Suppliers Tool Kit: Must Have Support Tools For Your Importers and Distributors
The following are some basic tools that every distributor would find useful weapons in the on-going battle to gain territory in on- and offpremise markets.
Price Sheet • This should be a complete listing of wholesale pricing to on- and off-premise accounts, frontline (one case) to deepest and best deal, which is usually a ten-case price. Sometimes, value wines will have several levels of deeper deals, like a 28-case (half pallet) or 56-case (full pallet) price. • Frequently, top-level wines will either have only a frontline price or one level of discount, a two- or three-case deal. Typically, these will be wines imported in limited quantity, like Grand Cru Burgundies, First Growth Bordeaux or Cult Cabernets.
Brand Deck • Brand Deck can be a PowerPoint presentation, a press kit composed of several documents (sell sheet, tech sheet, winemaker bio, history of the property, history of the appellation/region) or both. This is content about the brand that is a definition of the brand, a description of what differentiates it, and a summary of all related, salient brand, producer and producer points, particularly those that have to do with the product segment and competitive set. • All of this content should help a distributor tell a brand or product story to an account and help them sell it.
Case and Pallet Spec Sheet • Whether it’s a 40' container (20 pallets or 1200 cases) or a 20' container (10 pallets or 800 cases), the importer pays the freight forwarder by weight. • Spec sheets must be accurate in listing physical dimensions and weight of cases and pallets for each product, so that there are no logistical problems during shipping.
Scores, Reviews and Awards • In large, chain stores or multi-state retailers that cover big spaces with little or no sales staff on the floor, strong scores and similar ratings can have a dramatic effect on how quickly product moves. • Similarly, some small shops prefer highly-rated products because, in effect, the buzz created by the big score or review helps the product sell to the drov es of customers who request it .
Bottle Necker • Similar to shelf talkers and case cards, bottle neckers sometimes tout recent strong scores and this is a good way to help focus retail customers on brands and products that have received good press mentions. Due to their smaller size, it’s more common for bottle neckers to be used to enhance existing branding materials (graphics, colors, language) or basic visual components of a brand logo or packaging.
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