The 2011 Annual Report
CORE STRENGTHS
Our mission is to market and deliver great products to our customers with exceptional service.
RELATIONSHIPS
Putting our customers first is a natural way of doing business at Sysco. We solidify our customer relationships by listening to our customers’ needs and being there with the products, services and support they need. Our industry-leading business review process is a keystone of that approach: every day, we conduct hundreds of these reviews across the country, meeting with customers to assess their business needs and identify solutions, from more efficient kitchen processes to new menu items to employee benefits products.
Our business review process not only highlights new menu ideas tailored to each customer, but often focuses on ways to tweak menus to improve the bottom line and still give diners a fair value. We know that we partner best with our customers when we help them succeed with their customers – the ultimate judges of the dining experience.
From the front line to the back office,
Sysco associates focus on the customer 
From the front line to the back office,
Sysco associates focus on the customer
Our marketing associates and delivery drivers are the faces customers see most. But behind the scenes, thousands of Sysco associates, from protein and bakery specialists to quality assurance and customer support professionals, are also focused on helping customers succeed. For Sheridan’s Unforked Eats & Sweets (pictured at left) in Overland Park, Kansas, that meant connecting the restaurant owner with local GAP-certified Sysco suppliers to fulfill his promise to customers of "crave-able food you can feel good about."
QUALITY
Sysco product quality starts from the ground up – literally. We work directly with farmers and ranchers to ensure that produce and meat products meet our demanding standards for quality, safety and responsibility.
We also work continually to improve the quality of our Sysco brand foods. We use a systematic approach to evaluate our prepared foods, for example, against competing labels and national brands, using multiple standards. We look at taste, appearance, nutrition, packaging, convenience and other factors to make sure that we are providing our customers the best options for quality and value.
OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS
Inside a Sysco Warehouse
Our warehouses are models of efficiency. Warehouse layout, lighting, equipment, technology and processes are designed to help us receive, store and deliver products with minimum waste and maximum safety, accuracy and efficiency.
1 2 3 4 5Sysco was created four decades ago on the principle that aggregating foodservice purchasing and distribution across multiple markets would create efficiencies to benefit both the company and its customers. From that beginning, operations and logistics efficiencies have become a core strength for Sysco. We continue to improve upon our processes in large and small ways, from our hub-and-spoke system of RDCs, to technology in the warehouse and on our trucks, to the XY routing system we use to make customer deliveries more time- and energy-efficient.
In the logistics area, a current focus is on mode-shifting, where our integrated system allows us to outperform the industry by effectively using rail transport. We receive a total of about 40 rail cars a week in our two existing RDCs, and our new north-central RDC is being designed with even greater rail capacity.
OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS
Temperature zones create micro-climates
In the warehouse cooler, multiple variable temperature zones create the right environment for produce, dairy and other types of cool-storage products while conserving energy. Newer warehouse coolers have flexible walls between temperature zones, providing the ability to adjust zones if needed.
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OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS
Technology creates a path forward
Radio frequency scanning technology directs warehouse personnel on the most efficient path to select and stage product for delivery. In our next RDC, product storage and retrieval will be completely automated.
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OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS
Trucks are mini-warehouses
Our delivery trucks also have flexible temperature zones and are loaded according to the planned delivery route.
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OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS
Hydrogen fueling stations power our
warehouse fleet
At a growing number of our warehouses, pallet jacks and forklifts are fueled with hydrogen fuel cells, lowering emissions and increasing the life of each machine.
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OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS
Mini-load machines handle
low-volume products
The right equipment for the right job keeps our operating and energy costs in line. Mini-loads, which provide efficient, automated storage and retrieval of low-volume products, are now in use at 11 warehouses, and are planned for more.
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FINANCIAL STRENGTH
Our sales have increased nearly every year for more than four decades. This enviable history is built on durable relationships with both customers and suppliers. And we believe we have many opportunities to continue to grow our business across all customer segments.
As a result, our strong cash flow and commitment to prudent financial management give us the strength to continue to invest in our business and return value to our shareholders. We have consistently delivered a strong return on invested capital every year for the past decade and we have paid a dividend every year since going public in 1970, increasing the dividend 42 times during that period.
SERVICE
One of the anticipated benefits of our Business Transformation Project is making Sysco easier to do business with. An example is Sysco Market, the new online ordering system we are developing. This system not only gives our customers better visual images of what they are ordering, but also provides more complete nutrition information, packaging choices, recipe options and other data earlier in the ordering decision process. It also stores and recalls previous orders to help make repeat ordering faster and easier.
SERVICE
Search
Will allow customers to quickly find the products they are looking for. Advanced filtering tools are available to enable fast retrieval.
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SERVICE
Today's Actvivites
Will provide customers a quick glance at account status, orders and any other issues that may need their attention. This reduces confusion and surprises for the customer and enables more efficient communication with Sysco.
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SERVICE
Orders (Dashboard)
Will provide customers with a quick view of their order status, including unsubmitted orders in progress, submitted orders and recently delivered orders. A quick link will make it easy to create a new order.
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SERVICE
Promotions
Will identify promotions tailored to customers' needs.
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