RETAILER, SUPPLIER AND BROKER TEAMWORK IS URGED

RUSSELL REDMAN

NEW ORLEANS -- Successful category management hinges on retailer, supplier and broker teamwork in catering to consumers, industry speakers said here at the annual convention of the National Food Brokers Association, Reston, Va.

Several educational workshops at the NFBA Convention & Marketplace Expo, held this month, addressed broker, retailer and manufacturer roles in category management. Yet the common conclusion was that satisfying shoppers is paramount.

"The consumer must be the primary focus in the equation," said Winston Weber, president of Winston Weber & Associates, Memphis, Tenn., the speaker for "The Next Level of Partnering" workshop. "If you don't understand what the needs of the consumer are, you can make some major mistakes in assortment decisions."

Consequently, the need for demographic and marketing data is becoming more urgent in the drive to give consumers the products and shopping experience they want, Weber said.

"Frequent-shopper programs are going to be an integral part of the retailer-supplier collaboration when the retailer recognizes how to use the information," he said. Brokers and suppliers also will increasingly be expected to help gather consumer data plus assist in marketing and merchandising, he added.

Supermarket buyers and

merchandisers must be trained to think in terms of product categories, not brands or store departments, Weber said.

Brokers will be a critical link in retailer-supplier cooperation. "Category management cannot be optimized without collaboration between the retailer and broker, retailer and supplier, and broker and supplier," Weber said. In the workshop "Category Management -- It Works," John Dye, managing partner of The Partnering Group, Cincinnati, stressed that Efficient Consumer Response and category management rely on delivering value to the consumer.

"There is a limited number of consumers responsible for the majority of sales and profits," he said, noting that the "loyal shopper" at a given supermarket represents only 21% of its traffic but supplies 60% of its sales. "What we need to do is provide maximum value to that target consumer. And we think category management can help us do that."

Retailers need supplier help in price and promotion analysis and simplification, out-of-stock reduction, consumer data collection, optimizing assortments and micromarketing, Dye said.