Associated Wholesale Grocers re-ups with CRM tech provider

Distributor Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) has renewed its 15-year-old partnership with customer relationship management (CRM) platform provider Givex Corp.

Toronto-based Givex said Monday that its solution powers AWG’s Shopper Engagement Platform (SEP), an in-house loyalty, digital coupon and data marketing program now used at more than 600 independently owned grocery stores. AWG launched SEP in 2015, and the program—originally powered by Loyalty Lane, which became Givex in 2022—now processes more than $3 billion in retail sales.

“We couldn’t be happier to continue our relationship with Givex,” AWG Director of Advertising and Marketing Randy Lane said in a statement. “To continue to leverage Givex Rewards’ capabilities from traditional loyalty program essentials like points and fuel programs to matching vendor deals with shopper history, personalized coupons and more helps us drive sales for our member retailers.”

Along with the AWG member retailer locations using SEP, anohter 500-plus AWG retail locations are getting exclusive digital coupon content created by the wholesaler and authorized vendor partners—including Kraft, Avocados From Mexico and Fiora, among many others—via Givex’s proprietary Enterprise Coupon Portal (ECP).

Givex provides merchants with customer engagement, point-of-sale and payment solutions and integrates with more than 1,000 technology partners to offer an end-to-end solution that delivers customer insights.

“Our partnership with AWG has been incredibly successful since 2007 and continues to grow. The program’s focus is twofold: providing value for the retailers’ shoppers and driving sales and profits for the grocery retailers,” according to Bill Gray, president of Givex Rewards. “Now, with the support of Givex’s full suite of solutions and global footprint, we are primed for growth across all channels in the grocery space.”

Kansas City-based AWG is the nation's largest food distribution cooperative for independent grocers, serving more than 1,100 member companies and over 3,400 locations in 31 states from nine wholesale divisions. AWG’s consolidated run-rate sales exceed $12 billion. The company also operates subsidiaries that providing real estate and supermarket development services, health and beauty care, general merchandise, pharmaceutical products, specialty foods, and natural and organic products.

“Givex has been a true partner as we work together to provide value for our retailers and ways to engage the vendor community with the value of SEP,” commented Stacy Bowen, vice president of sales, support and solutions at AWG.