0:01

Welcome to The

0:01

Month End CPG community chat,

0:03

The Month End will provide

0:03

emerging CPG brands real life

0:06

knowledge into the accounting,

0:06

finance and operational worlds.

0:10

Our guests will be key

0:10

stakeholders from those same

0:12

brands as well as other key

0:12

contributors to the industry.

0:17

Welcome to Episode 28 of The

0:17

Month End today, we have Julie

0:19

lasso from jhL solutions. How

0:19

you doing today, Julie?

0:23

So Well, Brad, thanks for having me today. Yeah, we're really excited to

0:25

have you as we keep trying to

0:29

have a diversity of guests on

0:29

our CPG podcast brand owners,

0:33

people in the finance and

0:33

accounting space, people with

0:35

supply chain operational

0:35

expertise, I think he fit that

0:39

bucket. And I think our

0:39

listeners are really excited for

0:42

today's chat. So let's get

0:42

started on just your background,

0:45

who you are and where you've

0:45

come from. And then what jhL

0:49

solutions is today. Yeah, happy to share. Well, I

0:50

have only professionally had a

0:54

career in retail coming right

0:54

out of college, I went to work

0:57

for hometown team at Target

0:57

Corporation. And I was there for

1:01

17 years and worked in a variety

1:01

of merchandising and merchant

1:05

I'll call it adjacent spaces. So

1:05

start up my careers many do at

1:09

Target in inventory planning,

1:09

spent several years there,

1:12

worked in the finance team did

1:12

some buying and then worked

1:16

about half of my time in

1:16

sourcing and negotiations. And

1:19

at Target sourcing is all about

1:19

finding the right partners. In

1:23

my case, it was specifically own

1:23

brand partners to bring those

1:26

amazing products to the shelves.

1:26

So finding, vetting, onboarding,

1:29

and then negotiating with those

1:29

teams to come to agreements that

1:33

were really building more value

1:33

for target for the guest, and

1:35

then the the suppliers and

1:35

vendor partners as well.

1:40

Awesome. And what does JHL

1:40

solutions do?

1:43

So I stepped out of Target a

1:43

little over five years ago now

1:46

and launched a business that was

1:46

stayed very centrally focused on

1:50

that retailer and supplier

1:50

partnerships. So I do a fair

1:53

amount of work and own brands,

1:53

but some branded work as well.

1:57

And I help retailers find the

1:57

best partners for themselves.

2:00

And then also make sure they're

2:00

working with those partners

2:02

effectively to build and develop

2:02

new products. So this is

2:06

certainly the Process Princess

2:06

side of me has a an approach to

2:09

building products and helping

2:09

ensure that retailers are being

2:12

really clear on their perspective and what their needs are. And then also working to

2:14

build really collaborative and

2:17

impactful negotiation strategies

2:17

and implementing those. So

2:21

sometimes that can be very

2:21

competitive, like an RFP, but my

2:24

favorite ones, actually are the

2:24

ones that are more

2:27

collaborative, where you're

2:27

you're building some additional

2:29

value. So excited to share a

2:29

little bit of that perspective

2:32

of what's behind that the recent

2:32

retailer's point of view on

2:36

today's conversation. Yes, definitely. The majority of

2:38

our listeners are in the brand

2:42

space that suppliers face to

2:42

retailers. But the more that

2:46

our-the listeners, and these

2:46

owners and founders can get into

2:49

the head of the retailers the

2:49

better, you know, process and

2:52

understanding kind of sales

2:52

process, relationship, process,

2:56

etc. So, so I guess first things

2:56

first, let's get into, you know,

3:01

couple topics one touch on

3:01

today, negotiation on brands, I

3:04

think a very kind of relevant

3:04

topics for the listeners, number

3:08

one, negotiation. So let's talk

3:08

on, touch base on that aspect

3:13

of, you know, of, of the

3:13

business; the contract

3:16

negotiations, the whole process.

3:16

So can you kind of just start

3:19

high level from what that

3:19

process looks like? And then

3:22

we'll dive into more details? Yeah, of course. So the process

3:24

for me really starts with

3:28

understanding what the impact

3:28

and the value is that the

3:32

retailer because often they're

3:32

my client wants to drive in that

3:35

business. What are their strategy is what are their priorities? What are their

3:36

interests? What do they really

3:39

want to get to? And importantly,

3:39

with that retailer, also ask to

3:43

have a perspective on what does

3:43

the supplier want to get out of

3:46

the partnership? What are their

3:46

interests? And then using those

3:50

priorities, using those

3:50

interests as a framework then to

3:54

help think through? How do we

3:54

want to approach this

3:56

negotiation? What are the key

3:56

pieces of measurement we want to

3:58

be looking at so often, that's

3:58

going to be certainly sales

4:01

margin turnover, market share.

