May 13, 2014

I was in a meeting with a large worldwide manufacturer and uncovered that they budget $4 million a year for “charge backs”.  I was floored. That’s a great deal of revenue gone for knowing they were not going to meet their customers’ “Vendor Compliance Guideline/Routing Guides”.   They are a large company so I guess they think they can afford the errors.  I asked a few more questions to see, if they knew they had a $4 million dollar problem,  why not let Floor-Ready fix the vendor compliance problems?  We’ve learned with experience that some retail chains thrive on making their vendors pay for non-compliance.  This means the retail chain is getting the product basically for free due to the cost of each charge back or even worse, making money off their vendors’ errors.   They send their buyers to school to learn how to make their suppliers jump through hoops,  hoping they make a mistake to their benefit.

Vendor Compliance Guidelines/Routing Guides have various requirements for receiving their product shipments from suppliers such as:

The size of the box required to be used

How the boxed is taped – some require specific types of tape

How many boxes on a pallet, including how the boxes are actually arranged on the pallet

Specific case pack assortments based on individual store level needs (A,B,C,D store assortments)

Specific labeling requirements by individual item

Specific labeling requirements by case pack, by store, by pallet (where it needs to be placed exactly on the box and what specific information is required per box

And now a lot of retailers are requesting “green” packaging, meaning using recycled boxes, using less fillers

Those are just the tip of the iceberg of vendor compliance, and each retail chain has different and specific requirements based on their individual store needs.   What would it do for your bottom line if you were paying $15 per box-label you got wrong?  What would it mean if you actually lost the opportunity to do business with that chain because you just can’t get it right?

You won’t have to worry about these issues by utilizing Floor-Ready Services, Asheville NC.  We have 13 years of experience in providing our clients exactly what their Vendor Compliance Guidelines/Routing Guides state, what they want, how they want it, and when it needs to be there.   We currently ship to over 70 major nationwide retail chains. Give Floor-Ready Services, Asheville a call 828-651-8504. We will get your product in stores right the first time, giving you PEACE OF MIND.

www.floorready.com

Linsey M. Beuchot

VP – Customer Service

Floor-Ready Services, Inc.