Darden Restaurants Inc's Suppliers Performance

Our ability to ensure a consistent supply of high-quality food and supplies at competitive prices to all of our restaurant brands depends on reliable sources of procurement. Our purchasing staff sources, negotiates and purchases food and supplies from more than 2,000 suppliers whose products originate in more than 30 countries. Suppliers must meet our requirements and strict quality control standards in the development, harvest, catch and production of food products. Competitive bids, long-term contracts and long-term vendor relationships are routinely used to manage availability and cost of products.

We believe that our seafood purchasing capabilities are a significant competitive advantage. Our purchasing staff travels routinely within the United States and internationally to source more than 100 varieties of top-quality seafood at competitive prices. We believe that we have established excellent long-term relationships with key seafood vendors and usually source our product directly from producers (not brokers or middlemen). While the supply of certain seafood species is volatile, we believe we have the ability to identify alternative seafood products and to adjust our menus as necessary.

All other essential food products are available, or can be made available upon short notice, from alternative qualified suppliers. We continue to progress in automating our supply chain allowing our suppliers, logistics partners and distributors to improve optimization with information visibility. Through our subsidiary, Darden Direct Distribution, Inc. ("Darden Direct"), and long-term agreements with our third party national distribution companies we maintain inventory ownership in dedicated environments where practical. Darden Direct further enables our purchasing staff to integrate demand forecasts into long-term agreements driving efficiencies in production economics when we collaborate with vendors. We continue to invest in new technologies to improve restaurant product orders, receiving, invoice approval and inventories across the supply chain. This improves the ability of our logistics infrastructure to replenish restaurants with the right products, at the right price and with just-in-time delivery. Because of the relatively rapid turnover of perishable food products, inventories in the restaurants have a modest aggregate dollar value in relation to sales.

Our supplier diversity initiative, which focuses on women- and minority-owned businesses, is the major driver behind Darden's efforts to bring about diversity awareness and opportunities within our supplier network. We actively support several national minority supplier organizations to ensure that Darden incorporates women- and minority-owned businesses in all of its purchasing decisions.

Our ability to ensure a consistent supply of high-quality food and supplies at competitive prices to all of our restaurant brands depends on reliable sources of procurement. Our purchasing staff sources, negotiates and purchases food and supplies from more than 2,000 suppliers whose products originate in more than 30 countries. Suppliers must meet our requirements and strict quality control standards in the development, harvest, catch and production of food products. Competitive bids, long-term contracts and long-term vendor relationships are routinely used to manage availability and cost of products.

We believe that our seafood purchasing capabilities are a significant competitive advantage. Our purchasing staff travels routinely within the United States and internationally to source more than 100 varieties of top-quality seafood at competitive prices. We believe that we have established excellent long-term relationships with key seafood vendors and usually source our product directly from producers (not brokers or middlemen). While the supply of certain seafood species is volatile, we believe we have the ability to identify alternative seafood products and to adjust our menus as necessary.

All other essential food products are available, or can be made available upon short notice, from alternative qualified suppliers. We continue to progress in automating our supply chain allowing our suppliers, logistics partners and distributors to improve optimization with information visibility. Through our subsidiary, Darden Direct Distribution, Inc. ("Darden Direct"), and long-term agreements with our third party national distribution companies we maintain inventory ownership in dedicated environments where practical. Darden Direct further enables our purchasing staff to integrate demand forecasts into long-term agreements driving efficiencies in production economics when we collaborate with vendors. We continue to invest in new technologies to improve restaurant product orders, receiving, invoice approval and inventories across the supply chain. This improves the ability of our logistics infrastructure to replenish restaurants with the right products, at the right price and with just-in-time delivery. Because of the relatively rapid turnover of perishable food products, inventories in the restaurants have a modest aggregate dollar value in relation to sales.

Our supplier diversity initiative, which focuses on women- and minority-owned businesses, is the major driver behind Darden's efforts to bring about diversity awareness and opportunities within our supplier network. We actively support several national minority supplier organizations to ensure that Darden incorporates women- and minority-owned businesses in all of its purchasing decisions.