4:01

And looking at it again, not

4:05

just from the retailer

4:05

perspective, but then also that

4:07

supplier partnership

4:07

perspective, and then

4:09

structuring the conversation.

4:09

Depending on if it's more

4:13

competitive space, or more

4:13

collaborative space, you've got

4:15

a lot of players and maybe just

4:15

a handful of players, or maybe a

4:18

singular player, then we build

4:18

out that approach of how do we

4:21

want to have this conversation?

4:21

How do we want to structure

4:23

creating value, and that can be

4:23

a little bit more transactional,

4:26

and that can be incredibly

4:26

collaborative. And the best

4:30

conversations, again, in my opinion, are the ones that are more collaborative, they're

4:31

looking for more creative ways to drive value. And you're not

4:33

just focused on one or two

4:36

really key measurements as far

4:36

as determining success of the

4:39

conversation. Gotcha. So then from an aspect

4:41

of dealing with big business

4:44

coming from the Target world and

4:44

big corporations versus small

4:48

business and a lot of these

4:48

listeners, you know, zero to 5

4:50

million revenue brands that are

4:50

emerging, trying to get in these

4:53

doors. So, you know, I think

4:53

having a couple of tangible

4:57

points for the listeners is

4:57

really good. So let's say for

5:00

example, your a million dollar

5:00

revenue brand, you sell on your

5:05

direct consumer website, maybe

5:05

Amazon, trying to get into

5:07

Target, let's say, because

5:07

that's where your background is,

5:10

you know, whatever, let's say

5:10

they sell coffee or kombucha or

5:13

whatever, like it is, like, you

5:13

know, from just, you know,

5:18

getting into that relationship,

5:18

creating a relationship with the

5:20

buyers and the retailers and all

5:20

that stuff. How does, How would

5:25

one approach specifically a

5:25

couple points that they should,

5:27

you know, arm themselves with to

5:27

be better prepared for the

5:32

conversation to start and then

5:32

negotiation moving forward?

5:35

Well, it's a really great time

5:35

for smaller brands to be

5:40

connecting with some of those

5:40

broader banners. And I would say

5:43

increasingly, so when I started

5:43

my career at Target in the early

5:46

2000s, it was very much a cookie

5:46

cutter approach, there's only a

5:49

handful of different formats.

5:49

And basically, the assortment

5:52

varied very, very little across

5:52

the country, I sort of think of

5:56

it as like the opposite of more

5:56

that Whole Foods model where

5:59

it's very niche and very

5:59

specialized to the, to the way

6:03

that the the country shows up in

6:03

the different regions. And now a

6:06

lot of mass is moving towards a

6:06

more diverse perspective. So you

6:11

don't need to be a Procter and

6:11

Gamble, you don't need to be a

6:15

General Mills to get your

6:15

product on the shelves at Target

6:17

anymore. But you do need to have

6:17

a specific point of view. And

6:21

you need to understand what that

6:21

crossover is, or that visualize

6:24

that Venn diagram of what does

6:24

that brand. So what is Target to

6:28

keep with this example, really

6:28

want to show up and deliver in

6:32

maybe the region that you're

6:32

based in? Or the specific

6:34

product category that you are

6:34

bringing to life? And what's

6:37

that overlap of? What's that

6:37

commitment they want to fulfill

6:39

to their guest, or even in some

6:39

cases, are they not fulfilling

6:43

it at all? Do they not have the

6:43

next Kombucha on the shelves at

6:46

all. But you see that is

6:46

starting to peak, you've got a

6:49

sense of who that Target guest

6:49

is. So doing a little bit of

6:53

that research of who Target is,

6:53

who they're going after. And if

6:56

your product is a really great

6:56

fit for that if you're able to

6:58

help Target bring and

6:58

incremental availability and

7:02

incremental offering that

7:02

Walmart's just not going to

7:05

prioritize, or some of the the

7:05

mom and pop stores might be

7:08

already running away with as an

7:08

advantage, but you can help

7:11

Target get into that game,

7:11

you're, you're showing up with a

7:15

perspective on how you can how

7:15

you can have an impact. And

7:18

that's something that a merchant is going to appreciate. Awesome. So clearly, a key

7:21

couple key parts of this is

7:24

number one is educating yourself

7:24

on the customer or the person

7:29

that you're going to be trying

7:29

to sell to, right. So education

7:32

number one of who their

7:32

customers are, what they're

7:34

currently selling, you know, is

7:34

their opportunity, etc. Number

7:37

two, on top of educating or

7:37

educating yourself on them, but

7:41

then educating them when you

7:41

talk to them about how this

7:45

brand can really benefit them

7:45

versus their or for their

7:48

customers or guests as well as

7:48

the against their competitors.

