NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A strong relationship with your supplier can be a good thing; a true partnership, however, is invaluable. That’s the conclusion foodservice retailers reached during an educational forum titled “Operators Share How to Sell Me” on the first day of the 2015 FARE Conference in Nashville, Tenn.
“We prefer to establish a partnership with our supplier, when we can, vs. a relationship,” said Andy Scoggins, vice president of food and beverage for the Mapco Express chain of convenience stores. “We want it to be more than passing products back and forth. We want this partnership to optimize every decision we make.”
Mapco is the convenience store brand of Delek U.S. Holdings, a chain of 462 units in seven states, according to CSPedia.
The major advantage for Mapco of working with partners is that they get to know the retailer, its strategy and the direction that drives its decisions.
“I need my vendors to know how to come in ready to present,” Scoggins said. “I need the offer to be unique, to be about my company. … If you don’t know what my priorities are, you don’t stand a chance” of selling to me.
Other advantages to Mapco of creating exclusive partnerships include:
- Supporting brand direction.
- Food safety.
- Consistency.
- Accountability.
- Real-time communication.
And one of Scoggins’ favorite advantages is: A partner will “tell us when we’re wrong.”
“We want input on our ideas,” he said. “Share your industry knowledge with me. I don’t live ‘chicken’ 24-7. If you do, I need your input.”
For the supplier, the advantage is maintaining a consistent foothold in Mapco and it stores.
“A partner becomes the ‘preferred’ vendor for any product or project,” Scoggins said. “They understand what our objectives are, what our goals are.”
Watch for more insight from the FARE Conference on CSPnet.com, and follow CSP’s coverage on Twitter at #FAREconference.
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