After our last MMBA Boot Camp, I had several individuals come up and ask," How do I get certain vendors to deliver product to me at a reduced price for shipping?"
As I explained I use an independent trucker, so my shipping costs are the same no matter who I get product from.
Many, if not all of the vendors we get product from are willing to negotiate.
For the benefit of those not at Boot Camp this year, I presented an overview of how with a little extra time we can obtain pricing information from our vendors.
With this information we can price comparison shop.
Thanks to Minnesota's single source buying option, we can save quite a bit based on who we purchase spirits from.
I had presented a short version of how to purchase liquor and mix products to save money while increasing overall profit.
We don't have that opportunity with wine.
As I contemplated presenting this in a short and understandable process, I did not realize how many of the small towns in Greater Minnesota don't have easy access to the multitude of vendors available to those of us closer to the bigger cities.
So it is up to you, and how you want to proceed.
We have always preached about using that single point of contact.
That information is always in the back of our magazine.
We have many commercial members who can help us with this.
It is called going to the top of the chain and asking the questions.
I know as managers we communicate with each other when it comes to getting answers like: Who do you use for shipping your products? How much do they charge per case for shipping?
Sharing information with our neighboring municipals can save us money.
As many of you have looked at the opportunity we have with Total Wine & More in our market, we can be a wine price leader to compete with Total by purchasing proprietary brands.
Brenda wrote another great article in the most recent municipal magazine (President's Message).
For those of you still wondering is it worth doing?
Will you make money by selling them?
The answer is simple, yes!
So what are you waiting for?
If you fear your sales reps will be upset, I think Brenda summed it up perfectly.
"Yes we have some upset sales representatives, but remember our job is to perform and make the best decisions for our city, not what is always the easiest, nor should our judgement be swayed based on our friendships."
This may be hard for some of us to accept, but we need to make decisions to make our cities profitable, bottom line!
We can't compete on the national brands that Total Wine & More advertises right now, so don't try to.
Beat them where we know we can!
John Jacobi
Isanti Liquo
