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An Evaluation of the Prime Vendor Pilot
of the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Prime Vendor Pilot was conducted as part of U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Business Process Re-engineering efforts to improve the
administration and operation of the Food Distribution Program on Indian
Reservations (FDPIR). Under this pilot, USDA partnered with the Department
of Defense, which had an existing contract with commercial vendors and
distributors. Reinhart Foods was selected as the prime vendor and was
responsible for accepting food orders directly from 23 Indian Tribal
Organizations (ITOs) in the Midwest Region, procuring pre-approved food
products, storing and delivering the foods to the ITOs. The evaluation
compared results from the first year of the prime vendor pilot (July 2001
- June 2002) with the traditional FDPIR commodity distribution system that
operated in the previous year (July 2000 - June 2001).
Pilot Objectives: Objectives of the
pilot included: (1) improving the commodity distribution system for FDPIR
by improving program operations and administrative efficiency while
improving product acceptability and procurement flexibility; and (2)
reducing Federal staff resources in the food ordering and delivery process
for FDPIR.
Findings: Key findings from the
first year of the pilot include:
Program Operation and Administrative Efficiency
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The number of households served by FDPIR in the 23 ITOs increased
slightly (2.4%) although the actual number of participants decreased
by less than one percent as household size declined by over three
percent.
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ITOs expressed greater overall satisfaction and reported great
improvements in program operation, product quality, commodity pack
size, variety and labeling.
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Nearly all ITOs (96%) rated FNS' operation and administration of
FDPIR as good to excellent during the first year of the pilot compared
to only 70% during the previous year.
Food Ordering and Delivery
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On average, the frequency of food ordering increased from once every
1-2 months to once a week.
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Food deliveries increased from an average of 8 times per year before
the pilot to 15 times per year under the pilot.
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Under the pilot, all orders were delivered within 3 days to 2 weeks
depending on the time the order was placed relative to the regularly
scheduled delivery date, compared to over 1 month prior to the pilot;
the convenience of ordering at any time was reported as the best
feature of the Pilot.
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Food delivered increased from 26 cases per participant to 27 cases.
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ITOs expressed far more satisfaction with food ordering (65% vs. 9%)
and food delivery (91% vs. 4%).
Warehousing and Inventory Management
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Average monthly inventory increased during the pilot from 1,419
cases per ITO to 1,704 cases per ITO (20%). This was directly related
to the delivery cycle and when the inventory was taken.
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Storage problems declined and self-ratings for inventory management
improved without any increase in staffing.
Cost to USDA Agencies
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The cost of food distributed to the pilot
ITOs, adjusted for
inflation, remained relatively stable, increasing from $3.4 million to
$3.5 million (2.2%).
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After inflation adjustment, the total costs for food, management of
the ordering system, transportation, handling, storage, and
administration, increased from $3.85 million to $5.22 million (35.6%).
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The mean cost per case of food delivered to
ITOs, adjusted for
inflation, increased from $16.57 per case to $21.88 per case (32%).
Costs to ITOs
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ITO staffing costs increased by 1 percent.
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Warehouse space increased by 19 percent and warehouse cost by 35
percent.
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Deliveries increased by 95 percent and cases delivered by 3 percent.
Last modified: 12/04/2008
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