Processes and Procedures

SUPERVALU has developed and is managing a program that ensures that Women and/or Minority owned Businesses (W/MBEs) have the opportunity to engage in business practices, mentorship, and growth as a result of their relationship with SUPERVALU. We are committed to procurlng products and services that meet the needs of our stores and customers while supporting W/MBEs.

Product Introduction Process

1. The applicant submits the product(s) and the required vendor information to the Supplier Diversity team.
2. The Supplier Diversity team interviews each vendor to ensure that the product(s) and the vendor company meet the SUPERVALU standard for vendor products.
3. The Supplier Diversity team routinely meets with the Corporate Merchant, who is a member of the Specialty/Ethnic Merchandising teams, to review vendors and their products. These products include food products and Health and Beauty America (HBA) products.
4. If the Supplier Diversity and the Specialty/Ethnic Merchandising teams agree that the product, pricing, and promotion meet the SUPERVALU standard, those teams present the vendor information, collectively, to the Division Merchandising directors on a monthly basis.
   
   At these monthly presentations, the teams submit all information regarding vendors, along with their recommendations. The teams provide information about Health and Beauty Care/General Merchandise (HBC/GM) products to Corporate Category Managers in Boise. If syndicated data is available, that data becomes part of the submission material. (Note: No more than 10 items/vendors are presented at any one time.)
5. By the third week of each month, designated division representatives indicate whether they have an interest in a product. At that time, the representative sends product samples to the Division Category Manager along with paperwork. The representative also provides the vendor with a contact name for follow up.
6. Divisions expressing interest in products must respond to the Supplier Diversity team identifying the stores where the targeted products will be slotted and the plan for promoting the product. The Supplier Diversity team communicates this information to the vendor.
7. The Supplier Diversity and the Specialty/Ethnic Merchandising teams work with the vendor to develop a promotional plan to ensure success of the product launch.
8. The Division Category manager, the vendor, and the Supplier Diversity team mutually agree on the sales expectations (per store average) for each product and a determined margin for the product. This is done on a product-by-product basis, depending on the category and similar items.
9. SUPERVALU monitors these products for a minimum of 6 months, using the Micro strategy reporting program. SUPERVALU uses the information from this reporting program to determine whether the products have potential. SUPERVALU provides this information to the vendor and to the category manager at 3 months and then again at 6 months.
   
   If, at either of those times, the product is performing at less than the agreed-upon sales volumes, SUPERVALU expects the vendor to assist in aggressively selling the product to the consumer (either by deal activity or by demo programs) to increase product movement. At the end of 6 months, the Category Managers and the Supplier Diversity team review the product to determine if the product needs additional time or if the product should be discontinued.

Vendor Expectations

• The vendor must be a certified Women and/or Minority owned Business (W/MBE) with 51% ownership of day-to-day operations.
• SUPERVALU judges products and vendors on quality, distribution capability, packaging, promotion, uniqueness, and pricing.
• The vendor must have a clear idea of where product fits into market.
• SUPERVALU presents products with a regional approach. However, we recommend products to all divisions durlng our presentation.
• The vendor must support the product with at least 4 (four) reduced-cost promotions per year (for example, Off Invoice pricing, Buy One Get One Free [BOGO], or Temporary Price Reductions [TPRs]).
• The vendor must disclose its annual sales statement in order to qualify for our sliding scale of charges, as described below.
  • Fewer than 1 million total revenues with no demo charge, no co-op, and no new item set-up fee.
  • 1 million to 5 million, sliding scale of full charges by the following divisions: 1 million (20%), 2 million (40%), 3 million (60%), 4 million (80%), over 5 million full divisional charge.
• The vendor must promote its products with demos to include; products, equipment, signing, and live demonstration.
• The vendor must maintain its sales increase consistent with overall category growth.