforts. Franchisees should consider this per-case distribution fee when evaluating the overall cost of goods and supplies for their Hardees restaurant.