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Changing suppliers: When it’s time to cut the ties

Anne Rose Business Management, Services & Risk Management

After some time in business, you’ve likely developed strong relationships with a certain set of suppliers. You know what they can do for you and when, you know their policies and procedures, and you’re comfortable that your goals and values are congruent. All well and good, but unless you periodically analyze the status of your relationships, it’s too easy to fall into complacency and make assumptions that are no longer valid. Then you risk misplaced loyalty. So, here are signs that it is time to critically assess your loyalty to long-standing suppliers, perhaps cut those ties, and look afield for new suppliers.

Sustainable food gains more popularity due to COVID-19

Bambi Majumdar Food & Beverage

The COVID-19 crisis shows that America is hungry for sustainable food systems — more than ever before. According to a report from The Business Research Company, COVID-19 has steadily pushed up the demand for local, sustainable, and organic food production. Consumers are more concerned about how food is raised and prepared. They are leaning towards organic, which emphasizes environmental protection, consumer health, and animal welfare. With the disruption that businesses have faced, there is a lot of focus on supporting local brands as well.

A new era for Berlin as Brandenburg Airport finally opens

Matt Falcus Transportation Technology & Automotive

A mere nine years late and approximately $3.8 billion over budget, Berlin’s new Brandenburg Airport (BER) finally opened on Oct. 31. A muted ceremony, at what is arguably the worst time to open a new airport aimed at handling more flights and passengers than ever before, allowed Germany to at least save face and put the huge debacle of this construction project behind it. Originally planned to open in 2011, the flagship airport project has been plagued by problematic safety measures, insufficient retail space, and fraud as many reasons for delay stacked up.

US payrolls add 638,000 jobs; unemployment rate drops to 6.9%

Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk Management

U.S. employers added 638,000 nonfarm jobs in October, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. October’s rate of unemployment fell to 6.9% from September’s 7.9% and August’s 8.4%. The gradual employment improvement is a result of eased COVID-19 restrictions on social movement and resuming of commerce, though the pandemic remains uncontained and prospects for a vaccine available to the public are unclear. "The number of unemployed persons fell by 1.5 million to 11.1 million," according to the BLS. "Both measures have declined for 6 consecutive months but are nearly twice their February levels."

Why micro-fulfillment centers are the future of online grocery shopping

Gail Short Distribution & Warehousing

As many Americans seek to avoid crowded stores to protect themselves from COVID-19, more and more of them are shopping for groceries online. But even before the pandemic, a 2017 report by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the Nielsen Company predicted the trend. It says, "Initial findings from this study show that within the next decade, online food shopping will reach maturation in the U.S., far faster than other industries that have come online before. … The research estimates that in the current climate of technology adoption and evolution, consumer spend on online grocery shopping could reach $100 billion."

The future of restaurants and restaurant marketing

Bambi Majumdar Food & Beverage

Adaptability is truly a great human phenomenon. Perhaps that's why we emerge from the worst of times with new knowledge and ways to thrive. This is precisely what we see happening across industries, particularly in the food and beverage industry. Restaurant brands are evaluating their post-COVID-19 strategies. They have to devise ways to drive as much revenue as they can and satisfy new consumer expectations at the same time. They realize they have to adjust and adapt on the fly to deal with future changes.

4 COVID-19-related changes that could outlast the pandemic

Amanda Ghosh Business Management, Services & Risk Management

COVID-19 is changing the landscape of daily life. While some changes are minor and easy to adopt, changes like working from home create significant shifts in our social lives. Masks, virtual learning, ghost restaurants, and increased use of hand sanitizer are just a few of the pandemic-related changes that could stick around after the health crisis ends.

Infographic: The business of fake supplements

Maggie Kimberl Pharmaceutical

It probably isn't surprising that 77% of supplements sold online are sold by Amazon — more than the top five specialty retailers combined. But what might be shocking is how many of those supplements are fake, expired, or mislabeled. This infographic outlines the loopholes that allow third-party sellers to sell unsafe supplements on Amazon as well as tips to avoid them.

The impact of shrinkage in grocery stores and how to fight it

Andrew Hoeft Food & Beverage

According to industry surveys, retail shrink ranges from 1.7% to over 3% of total sales, with grocery stores operating on the highest end of that range according to FMI’s 2019 Food Industry Speaks study. Beyond direct inventory dollar costs, grocers also experience increased labor costs and lower customer satisfaction as a result of shrink. The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a temporary Band-Aid to grocers as the sales surge masks underlying root causes and symptoms. However, in time, the pandemic will pass and grocery shrink will rise north of 3% again, unless today’s profits are invested into preventative, long-term shrink savings strategies and technologies.

Gallup poll: Farming, agriculture receive highest marks from consumers…

Scott E. Rupp Food & Beverage

Politicians, media professionals and lawyers could learn a thing or two about brand management from their counterparts in the farming and agricultural industries. It turns out Americans have the most favorable view of the profession, a recent Gallup poll shows. It's the first time those working the fields and farms have received such high marks in more than two decades of Gallup conducting a poll that registers Americans’ views of various business and industry sectors.

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