Industry Alliances
& Partnerships

R.O.F.D.A.

Affiliated Foods Midwest is a Member of R.O.F.D.A. (Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates). The R.O.F.D.A. organization enables the sharing of ideas among members to help further the knowledge base of each member.

R.O.F.D.A. is currently represented by 16 distribution companies similar to Affiliated Foods Midwest Cooperative.

  • These members, as a collective group share industry information on topics such as computer technology, warehouse operations or any other topic enabling them to compete more effectively.
  • Central purchasing programs for merchandise, supplies and equipment are leveraged through R.O.F.D.A.
  • Joint cooperative relationships are built with product suppliers that further the "Partnering" concept.

    Equipment Buying Consortium

  • As part of R.O.F.D.A. we actively participate in equipment consortiums, offering our members the best possible equipment cost.
Affiliated Foods Midwest Cooperative is able to stay close to the Midwest Marketplace, yet stand with 15 other members to negotiate cost of goods on a national basis. The relationship between R.O.F.D.A. and the manufacturing community allows Affiliated Foods Midwest Cooperative to operate on a much more level playing field. In addition to negotiations for "national pricing" for product cost, this alliance also keeps us very current on technology and business practices.

Topco

Affiliated Foods Midwest is a member of the Topco Cooperative. Topco Associates LLC provides procurement, quality assurance, packaging, and other services exclusively for its member-owners which include supermarket retailers, wholesalers, and foodservice companies. Topco serves as a vehicle to leverage its members' collective volume to drive down product costs and to obtain economies of scale in support areas enabling its members to effectively compete against national companies. Topco members purchase a variety of products and services through the cooperative including corporate and national brands, perishables, equipment, supplies, and business services. A privately held cooperative, Topco has no conflicting profit motive because it distributes all earnings back to its member-owners based on each member's level of participation.

Topco is committed to delivering quality products to its member-owners, allocating significant resources to ensure excellence in both packaged goods and perishables. Quality Assurance resources include expert technologists, who specialize in specific categories and together, test over 130,000 product samples each year. Topco Quality Assurance also develops written specifications, generally based on the leading national brand, for all Topco products, and regularly conducts comparison testing between Topco corporate brands and the leading national brand. This testing shows that Topco corporate brands consistently meet or exceed the quality of national brands.

For more information on Topco, please visit: www.topco.com