Where next, for survivors of Phase 1...?

Both suppliers and retailers are emerging from an unprecedented four years where even long established trading relationships have been put under stress and power abused, with many casualties in the process.

The drive for cash has resulted in grossly unfair payment terms, and the obsession with low shelf prices has brought about the meat crisis, the mere tip of a fundamental challenge to brand integrity, where the consumer has been short-changed in terms of discrepancies between  content and what it says on the tin… NAMs need to manage and optimise personal power and influence in order to cope with the fall-out.

But this is not enough…

We need to accept that we are headed into a flat-line decade under the scrutiny of a super-savvy consumer, demanding demonstrable value-for-money and who is unwilling to outsource any purchasing decision-making to marketers or retailers. Moreover, her demand for demonstrable value-for-money will extend back up the supply-chain and will impact all supplier-retailer relationships..

For NAMs in particular, this is going to be the era of adaptation, swift footwork, ingenuity, embrace of the unexpected, a rejection of accepted procedure, and above all focus.