7:51

The last thing that I think

7:51

which is very important in this

7:55

day, and age is opportunity, it

7:55

feels like there's so much more

7:57

opportunity, and, you know,

7:57

food, drink, everything is just

8:02

so democratized now, because of

8:02

just the plan, and just overall

8:06

education and consumers and

8:06

consumers are all leaning

8:09

towards the more health; new

8:09

things, new age products,

8:12

progressive products, that type

8:12

of stuff. So the opportunity is

8:15

probably never been bigger than

8:15

where it's been the last couple

8:17

of decades. You're saying it

8:17

kind of all those topics

8:21

relevant from and true, I guess

8:21

from what you're saying?

8:24

Yeah, absolutely. I think those

8:24

are the key things to be

8:27

thinking about, like who that

8:27

guest is what Target's trying to

8:30

offer to them or the retailer of

8:30

your choice, and how you're able

8:34

to really fit that need and fill

8:34

a gap but know that others can.

8:37

A couple of things that I will

8:37

say, though, from a "watch out"

8:40

perspective, is before you are

8:40

starting to make some of those

8:45

outreaches or thinking about who

8:45

you're trying to scale with.

8:48

What is your operational runway?

8:48

What does that start to look

8:52

like? How many stores can you

8:52

realistically support. So the

8:55

flexibility of Target is that

8:55

you're not going from zero to

8:59

2000 stores anymore? 1800. You

8:59

can start small with the

9:03

regionality. But if you are

9:03

successful, and if your product

9:06

sells well, and it makes sense,

9:06

there could be very quick

9:10

conversations about how quickly

9:10

you want to expand. So that's

9:12

also something that Targets

9:12

going to want to understand is

9:15

what's your operational ability

9:15

to scale. And it's sometimes it

9:19

takes a while to hit and sometimes it goes really, really quickly. So just being really

9:21

nimble and candid with that to

9:24

start off the conversation in a

9:24

very direct way is also

9:28

something that I encourage. Yeah, definitely don't, don't

9:30

bite off too much more than you

9:33

can chew initially, but also be

9:33

aware of where they may need you

9:37

in 6, 12, 18 months depending on

9:37

us because the last thing they

9:41

want to do is commit to a brand

9:41

that is fantastic. And then they

9:45

can fulfill and then they have

9:45

to switch the brand out and it's

9:47

short term because of that aspect. So yeah, that door will close very

9:49

firmly and probably won't open

9:53

back up for you again, so you have to be candid. Awesome. So kind of any other

9:56

talking points on kind of the

9:59

next initiation process and

9:59

things like that?

10:03

from a negotiation perspective,

10:03

so once you're in the door, even

10:06

sometimes when you're just

10:06

stepping in, there will be some

10:10

often some sort of structured

10:10

line review process that's going

10:13

on. And if you're going through

10:13

this, for the first time with a

10:16

specific merchant or specific

10:16

organization, just really

10:19

encourage you to do your

10:19

homework, reading really

10:22

carefully, what all the

10:22

information that's that's shared

10:24

with you, and I'm not a lawyer,

10:24

so this isn't contract advice.

10:27

But even just thinking through

10:27

and understanding what is the

10:29

process that this merchant is going to be going through when they're making their decisions?

10:31

And asking those clarifying

10:34

questions; what is the timing?

10:34

What is the expectation? When

10:37

would you have this product on

10:37

shelf? And being really clear

10:40

about what's important to them as they're making their decisions? If they're not being

10:42

upfront with you, what are some

10:44

of the questions that you can

10:44

ask to draw that out? So what is

10:47

the rate of sales velocity

10:47

you're looking for? Margin, if

10:50

that's not abundantly clear to you. Make sure you understand what their margin expectations

10:52

are. Also some of the non the

10:58

non-product related expenses. So

10:58

what are you going to be on the

11:01

hook for what's the damage

11:01

defective or policy? What's the

11:06

foods, the shelf-life policy

11:06

expectations? Case backs,

11:10

everything, everything within

11:10

that space, if you are going in

11:13

somewhere new, really make sure

11:13

that you're either scrubbing the

11:16

information you're getting

11:16

directly from the merchant, or

11:18

it's part of a vendor portal,

11:18

for example. What are those

11:21

standard vendor terms of

11:21

engagement that that retailer is

11:24

going to expect? Because

11:24

candidly, they're moving fast.

