MINNEAPOLIS -- Supervalu here is rolling out a new pricing program for its wholesale customers in the Eastern Division called “market advantage pricing,” or MAP, which is forcing retailers who purchase from Supervalu to rethink the way they order products and plan their deliveries. The system, in which vendor allowances are passed on to Supervalu‘s retail customers instead of being used to lower Supervalu‘s delivery costs, is similar to the “activity-based selling” system it uses in other divisions. “MAP charges us and the stores to do things as efficiently as possible,” Jeff Noddle, chairman and CEO, Supervalu, told SN. “This method aligns manufacturers, distributors and stores in a more transparent system.” The new program rolls out at the end of this month.
