How We Built the Lineup for a Special Episode

Editor’s Note: Marie Clapper is executive producer for “Focus on Suppliers.”

Walmart’s Shareholders Meeting is special. There is no doubt about that. So a few months back, our media team began to plan the episode of “Focus on Suppliers” to be broadcast that same week, and we wanted a truly outstanding lineup of guests for this special time.

Not as easy as it might seem. Building an outstanding episode for a TV program like ours requires a combination of often antithetical attributes.

First, the show’s content must educate. It has to fit with the mission of 8th & Walton: to help suppliers be better partners with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sam’s Club. That means the topics need to address opportunities and challenges suppliers are facing, with real solutions and practical advice.

But it’s a television show, so it also has to entertain. It doesn’t have to be a I’m-laughing-so-hard-I-can’t-catch-my-breath kind of funny, but it does have to be engaging and insightful. Evoking a little smile. A knowing nod, perhaps. Fun — as an adult working in the retail community might define fun.

Finally, we need heart in each episode. For this show especially, I wanted the rest of the country and people around the globe to see the wonderful culture of giving and kindness that’s so much a part of our lives here.

Addressing those three factors, we built the June 4 show.

Our media team looked at the challenges suppliers face today and chose to address two pressing issues: Walmart’s Must-Arrive-By-Date (MABD) initiative and new packaging requirements. We asked Colby Beland (CaseStack) to give an update on where things stand with MABD; he also offers a likely timetable projection of what’s ahead, based on recent history.

Ron Sasine (Hudson Windsor) was our choice for a lesson on packaging printing, and he makes a complex subject easier to understand. With Neile Jones leading the conversations, these interviews are lively as well as informative.

And, as with each show, Jessica Hendrix (Saatchi & Saatchi X) provides keen insights into those millennial shoppers all suppliers are courting.

Walmart has several important initiatives, and we chose diversity as the one to highlight on this episode. Karen Stuckey is national chairman of NEW (Network of Executive Women) as well as senior vice president of general merchandise for Walmart U.S. Her sincere commitment to diversity came through clearly in her message on this show.

We also turned to Michelle Thomas and Tracey Wood (Mars Candy Brands) who speak with candor about how Mars embeds diversity into its business at all levels. Diversity and inclusion are not afterthoughts at Mars; they’re embedded into its culture.

Jones and Alan Dranow also have a lively interview inside the Walmart Museum, the spot in downtown Bentonville some people consider the heart of this community. Their conversation sets the tone for the show — and provides a couple of museum details I had never before heard.

There are many outstanding charities in our community, and we invited the Arkansas Chapter of the ALS Association to be our guests in The Heart of Business in NWA on this episode. Jennifer Necessary, executive director, provides vital information for suppliers looking to support a good cause. But Brian Graham, living through ALS, talks from the heart about his journey and the extraordinary help Walmart and Sam’s Club have given him.

That’s the story behind this show. We hope you like it.