11:27

And a merchant is tasked with

11:27

being an expert on who their

11:30

customers are. But there's a lot

11:30

from an operations perspective

11:34

that they aren't often experts

11:34

in, and they aren't going to

11:38

tell you to watch out for or

11:38

understand or volunteer

11:40

information, not necessarily,

11:40

because they're they're trying

11:43

to hide it, because sometimes

11:43

they just don't know. So you

11:46

need to be your own advocate and

11:46

asking questions, and doing a

11:48

lot of the research before the

11:48

negotiation even begins, to

11:51

understand what's the standard

11:51

way of working with this

11:54

retailer, or partner for the

11:54

first time?

11:56

Yeah, 100%, like, arm yourself

11:56

with advisors, people who've

11:59

done this before, like, ask

11:59

questions, get educated, get

12:03

people involved, that can really

12:03

help you and clarify that. I've

12:06

seen some just clients of ours

12:06

that have, because of bad

12:09

decisions or not having clear

12:09

expectations of Bill backs, you

12:13

know, pre-fills, things like

12:13

that, that really, really

12:16

devastated them upfront that

12:16

they weren't expecting. And that

12:19

impacts cash. And as a small

12:19

business, it's impossible to run

12:23

a business without cash. Exactly right. If you're given a

12:24

form, read it very, very

12:27

carefully. Or if you have an

12:27

online input template that

12:30

you're being asked to use, I

12:30

would read that incredibly

12:32

carefully. And make sure you

12:32

understand what those each of

12:36

those cells are that you are

12:36

filling out. And because to a

12:39

certain extent, you are then

12:39

stepping into their process. I

12:42

mean, you've got a prospective,

12:42

you're an owner, you've really

12:44

worked to build out what your

12:44

brand means and how you go to

12:47

market. But now you're stepping

12:47

into someone else's space. And

12:51

again, if you're doing it for

12:51

the first time or with a certain

12:53

client for the first time, you

12:53

are moving into their turf in a

12:57

new way. So how are you really

12:57

making sure that you understand

13:00

the way that they're setting up

13:00

that that approach?

13:03

Yep. And just one last question

13:03

on that topic, like how much?

13:08

How much negotiating negotiation

13:08

leverage does a small brand have

13:13

getting into like a, you know, a

13:13

Target? Or even like a regional

13:16

thing? Is there? Is there a lot

13:16

of flexibility like, or is it

13:20

depend upon the situation? I

13:20

don't know. Because clearly, a

13:23

lot of small brands are like,

13:23

"well, it is what it is through

13:26

the distributor, you got to just

13:26

deal with it". But you know, I'm

13:28

just wondering, from your experience? Yeah, that's a great question.

13:31

It all depends on power. To be

13:35

honest, how badly do they want

13:35

you, there are some things that

13:38

a brand or a retailer isn't

13:38

going to be able to move on just

13:41

because the operationally

13:41

they're set up a certain way. So

13:43

those are definitely some watch outs, you want to understand what those expectations are. But

13:45

if you've got an up and coming

13:49

brand, and it's a really great

13:49

fit, and you've done that work,

13:52

or they've come to you because

13:52

they have anticipated or

13:55

understand the gap that you can

13:55

fill, they can be much more

13:58

willing to make some shifts. So

13:58

in some cases, I would just

14:01

recommend asking if it's not

14:01

clear what the flexibility is

14:05

ask. Usually it's pretty

14:05

straightforward. But if they

14:10

want you, they might be some

14:10

room to negotiate a slotting fee

14:13

or Yeah, or add fee or

14:13

participation rates on on

14:16

certain elements. Just like everything in life

14:18

depends on which power, control,

14:21

leverage you have. So that's completely... But you've got to start with

14:23

asking. So I if you don't know,

14:26

I wouldn't assume? Yep, perfect. All right, let's

14:27

move on to own brands. This is a

14:30

very interesting topic that uh,

14:30

not a lot of our target brands

14:34

or clients really do. A couple

14:34

of them have thought about it or

14:37

do it but just give us a little

14:37

background on kind of own

14:40

brands, private labels and kind

14:40

of how they operate and what are

14:44

the benefits of it. And then we

14:44

can kind of talk more specifics

14:46

of examples of how somebody could leverage it. So own brands and private label

14:48

really started out as a

14:54

compare-to space, so it was the

14:54

same as a national brand

14:58

equivalent. So it was basically

14:58

was the knockoff or generics if

15:01

you want to call it that way,

15:01

but over the years, the space

15:05

has become much broader, and I

15:05

would say has a lot more depth

15:08

to it now. And now it's become

15:08

more of a competitive advantage.

