Walking the Walk of Partnership
Mary Ellen Kuhn
We hear a lot of talk in this business about the
importance of partnerships. Usually the partnerships discussed are those
between retailers and vendors.
Last month two important and influential entities in
the candy universe—the National Confectioners Association (NCA) and
an organization best known as ECRM—did more than talk the talk. They
walked the oh-so-tricky-to-negotiate path of partnership.
After some negotiation the two groups announced
that—rather than sponsoring competing events—they would join
forces. Starting with an event next month, NCA and ECRM (which is short for
Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing) will team up on conferences
designed to bring buyers and sellers together for strategic planning and
purchasing.
ECRM has a well-deserved reputation as a pioneer in
this arena. The organization’s events have done a lot to streamline
the sales and marketing supply line. ECRM’s technological
innovations, in particular, are top-notch. Meanwhile, NCA, which in
February staged its first event of this kind, the NCA Candy Marketplace, is
no slouch when it comes to pulling off a first-class event. Feedback on
NCA’s premiere marketplace has been positive.
But the bottom line is, we don’t need two
separately sponsored series of such events. For both NCA and ECRM to
continue sponsoring them would have been a real drain on the resources of
our industry. And that’s a message that many candy category managers
and vendors have been articulating loudly and clearly.
So congratulations to NCA and ECRM for listening to
your constituent groups and rising above self-interest. The candy business
is facing more than enough challenges in the marketplace. The last thing we
need is to work at cross-purposes on an internal level.
If the message from the candy industry leadership is
that buyer/seller cooperation is the surest route to success, then it
surely does make sense for leading organizations to demonstrate cooperation
and collaboration. Few forms of leadership are as effective as leading by
example.
Getting Tough
And while I’m dishing out the kudos this month,
I must add that NCA’s decision to eliminate the Children’s Hour
at the All Candy Expo in June is one smart move.
I like kids as much as the next person; I’ve got
a couple of my own, in fact. But the sad reality is that leaving the final
hour of the Expo open for kids to forage for candy has created a situation
akin to the looting of Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein! And
let’s be honest, the blame shouldn’t actually fall on the kids;
the greedy adults who seemed to come out of the woodwork were the major
offenders.
The Children’s Hour was a really nice idea. But,
unfortunately, those who abused it created an intolerable situation.
Cutting it out is a good first step toward making the last day of the show
as much of a meaningful, professional opportunity for doing business as the
first two days already are.
