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WHOLESALERS THEIR SERVICE GAME
The modern players score big by meeting changing needs and staying focused on the long view.
BY JODEAN ROBBINS
Wholesalers across the
country, on and o
terminal markets, are
pulling out a new play-
book to help customers
in an increasingly competitive environment.
“Service to customers has required more engagement and under- standing of evolving business needs,” says David John III, business strategist for General Produce Company in Sacramento, CA. “With increasing food safety standards and higher end-user demands on all food purveyors, the role of the wholesaler has risen to be more than that of merely distribution of products. We nd ourselves in the business of providing information, education, training, merchandising, reporting, marketing and community outreach.”
Food retailing continues to change at an accelerated pace, according to Jonathan Ste y, vice president and general manager at Four Seasons Produce in Ephrata, PA. “ ere are more chan- nels than ever competing for the food dollar, and specialization has become a key part of success for many retailers,” he says. “Retailers,
70 / OCTOBER 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
especially independent and natural food stores without large corporate infrastruc- tures, cannot focus on specialization and catering to their target customers and communities plus all the other aspects of their business, if they are spending too much time on sourcing, logistics, sale planning, merchandising strategy and sta training. at is where service-minded wholesalers
come in.”
Successful wholesalers have moved from simple buyers and sellers
of produce into a greater benefactor role. “As produce wholesalers, we consider ourselves a service provider above all else,” says Stefanie Katzman, executive manager for S. Katzman Produce in Bronx, NY. “It’s the best description of our business. We provide logistical service, consolidation, wholesale-buying advantage, storage, fresh rotation, information and so much more. Wholesalers focus on all the other services around buying and selling.”
ese days, wholesalers who consider themselves only a whole- saler aren’t long for this world, asserts Emily Kohlhas, director of
From warehouse to store, wholesalers such as John Vena Inc. (left); Four Seasons with the reset of a produce depart- ment at a natural food store; and S. Katzman with a wide array of top-quality produce, allow retailers to please their most-discerning customers.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOHN VENA INC., FOUR SEASONS PRODUCE AND S. KATZMAN