Annual Buzzwords Ignite Supplier Fires (Opinion)

Ahh, June and summer in the Ozarks.

The smell of honeysuckle, the sound of “achoos” from fresh cut hay and the proclamation of the next ideology revolution from the world’s largest retailer.

Consumer packaged goods firms and retail service providers alike stand poised to maximize “message” and vault into traction on whatever marching orders come their way this year. In the past the buzzwords, if not paradigm shifts, included “Sustainability,” “RFID” and “Diversity.”

This year, expect “Clarity.”

The official Wal-Mart Shareholders Meeting kicks off at 7 a.m. Friday, June 5, although concerts, strategy sessions and retail revelry are ongoing all week. The annual pilgrimage to Fayetteville’s Bud Walton Arena will fill local tax coffers and the plates of strategic planners for months to come.

We’re not privy to new CEO Mike Duke’s inaugural speech, but because of the way Wal-Mart is positioning itself, expect some of these themes to be touched on:

• Clarity for the customer —Wal-Mart is winning a lot of new customers right now. What is the company, and its supplier network, doing to retain them? Duke is a fundamentals guy, and taking care of the customer remains Wal-Mart’s Job One.

• Innovation for suppliers — Maybe the product is traditional, but the way it gets to market or its packaging can be neauvoux. Maybe it’s smart inventory control, or that a new co-branding project takes flight. Whatever it is, suppliers and even associates are being challenged for innovation.

• Relevance of product — Are our product lines current, and what are we doing to meet the needs of the evolving consumer thought?

• “Go Big, or Go Home”— This is mainly for suppliers, but it’s also a metaphor for what the retailer is trying to instill with shopper habits.

Wal-Mart is a big stage. Take big action. It’s a mantra the larger suppliers already know.

In the end, it’s about staying focused on the customer, which increasingly for Wal-Mart is “Jill America.”

So for 2009, it’s “all about her” and making certain there is clarity for the customer from the highway off ramp to the store shelf. That means energy will be spent on making sure it’s easy for all of us to do business with Wal-Mart.