Elk Grove Village, Illinois, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Topco Associates, LLC., recently announced that it will host the Topco Product Solutions Summit to diversify the cooperative’s supplier pool, discover new and innovative items and establish additional supplier partnerships to assist the organization with aggregation, innovation and knowledge management solutions that span Topco’s Center Store program.
Topco is seeking suppliers to help expand its supplier partnership portfolio and sourcing capabilities to provide member-owners with a more expansive assortment of products and offerings. This includes identifying new, regional and/or certified diverse suppliers that also align with macrotrends the industry is currently leveraging such as changing economics, food as medicine and transparency. These trends ultimately cater to the wants and needs of the cooperative’s 64 million collective shoppers, spanning 15,000 retail locations and online throughout the country.
“Considering the landscape of the industry, we’re experiencing a notable shift in interest towards our own brands, especially as those items become more of a point of differentiation than merely a value proposition,” said K-VA-T Food Stores’ Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing, Dan Glei, who also serves as the Topco Operations Team co-chair. “By leveraging Topco’s collective volume to provide additional paths of supply, it helps us ensure these items are available to our shoppers.”
Between now and March 28, prospective suppliers can apply via RangeMe by clicking the link here. Approved suppliers will meet with Topco Category and Sourcing teams to discuss their capabilities in greater detail utilizing the ECRM Connect platform. This opportunity could afford suppliers access to the cooperative’s country-spanning breadth of the member-shoppers.
“We are continuously seeking innovative ways to support the membership and reiterating the value that commitment to Topco programs can provide,” said Christine Heffernan, Topco’s Senior Vice President of Center Store Sourcing and Supply Chain. “Working with RangeMe on this effort is another avenue we can utilize to provide member-driven solutions to ensure ample supply to support our members.”
—About Topco Associates, LLC.—
Topco Associates, LLC is a $17.6 billion, privately held, member-owned company that provides aggregation, innovation and knowledge management solutions for its leading food industry member-owners and customers, including grocery retailers, wholesalers, food service and pharmacy companies. Topco leverages the collective volume, knowledge and commitment of these companies to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace by reducing costs and offering winning business-building capabilities. For more information, please visit www.topco.com.
—About ECRM and RangeMe—
ECRM and RangeMe provide product discovery, sourcing, and purchasing solutions for retailers and product suppliers from around the world so they can discover, connect, transact, and grow their businesses with ease.
ECRM brings efficiencies to the buying and selling process by fostering connections between buyers and suppliers virtually and face-to-face. RangeMe, the online platform, enables buyers to efficiently discover and purchase innovative and emerging products. The combined offerings empower businesses to grow their brands with an array of tools, insights, and services. Together, RangeMe and ECRM are revolutionizing the way buyers and suppliers do business, no matter their size or location.
Phil Barnes Topco Associates, LLC. pbarnes@topco.com