15:12

It's not just about the value

15:12

play, it's about how can I offer

15:15

something as a retailer that I

15:15

can protect against the

15:19

competition, something that

15:19

Amazon isn't going to be able to

15:21

show up with, but it helps me

15:21

deepen my brand loyalty with my

15:26

Target consumers, my Target

15:26

guests to put a specific name on

15:30

it. And there's certain

15:30

businesses that just do this

15:32

beautifully, like Trader Joe's

15:32

really stands out. As you know,

15:35

when you walk in the store, it's

15:35

a high, high percent of products

15:37

you aren't going to find

15:37

anywhere else. And if you're a

15:40

Trader, Joe's loyalists, you

15:40

will be going for the Greek

15:42

yogurt, or they're Gronola or my

15:42

family really likes some of the

15:46

frozen meals that are there,

15:46

those are our go-to's, and we

15:49

can't get those where we were

15:49

shop elsewhere. So for a

15:53

consideration set, it's a fast

15:53

growing part of the business,

15:57

the retailer is able to protect

15:57

the flavor, flavor profiles,

16:03

they're able to separate the

16:03

product diversity in an

16:05

impactful way. And they're often

16:05

able to build it in so it's

16:08

margin and creative to their

16:08

mix. And so there's also a

16:12

profitability play. But you need

16:12

to start hitting scale, you need

16:15

to be able to hit a certain

16:15

balance of your assortment and

16:19

meet that expectations of your

16:19

customer if they're looking for

16:21

a certain set of CPG products,

16:21

and how do you surprise and

16:24

delight them with additional

16:24

own-brand products. So that's a

16:27

lot of what's going to the

16:27

strategy of the expansion and

16:29

the deepening of own brands

16:29

today. And just pausing there

16:33

before I jump into how potential

16:33

audience members might be able

16:37

to capitalize on that. It's,

16:37

it's a pretty exciting space.

16:39

But any questions? Or

16:39

reflections on that?

16:43

Okay, no, no, keep going. But

16:43

that's it's great. So far, we're

16:46

going to other ones that are building up. Fair enough. So that's how own

16:49

brands is evolving. So the

16:52

benefits that I see for smaller

16:52

emerging and even moving into

16:57

midsize brands is that if you've

16:57

got a specific offering, that

17:02

can really complement or falls

17:02

under the brand, I would say

17:05

Halo or that brand persona

17:05

that's already in that retailer,

17:08

you might be well positioned to

17:08

bring that product to them. Now

17:13

there's some pluses and minuses

17:13

with this idea. Certainly a plus

17:18

is that for retailers, there's

17:18

only so deep in of expertise

17:21

they want to build, they'll have

17:21

a food scientist team. And

17:23

depending on the size of the

17:23

retailer, they might be

17:26

developing a ton of their own

17:26

products. But sometimes they are

17:30

partnering really closely with a

17:30

brand that already knows that

17:34

business really would really

17:34

well. So they can outsource some

17:37

of the product development to a

17:37

supplier. And in that case, if

17:42

that partnership takes off, it

17:42

can be very, very fruitful for

17:45

both partners, because the the

17:45

retailer isn't going to want to

17:50

change that flavor profile of

17:50

the Kombucha or whatever it is,

17:53

once they get on the shelves, and their customers are responding to it, they want to

17:54

stick it stick with it. So

17:57

there's gonna be some great lock

17:57

in for that supplier, that

18:00

they're going to have that assortment that can continue to grow and expand. The downside

18:01

can certainly be that if you've

18:06

given away your flavor profile

18:06

or your formulas, there's often

18:09

some exclusivity and there's

18:09

some limitations that you are

18:12

now really hitching your wagon

18:12

or pick whatever euphemism you

18:15

want, you're you're locked in

18:15

with that retailer. And that

18:17

gives you less opportunities to

18:17

be able to scale and move to

18:21

other partners. And if that

18:21

retailer goes in a completely

18:24

different direction on the

18:24

brand, that could be really

18:27

challenging for you then to

18:27

start re-engaging and rebuilding

18:30

that momentum if you haven't

18:30

been in a position to be out

18:32

selling and pitching that

18:32

business. So there's a bit of

18:35

high risk, high reward when it

18:35

comes to those partnerships. But

18:39

they can be incredibly

18:39

beneficial if it's a really

18:41

great overlay of the priority of

18:41

the consumer that the retailer

18:46

is trying to connect with and

18:46

the brand expertise that a brand

18:49

can come to the table with. Yeah, I think it definitely high

18:51

risk, high reward, but there's

18:55

definitely a thought process

18:55

behind it. And something to

18:57

think about, if you move in this

18:57

direction of own brands is like

19:02

do big retailers. Will they

19:02

start with own brands like in a

19:05

regional capacity? Or is like

19:05

will they go national? Or is it

19:08

kind of dependent on circumstances? I'm wondering about this whole operation

19:10

capacity conversation as well?

19:13

Yeah, that's a great question.

19:13

From an own brands perspective,

19:17

there are certainly

19:17

opportunities to pilot and start

19:19

things small before they scale.

