Unpack the Value Chain
Craig Espelien
Is your company making money? Do you know how? Are you interested in learning how to make more?
In the Private Brand space, recessionary times create a few more challenges than on the branded side of things. Some people will ask why - as product make up and flow through the system contains pretty much the same pieces. While this is true, national brands often have people assigned to each step of the Value Chain to make sure everything happens as it is supposed to. Too often in Private Brands, this level of detail knowledge is either not available or located in some pretty esoteric places in the organization - and not easily accessible.
I have learned over the years that the successful equation for Private Brands is not often fulfilled - let alone turned loose on the entire Value Chain. What is that equation?
Fascination + Mastery = Passion
Not enough people get fascinated by the details of the Private Brand value chain to dig into the details far enough (or long enough) to achieve Mastery - and this leaves Passion for Private Brands a bit lacking. I can tell you that it was this Fascination that led me to dig into every single step in the Value Chain process - from Concept to Consumer - and that this desire for Mastery in all of these pieces that allowed me and the team I had with me to get an amazing handle on all of the value chain pieces (the visual above is from a speech I gave at PLMA many years ago where we examined each step of the supply chain...examining the Value Chain provides even more insight).
So, as we move through this recessionary period, what pieces of the Value Chain (besides all of them!!!) should you focus on to make sure you are getting to know your products and brands as intimately as possible?
领英推荐
There are, of course, many others. Your Value Chain may be unique to your company, geography or category but most run parallel to the normal path for all products. I encourage you to get fascinated by this - especially as the economy improves. The tendency in Private Brands is to ask for and accept cost reductions as prices come down. With the knowledge you will gain if you dig in, you will know earlier than most when to expect reductions (size, speed and duration) - and ask for them intelligently.
I always disliked when my team would simply ask for a cost reduction because a competitor had a better price. Alternatively, I was always impressed when one of them would cite various cost drivers that were shifting that should result in a price decline. This was (and is) the place that defines the line between good and great.
I also had a great time working with suppliers who knew their business better than I did - there were some but not many - and could share their view of where cost drivers were and were going and how we could maximize our benefit from them.
Which side of the line are you on? How can I help you find that line and help you get on the "great" side?
Do you want to build a more sustainable private brand business (and perhaps enhance your total merchandising approach to Private Brands) where you can outpace both the competition and who you were yesterday? Schedule a 30-minute session to explore the possibilities:?https://calendly.com/craigespelien/30-minute-meet_greet