Suppliers can and should negotiate Sainsbury’s fees

Data is something retailers have been attempting to charge for, or even just keep a secret, forever. I do respect the pushback because now is the time to get a mass objection from suppliers.
Retail media will be ‘bigger than TV’ by 2025 says Tesco

Tesco has urged its suppliers to invest in a massive upscaling of its retail media network, claiming that digital growth will see the medium become bigger than television by the end of 2025.
Discounters keep the market honest and ensure shopper trust

As an advocate of brands and innovation, I never thought I’d be representing the view that we are fortunate to have the discounters here in the UK. But they do play an important role in policing the industry.
Tarry’s work at Tesco shows the power of supplier collaboration

Under Jason Tarry, supplier dialogue with Tesco buyers became more strategic – investment followed and honourable commitments replaced settlement wrangling, says David Sables, CEO of Sentinel Management Consultants
Morrisons must sell suppliers a clear turnaround vision

We all have a soft spot for Morrisons. It’s been hard to watch the catastrophic share decline of this former big four bastion. It’s now set to become the sixth-largest supermarket, behind Aldi and Lidl, later this year. Sir Ken Morrison is remembered by employees for his ‘retail is detail’ mantra and driving high in-store standards. The same is now […]
Suppliers: survive the recession by mastering three trends

Don’t allow the pessimism around a new ‘recession’ to drag you into defensive mode. There are many opportunities, and those presented by three trends in particular will make you future fit, or set you on a tragic trajectory, depending on how you embrace them.
Suppliers must not capitulate to retailer bullies

Such escalating retailer-supplier tensions are bad for both parties but suppliers must navigate especially carefully, says David Sables, CEO of Sentinel Management Consultants
How suppliers can create sustainable customer business plans

Last month I wrote about customer business planning (CBP). It clearly struck achord with many suppliers facing the challenges involved. I will answersuppliers’ key questions here with some of our CBP principles at Sentinel MC. The hottest topic is how to navigate the closing of one year at the same timeas setting up the next […]
Joint business plans are often meaningless

Suppliers are thinking “must get next year’s customer business plans agreedbefore Christmas”. Meanwhile, those customers are threatening to cancel themeeting because they can’t get payment of unearned retro in this year’s plan. At its best, customer business planning (CBP) creates certainty for supply andincentive for growth. At its worst, it’s just another way for the […]
Suppliers, steer clear of Sainsbury’s talks over Lloyds Pharmacy space

Sainsbury’s has entered talks with suppliers over the future of its LloydsPharmacy space. This is being described by Sainsbury’s as a mere investigation,scenario research if you will, being conducted on a store-by-store basis. This approach to commercialising the space on Sainsbury’s side is at beststrategically late and haphazard, and at worst a false promise for […]