19:19

And it certainly depends on how

19:23

close in the product categories

19:23

are to something that's already

19:27

on the shelves, what is already

19:27

known. But if there's a lot of

19:29

unknowns, it could start

19:29

smaller. But I would say the

19:32

expectation would be that if a

19:32

retailer is investing in own

19:35

brand development, if it's a

19:35

broader own brand, and you're

19:37

coming in with a specific subset

19:37

of products, they're going to

19:40

want to scale that pretty

19:40

quickly. So I from an

19:44

operational perspective, it's

19:44

definitely a conversation you

19:47

want to have a word of the goals

19:47

of this business, but my

19:50

instinct would be would be that

19:50

they'd want to have it across

19:52

most of the doors where it's

19:52

regionally appropriate and

19:56

pretty quickly once there's some

19:56

good proof of concept.

19:59

Yes, definitely.

19:59

And then clearly, I'm assuming

20:01

that probably every relationship

20:01

can vary depending upon if you

20:06

can still sell into with your

20:06

not own brand, but with your

20:10

actual brand into other

20:10

competitors, or retailers or

20:14

different situations, right?

20:14

There's always could be some

20:18

competitive, you know, stops or,

20:18

you know, whatever, like as part

20:22

of this correct?

20:23

Exactly right.

20:23

Well, and that's also some of

20:26

the benefit, though to that you

20:26

get of partnering with a

20:29

retailer is that you get to

20:29

outsource some of the the work

20:32

and the marketing and the brand

20:32

building, they have a Target has

20:35

a Good and Gather brand that

20:35

they're investing millions of

20:38

dollars in, and you're able to

20:38

really just focus on bringing

20:41

amazing products. So your

20:41

formulation priorities or your

20:44

assortment expansion priorities,

20:44

that can be most of your effort,

20:48

you, you then don't need to

20:48

focus quite as much on selling.

20:51

And then you can also then focus

20:51

on the operational side, how are

20:54

you scaling? What is the supply

20:54

in the production capacity that

20:57

you are then building out? So it

20:57

frees up resources within your

21:01

organization to maybe scale more

21:01

quickly, when you don't have to,

21:05

basically be delivering

21:05

everything on behalf of your

21:07

brand.

21:09

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, deepening the relationship and creating a

21:10

very beneficial relationship for

21:14

both parties can help everything

21:14

as you move forward with your

21:17

business in the short term, or long term. And at the end of the day, like from a lot of small

21:19

business and brand owners, a big

21:22

goal is scaling and growing

21:22

their business and selling,

21:25

Assuming, that you create this

21:25

relationship, and everything's

21:27

great, and you're hitting your marks. And also, you're going to a point, there's probably a

21:29

world where the, you know, in a

21:33

purchase or, you know, can

21:33

happen for a small brand. So

21:36

again, not guaranteed, but

21:36

again, a lot of things to think

21:39

about as you go forward just

21:39

from your idea of business

21:43

development, selling

21:43

relationships, you know, within

21:46

different retail partners.

21:49

Yeah, absolutely.

21:49

And I'm not an expert on on

21:51

selling your business. But

21:51

there, that would certainly be

21:55

an interesting consideration of

21:55

what is that future value start

21:58

to look and feel like if you've

21:58

locked in a direct relationship

22:00

versus a private label

22:00

relationship? And across all of

22:04

your channels, whether that's wholesale or direct.

22:07

So last question,

22:07

then on this is for kind of a

22:09

small version of brands, again,

22:09

back to kind of like how you

22:13

know, how much operational

22:13

capacity you have and funds to

22:17

bring product to the table for

22:17

somebody, I'm assuming that

22:21

similar to our initial

22:21

conversation that retailers are

22:25

going to look at like, what is

22:25

your brand or your product that

22:27

we can do this on? And what is

22:27

the scalability long term in the

22:30

short term to focus on this. So

22:30

again, it may not work perfectly

22:35

for a small brand, right, like

22:35

million or 2 million, but it's

22:39

something to think about maybe starting the relationship, having conversations and then

22:40

targeting down the road. And

22:43

maybe when you're ready to go

22:43

that so what I'm trying to say

22:46

by this is like it can happen in

22:46

any venture of your business,

22:50

depending upon various

22:50

circumstances that exist across

22:54

the board.

22:55

Yeah, I think

22:55

that's well said. Too early on,

22:57

it's it's one of those things,

22:57

be careful what you wish for.

23:01

Because when the when the gods

23:01

want to punish us, they grant us

23:04

our our wishes is that the

23:04

phrase? And I have seen

23:09

businesses that have gotten into

23:09

a partnership with a Target or

23:12

someone of that scale. And it is

23:12

really challenging. And like I

23:16

mentioned earlier, when that if

23:16

the door shuts, that usually

23:18

doesn't reopen. So you do want

23:18

to make sure you've got some of

23:22

that mapped out and make sure

23:22

you are I think sizing, your

23:28

pursuit that aligns well with

23:28

what you can actually deliver.

