Supplier Scorecard Education Shifts to High Gear (Touch Points)

The second year of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s supplier scorecard is coming this February and for the first time the data collected will be used by buyers to guide their purchasing decisions.

That has suppliers and packaging companies scrambling to meet Wal-Mart’s sustainability goals and a round of educational opportunities is coming up to help the process.

Efficient Consumer Response Marketing and Mars Packaging Knowledge Group will offer two one-day seminars in December to help complete the scorecard, improve scores and find sustainable practices and materials.

ECRM worked with Wal-Mart and its Packaging SVN team made up of 200 government agencies, industry experts and environmental groups to develop the Sustainable Packaging Scorecard.

Seminars are scheduled for Dec. 6 and Dec. 13 from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in Rogers. Cost is $899 per person and as of Nov. 28, the Dec. 6 class was nearly full.

Also on Dec. 6, the Institute of Packaging Professionals will host a class on the scorecard at the Bentonville Public Library from 1-3 p.m. Cost is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers.

In its sustainability progress report released Nov. 15, Wal-Mart said more than 130 packaging suppliers showcased more than 3,000 packaging alternatives

Several local packaging companies are already hearing from suppliers about meeting the February deadline.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Parker Hunt of the Kendal King Group, which designs point-of-purchase displays. “Vendors are starting to ask us what materials we’re using and asking for help with the scorecard. We’re seeing that more and more.”

KKG, in addition to producing displays from products that are inherently sustainable such as wood, corrugated cardboard and paper, also knows there are gains to be made in more efficient transportation of goods.

Aisle Think of Rogers partnered with Pratt Industries to offer 100 percent post-consumer product in its products earlier this year and Stribling Packaging & Display has long offered its “Eco-Friendly” displays, which it estimates to have annual savings of 500 tons of paper and 2.1 million kilowatts of electricity.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday

The National Retail Federation’s Black Friday Weekend Survey conducted by BIGresearch showed more than 147 million shoppers hit the stores following Thanksgiving day, a 4.8 percent increase from 2006.

Consumers spent an average of $347.44 according to the NRF survey, a decrease of 3.5 percent from 2006 but an increase from 2005 of 14.8 percent.

In September, the NRF estimated holiday sales increases of 4 percent to $474.5 billion, its lowest growth forecast since 2002.

While individual spending was down, traffic was up to offset the difference, although analysts are concerned that heavy discounting will trim profits for the fourth quarter.

Discount retailers were the beneficiaries of increasing food and energy costs, with 55.1 percent of consumers visiting a discounter, up from 49.6 percent in 2006.

The NRF estimated 72 million consumers would shop for deals on “Cyber Monday,” which it began marketing in 2005. Early reports indicated Web traffic overwhelmed some retailers and slowed checkouts on the Internet.

Wal-Mart Makes Overseas Moves

Wal-Mart’s international division has been a strong source of revenue growth in 2007 while its U.S. same-store numbers have fluctuated between 1 percent and 2.5 percent.

International revenue through three quarters was up to $63.63 billion from $54.38 billion in 2006, a gain of 17 percent.

The retailer has continued to pump revenue back into its international operations, buying out the Japanese Seiyu chain for $862 million this fall after gradually raising its stake in the company from 6 percent in 2002 to 50.9 percent at the end of 2005.

The original purchase plan called for Wal-Mart to own a 66.7 percent stake in the company by December 2007, but obviously that schedule was accelerated.

On Nov. 28, the Estado news agency in Brazil reported Wal-Mart will spend $649 million to open 36 new stores and a distribution center in the country during 2008. Wal-Mart celebrated its 3,000th international store opening in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Nov. 14.