Your Supply Partners will mirror your level of detail, discipline, and follow-through. If you show up to supplier calls prepared — they will too. If your POs are accurate and timely — they will plan around them. If you communicate changes early — they will flag issues early. The relationship reflects the standard you set. Which means if you're seeing: 🔺 Late or missed meetings 🔺 POs running out of order 🔺 Information that's hard to get 🔺 Slow responses It is worth asking — honestly — what role your own processes are playing in that dynamic. Sometimes the answer is: the supplier is simply not the right fit. And sometimes the answer is: there's an opportunity to raise the bar on both sides. (love this) No matter what, the dynamic will not improve on its own- and will likely continue to erode in both performance and relationship. It requires someone to decide it's worth improving. And the good news is : That someone is you! Which means it CAN be improved! Thoughts? #CPGBrands #SupplierRelationships #SupplyChain #Operations #Founders #SMEs

There's a quiet assumption embedded in most retail execution strategies It usually isn't. This doesn't say what the assumption is Just this might work "When your reps are spending hours on manual audits, they're not executing. They're documenting. And documentation that takes days to reach a decision-maker isn't intelligence - it's history. By the time corrective action is assigned, the compliance window has closed. The shopper has already seen the empty shelf. The revenue is already gone. The most expensive line item in retail execution isn't headcount. It isn't logistics. It's the gap between what's happening in-store and when your team finds out about it. The brands closing that gap aren't working harder. They're working on a fundamentally different timeline"

Your buyers negotiate hard. But your pricing execution leaks quietly. I’ve seen retailers win 5% better terms from suppliers and lose 8% in inconsistent store pricing. Leakage happens when: → Central pricing doesn’t reflect store reality → Competitor monitoring is selective → Assortment changes aren’t synced with price logic → Store managers override without visibility Commercial excellence isn’t one big decision. It’s thousands of small aligned ones. Negotiation wins headlines. Execution wins profit.

Missing Item = Missing Control. When items go missing, it challenges more than profit. It challenges structure, discipline, and monitoring systems. Strong stores don’t ignore discrepancies. They investigate, correct, and reinforce standards. Because what you tolerate in small quantities eventually shows up in large numbers. Fix the process. Train the team. Protect the business. #blinkit #store #retail

We obsess over margins in retail negotiations and ignore the cash flow burned by lost tenders. That’s the imbalance. The tender ends up on the Key Account Manager’s shoulders. But without any structure to support it. No method. No tools. Just expectations. They respond. They lose. And somehow, that feels… normal. Yet this is where profitability actually leaks. Not in the last negotiation round. Not in the extra 1% fought over line by line. But in the structure that was never set. A lost tender means: • months of internal cost with no return • sales time absorbed, not invested • factories waiting for volumes that never arrive • fixed costs still running • buyers silently downgrading the supplier Still, margin remains the obsession. As long as the structure isn’t fixed upstream, teams will keep stressing over price points, while profitability quietly erodes elsewhere. Retail doesn’t destroy margins. Weak tender governance destroys cash flow. Until that is addressed, negotiations will always feel tense and margins will always feel under threat. Weekly retail insights in your inbox: https://lnkd.in/ezekZBkp —————— P.S. If you just landed here: I’m Fiorella, ex-buyer turned Retail Strategy Partner. I help suppliers become the obvious choice for DIY retailers. Follow for sharp, no-fluff retail truths. Visit my website: www.la-revolution.fr

ORDERING MERCH SHOULD NOT FEEL LIKE ROLLING THE DICE. Most organizations do not lose money on products. They lose it on poor accountability, unclear terms, rushed approvals, and last-minute chaos. That is why we created this. "BEFORE YOU ORDER MERCH" is a management-level checklist built for Procurement, Marketing, HR, Operations, and anyone responsible for branded merchandise. • It does not tell you what to buy. • It tells you what to protect before you sign the PO. Inside are 29 practical checks covering vendor accountability, sourcing reality, financial control, brand safety, logistics risk, and long-term systems. Save this post. Share it with your team. Use it before your next order. Merch rarely fails because of products. It fails when accountability and scale are ignored. At Resource & Supply, we believe merch should run like a system, not a scramble. If you want help turning your merch process into a structured, governed sourcing program, reach out to us here: https://lnkd.in/g_-CSQuh ASI Digital Marketing AIM Smarter PPAI - Promotional Products Association International Adell Means, MASI #ResourceAndSupply #ProcurementLeaders #OperationsLeadership #CorporateSourcing #BrandGovernance #SupplyChainManagement #RiskManagement #EnterpriseOperations

“Smart Retailers Don’t Just Buy Products. They Design Supply Chains.” The best retailers don’t simply place orders. They build efficient supply chains that protect margin. It starts with: ✔ the right factory ✔ the right packaging ✔ the right freight strategy That’s where sourcing partners play a critical role. www.Multilines.in

“Smart Retailers Don’t Just Buy Products. They Design Supply Chains.” The best retailers don’t simply place orders. They build efficient supply chains that protect margin. It starts with: ✔ the right factory ✔ the right packaging ✔ the right freight strategy That’s where sourcing partners play a critical role. www.Multilines.in

One of the hardest problems in online retail is something customers rarely see. Out-of-stock products. When a product is unavailable in the distribution centre, fulfilling pending orders becomes extremely difficult. And without help, many of those orders would simply end up being refunded. But behind the scenes, something powerful happens. Teamwork across our network. When I first started reaching out to our sister stores to source stock, it wasn’t easy. Every store is busy running their own operations. Everyone has their own priorities. At the beginning, I struggled to get support. But I didn’t give up. I kept building relationships. I kept explaining our situation. And I kept sharing one simple message: At the end of the day, we are serving the same customers. If we help each other, everyone wins. Over time, something amazing happened. Many of our sister stores started to understand our challenges and became incredibly supportive. Because of that support, our refund rate has dropped significantly. Which means more customers actually receive the products they ordered. That’s a win for the customer. A win for the business. And a win for the team. I’m also grateful to our Admin team who are now continuing to strengthen these relationships while I focus on other operational improvements that I’ll share in future posts. At the same time, our Supply Chain team led by Yuya French has been doing a fantastic job improving stock flow across the network. Our supply chain continues to get stronger, but we still move stock between stores from time to time to balance inventory across the network. And this experience reminded me of something important: Operations is not just about systems, processes, or inventory. It’s about people working together to solve problems. To all our sister stores who have supported us — thank you. Your support makes a real difference. #leadership #supplychain #retailoperations #teamwork #customerservice

The Ten Commandments of Being an Excellent Commercial Partner In my work, I’ve learned that the real difference is not made only by products, strategies, or seasons. The real difference is made by partners: those who choose to grow consistently, every day, with a serious, effective, and productive approach. Over time, I’ve identified what I believe to be the foundation of a truly excellent retailer. Ten simple but essential points. My “Ten Commandments” for a strong and long-lasting partnership: 1. A consistent and up-to-date assortment 2. Balanced stock management 3. A well-designed, sales-oriented product display 4. Trained and knowledgeable staff 5. Reliable after-sales service 6. Punctuality in payments 7. Regular and targeted in-store activities 8. Professional and responsive communication 9. Customer loyalty as a top priority 10. Using data to make decisions, not feelings This is how things should be. But… in reality, it’s a bit like climbing Everest in flip-flops. A long journey made of progress, missteps, successes, and a lot of patience. Basically, a true commercial catechesis. 😜