23:32

So if you need to be really

23:32

upfront that this is something

23:35

that you can test and get into

23:35

it at a small way. But you

23:38

aren't going to be able to scale

23:38

until you see some mutual proof

23:40

of concept, then I think that's

23:40

it's really fair to be able to

23:43

say that, but then also be ready

23:43

to say these are the things that

23:46

we're willing to invest in,

23:46

should it seem viable to expand

23:49

this product, this is what we

23:49

can do. Here's our backups,

23:51

here's the different Packers

23:51

were able to use the different

23:55

manufacturing lines. This is how

23:55

we're going to be able to secure

23:57

credit. Target isn't going to

23:57

be as interested as financial

24:00

backer is going to be in all of

24:00

those operational plans. But

24:04

just what are the high level bullet points that give them a sense that you would be able to

24:05

grow with them and be able to

24:08

meet those common objectives together?

24:10

Awesome. Awesome.

24:10

All that makes sense. So as kind

24:13

of just general question I have

24:13

and topic is just overall kind

24:16

of supply chain, in today's

24:16

economic climate. You know, from

24:22

our perspective, the last kind

24:22

of, you know, 6, 12 months

24:25

clearly have been crazy on the

24:25

economy as a general, local, you

24:29

know, national, global, it's

24:29

affected a lot of our client's

24:32

supply chain disruptions,

24:32

capital funding disruptions, all

24:36

this type of stuff that goes into a clearly from your perspective from a supply chain,

24:38

just kind of high level what

24:41

you've seen and then what are

24:41

the things that a brand can do

24:45

to try to offset this crazy time

24:45

or lack of certainty each step

24:50

just to support their supply

24:50

chain and operational venture?

24:53

I think a lesson

24:53

that many organizations learned

24:59

in the COVID response era is

24:59

that you can't have a very

25:03

brittle supply chain, you need

25:03

to build some flex into your

25:06

supply chain, and understand

25:06

what are those key pressure

25:09

points for you? Is it securing a

25:09

specific raw material? Is it

25:12

securing a specific packaging

25:12

based on how your product goes

25:16

to market? What are those key

25:16

pressure points? And then what

25:20

are your backup solutions? And

25:20

it went from and I would say,

25:23

pre-COVID. On the procurement,

25:23

the supply chain side, it was

25:28

more of a perspective of these

25:28

were teams that were risk

25:30

averse, they really wanted to

25:30

get everything locked down, they

25:33

want to be able to have the

25:33

answer and have the best supply

25:36

chain and deliver ultimate. And

25:36

not to say you didn't have your

25:40

backup plans, but you more had

25:40

those backup plans as a way to

25:43

show that you were, you'd have

25:43

everything locked down and

25:46

buttoned up. Now the backup

25:46

plans aren't so much of an

25:50

eventuality as an implicit

25:50

expectation that you're gonna

25:53

have to leverage a backup plan

25:53

and you really hope that you've

25:56

got the backup plans in place

25:56

that you need. So I would

25:58

encourage teams to understand what are those pressure points? What are the things that are

26:00

gonna bring your business to a standstill, if you don't have

26:02

solutions, two and three to back

26:05

them up. And really make sure

26:05

those are fully vetted-out

26:08

solutions? First and foremost.

26:08

So what's that risk planning

26:12

going to look and feel like? And

26:12

and that's, that's true in many

26:16

parts of your business I supply

26:16

chain and production are places

26:20

that I know best. But that's the

26:20

same from a social media

26:24

perspective and a marketing

26:24

perspective. If you know, one

26:27

bad tweet or something goes

26:27

viral, you need to be able to

26:29

manage that as well. So I think

26:29

there is more risk planning than

26:34

than ever before. But that also

26:34

I find is opening up

26:38

opportunities to create value as

26:38

well. So you're looking at

26:41

something new. Often when you're

26:41

operating with constraints, you

26:45

can come up with a different

26:45

approach. So it's not to say

26:48

that, that you can't find upside

26:48

in some of those backup

26:51

partnerships as well. It doesn't always have to be doom and gloom. But it's more of "how can

26:53

we be really creative to make

26:56

sure we can continue to find

26:56

solutions to get products in the

26:59

hands of the consumers that we're connecting with?"

