As a small to mid-size supplier, what’s the biggest cost in doing business with Walmart? Most struggles will be, or lead back to, supply chain. While Walmart strives to provide assortment with all sized brands, smaller suppliers can struggle to adapt to the national retailer’s warehousing processes.
That’s where consolidation companies like CaseStack provide a solution. We recently spoke with Colby Beland, VP of Sales and Marketing at CaseStack. For suppliers who have never considered using a third-party consolidator, Colby explained the savings of time and cost when using CaseStack’s services.
Large Supplier Logistics for the Small Supplier
CaseStack works with suppliers to provide more efficient deliveries to Walmart. We began by asking Colby what this means for the smaller suppliers.
“Typically a smaller supplier doesn’t have the supply chain that a big company like a Proctor and Gamble has in place,” Colby began. “When you think about CaseStack’s warehouse, think of it as a mixing center for a bunch of brands.”
He went on to show how large, national companies are able to maintain costs through their own consolidation logistics. The key is being able to create full truckloads to Walmart.
“Proctor and Gamble owns 50 or 60 different brands and they use their warehouses as mixing centers to create full truckloads into Walmart’s distribution centers,” Colby explains. “When they quote their pricing to Walmart, they’re always able to give them a full truckload price and full truckload service as it relates to On Time and In Full. This makes Proctor and Gamble its own consolidation company.”
Creating Full Truckloads to Lower Costs for Small Suppliers
As a smaller supplier, how can full truckloads be created too keep costs down? That’s the solution CaseStack brings to Walmart suppliers servicing smaller numbers of stores.
“CaseStack services the small to mid-size supplier,” Colby says. “Our warehouse is a mixing center. It allows smaller suppliers to bring their product in and then we create full truckloads to Walmart.
“Even the supplier that’s getting a single-case order to a Walmart distribution center can give them a full truckload price versus an LTL (less than truckload) price into the DC. They get a higher service level because it moves in a full truckload environment at a more competitive cost. This allows Walmart to have the assortment on the shelf. When the consumer comes to the store, they have national brands, regional brands, private label, and everything in between.”
To learn more about consolidation services, visit CaseStack’s website.