27:02

Yes, definitely,

27:02

I think risk based approach, you

27:04

know, you've mentioned, you

27:04

know, that term, I think it's

27:07

huge to focus on what are the

27:07

1,2,3 big risk points and risk

27:11

areas that that exists, and

27:11

really prioritizing time, energy

27:14

and resources in that as you

27:14

say. And then number two, you

27:19

know, for the entrepreneurs out

27:19

there, these people that have

27:21

created unbelievable, weird,

27:21

creative new brands, there's

27:25

opportunities to create new

27:25

solutions, we know when doom and

27:28

gloom come right? And, and that

27:28

can be you know, part of

27:32

presenting a solution to a

27:32

supply chain partner on how you

27:35

can add value to them, right

27:35

versus in the past year, I

27:37

looked at yourself as just a

27:37

customer is what it is, but go

27:40

approach them and became great a

27:40

partnership, for example. So

27:43

again, looking at things I think

27:43

creatively, solution oriented,

27:47

based upon this risk based

27:47

approach can help out with any

27:49

aspect of the business that you're saying; marketing, finance operations, etc. So I

27:51

think just kind of continuing

27:56

that aspect and consistently

27:56

re-analyzing your business

27:59

quarter over quarter over

27:59

quarter, what are the new risks?

28:02

What's going on the economy? What's going on with this or that, and focusing time and

28:04

energy on that, so I think that

28:08

that's a really good, the

28:08

baseline and a good thought

28:10

process for people to have any

28:10

size of the business. Well,

28:14

awesome Juli, this has been a

28:14

fantastic chat, I love I love

28:18

the topics, I think our guests,

28:18

or our listeners are gonna

28:21

really enjoy it as well. So

28:21

while we end, we have a couple

28:24

of our every question or our

28:24

topics we want to touch on. So

28:28

first things first, give us your

28:28

CPG do.

28:32

o the CP G do I

28:32

touched on it earlier, but it

28:35

bears repeating. It's ask a lot

28:35

of questions. So just coming to

28:39

this business space,

28:39

entrepreneurs are excited about

28:41

their idea their curious about

28:41

creating something new, and make

28:44

sure you're bringing that

28:44

curiosity to the partners that

28:47

you're working with. It

28:47

absolutely applies with with

28:50

retailers. And I find that

28:50

suppliers that don't ask a lot

28:52

of questions often don't

28:52

understand the full agreement

28:57

that they're reaching. So that's

28:57

that's a must do for me.

29:01

Love it. And then

29:01

a CPG Don't.

29:05

Don't forget to

29:05

focus on the other party's

29:08

perspective. Try to anticipate

29:08

what's going to be most

29:10

important to them in framing the

29:10

conversation. What are they

29:13

hoping to get out of the

29:13

agreement, whatever type of

29:16

agreement you're trying to

29:16

reach. I think that's a way to

29:19

help create some more value and

29:19

find solutions that aren't so

29:24

you-focused but that ultimately

29:24

are creating a bigger slice of

29:28

the pie again, pick your

29:28

euphemism. But yeah, don't

29:31

forget that other perspective.

29:33

Yup, empathize.

29:33

Put yourself in their shoes and

29:37

look at their perspective,

29:37

because it literally helps every

29:39

time you have a conversation when you do that.

29:41

that. And so that's

29:41

true in business in life. But

29:43

yeah, that's,

29:46

um, that aspect.

29:46

So all right, Juli Lassow from

29:49

JHL Solutions, can you let us

29:49

know how we can get a hold of

29:52

you? What you're doing today

29:52

that you know, with with your

29:54

business and just kind of give

29:54

us a little bit of that before

29:57

we sign off here.

29:58

Yeah, happy to

29:58

share. So it's Juli: j-u-l-i-

30:02

Lassow and you can find me on

30:02

LinkedIn. I'm pretty active on

30:05

LinkedIn, or JHL-solutions is

30:05

where you can find the website,

30:09

I have a fair amount of

30:09

information on negotiations and

30:12

supplier partnerships available.

30:12

Today, as I shared, I mostly sit

30:16

on the retailer side supporting

30:16

retailers and building and

30:19

developing negotiation

30:19

strategies. But I do also

30:22

support suppliers. So if you're

30:22

looking for negotiation support,

30:26

if you're reaching in or

30:26

entering in conversations with

30:28

retailers, for the first time

30:28

going direct and moving into the

30:30

wholesale space, happy to have a

30:30

conversation on how I might be

30:34

able to support that work and

30:34

support your efforts. Awesome.

30:39

Again, thanks so

30:39

much for your time today, Julie.

30:41

Appreciate the the knowledge,

30:41

the expertise, you know the

30:45

experience that you've had, I do

30:45

believe the listeners will

30:47

really enjoy it. So take care,

30:47

Juli, thanks again. Again. This

30:50

is episode 28 of The Month End

30:50

podcast. Hope you all enjoyed

30:53

it. Take care.

30:54

Thanks