Buying produce and stress are synonymous. It goes with the territory. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something comes up that turns up the pressure.
This isn’t uncommon. Expect to answer to many people as a buyer: Upper management, the produce director, the produce managers in the stores. The sales, advertising and marketing team will lean on you, and so will produce supervisors, vendors, warehouse managers, and quality control people.
Even the occasional customer will call you directly and ask why you can’t stock their favorite (albeit obscure) apple from their distant home state.
I often compare the buying position to the offensive lineman in football. Both are behind the scenes, unglamourous positions. However important each may be, you’re only noticed when there’s a mistake.
When a buyer runs into an issue, it can be costly and eat up valuable time. You’re constantly juggling three balls: Cleaning up the previous week’s ad items, managing the ad you’re currently in, and preparing for the upcoming week’s ad.
Buyer Chronicles – Negotiating for now and later
The superficial, overall directive: Have enough product so there are no out-of-stocks – but not too much. No pressure, right?
As Yoda might grumble, “Easy it is not.”
I might add that some ads pose less stress than others. An apple ad stress level, for example, doesn’t come close to the stress level felt with say, a big ad with cherries, which have the reputation for succumbing to last-minute storms that create potential quality issues and resulting shrink.
With no shortage of possible stressful situations, here are just a few of many potential pitfalls (in no particular order) that a buyer can expect to experience, and with time, possibly avoid.
The recall
We’re always one headline away from everyone having a rough day.
Most organizations have been through the recall drill enough by now to have a set policy with carefully listed steps in place. Fortunately, recalls aren’t common, but there’s no predicting what the affected commodity will be or when it could occur.
Prepare yourself by learning the reaction protocol. And when it happens, follow the plan your company has in place to have product identified, pulled, stored or otherwise isolated and protected for company and vendor accountability and tracking.
The multiple-pick mixer load
Oh, if only every produce purchase order was a one-pick, one-drop load. Multiple pickup points on “mixer” produce loads are common. You can expect to load trucks mixed with vegetables, berries and so on.
Depending on your needs, determine how much room is in your truck and the logistics that start at point A on a Monday and end up at point F on Tuesday, with expectations that your load will arrive at your warehouse or distribution center by Thursday in time for weekend shipments to the stores.
Minimize the issues with the more complex loads by getting an early start, setting up purchase orders and arranging transportation well ahead of time.
Stay in close touch with the shipper and the driver. Close communication is key, with invoice passings and with phone calls. Never assume things are going smoothly. Ronald Reagan said it best: Trust but verify.
Buyer Chronicles – Reflections on load rejections
Case in point: I once called to make sure my truck was getting loaded with four pallets at a shed known for holding up trucks. “No problem,” I was told. “Your truck is in the dock.”
Now, to any reasonable-thinking person, “in the dock” suggests that the shipper is in the process of loading product. Not so fast. This shipper’s representatives apparently said this to anyone calling, and to them the phrase meant that a truck checked in at their guard shack and for all anyone knew was 20th in line down the lane and not getting loaded anytime soon.
Clarify what is said. Be the pest that gets your truck loaded in a timely fashion and ask pointed questions to avoid any miscommunications.
Study your history
No, not the Civil War or the War of 1812. Rather, study your ad movement history. If you have a peach ad planned, compare your history carefully to accurately project your needs and avoid an over/under stock situation.
Is the price point the same? Is this the same time of year, the same shipper and variety? As much as possible, discuss what changes you may need to take with your produce director or fellow buyers.
Go back not one but several years, as many times an ad runs roughly the same pattern year after year. Any other factors, such as closed or additional stores in the chain? Overall market share on the rise? These are all questions that will help you make a better decision about how much product to bring in.
The overloaded truck
Take time to calculate how much weight your truck is carrying. An overloaded truck will be held up at weigh stations, creating fines and delayed loads. A load of bell peppers can be “cubed” or stacked from trailer floor to ceiling and stuffed to the door. Heavier product such as top-iced corn, cucumbers or potatoes necessitate a closer look.
Buyer Chronicles – Late trucks and how to shift the odds in your favor
The local season
Every state has some time range involving the local fare. It’s a wonderful period, as local product is always a little fresher and the freight bill is less. Just ensure that whoever you deal with has your specs right so that you indeed receive the desired quality, conventional or organic, the right varieties, the correct size or packs, and the right grade.
Look before you leap
Avoid jumping into deals too early. Some chains can’t resist the temptation to be “first to market,” particularly on a hot commodity.
Another case in point: Years ago, a competitor beat our chain to market in late winter, advertising California strawberries. I picked up a case during early price checks and took it to our office. Their ad berries were awful quality: small and wet with white shoulders throughout.
When the vice president stormed into our produce director’s office a couple hours later, he slammed the competitor’s ad on the desk. “How could we let these guys beat us to the first berry ad?” he demanded.
The director reached behind his desk and produced the competitor’s berries. “Armand happened to bring some in this morning,” he said. “They’re California berries all right – Baja California.”
Just because a fledging variety or two are available in the early part of a deal doesn’t necessarily mean a buyer should be quick to load. Ask the shipper particulars about the sugars and acids, sizes, blush or whatever defines a particular item. In the early going of some deals the price can be high and the quality not necessarily what you prefer.
Consider this: if customers have a bad eating experience in the early going, they’re not nearly as likely to be a repeat shopper later, when the produce is at peak flavor and you have volume to move.
Don’t drain the barrel
This is a phrase I heard from a seasoned produce buyer who explained, “The temptation to continue loading a good volume item is strong. But when the shipper says they have ‘one last load’ to close the season, this is a red flag for you to consider discontinuing that item.”
Sometimes the last throes of something will have issues with quality. It’s best not to tempt fate and leave your customers with only the great quality memories.
If it’s too good to be true …
I once received a call from a terminal market vendor, offering a load of apples to our chain at five dollars below the going rate. Our category manager insisted I grab the deal. First I made some closer inquiries – and learned the discounted apples had been packed many weeks earlier.
Had those apples made it to customer’s crispers they’d be wrinkling and mushy. No thanks. Many so-called deals are no deal at all. If something is too good to be true…
Don’t get picked off
Sometimes (mostly with wholesale or foodservice buyers) things happen overnight that drive up the price of something extraordinarily high, such as with a freeze. This instantly makes whatever lower-price inventory you have on hand vulnerable to opportunists – usually unfamiliar customers – who will attempt to buy out all your inventory at once.
Avoid this from happening by watching out for these unusual occurrences and immediately reacting and adjusting your pricing to reflect the up market. This will protect your inventory from those looking to clean you out to turn a quick buck.
Watch out for the hustlers
The produce industry is mostly great, honest people who do a wonderful and ethical job, day after day. Still, like in any industry, it’s wise to exercise caution in your buying. Beware of vendors who alter invoices, attempt to squirrel in less than desirable quality, or purposely try to force in more product than ordered. Vendors like this don’t last long.
Steer clear of anyone but reputable sources to minimize problems and stress.
Covering for another buyer
This can be a bit stressful, buying product lines that you’re not familiar with as you cover for your co-buyer who is taking time off. Minimize the stress by allowing them to coach you with what to expect or avoid.
Arrive early and complete your own buying, then sit with the other buyer over a few days or so to shadow their routine.
When you’re short
You will occasionally find your inventory on hand will not cover orders. Regardless of how this happened (late truck, rejected load, unexpected sales), it’s your job to try and cover. Typically, a buyer has access to a secondary distributor, usually an area wholesaler that can help with “short buys.”
Be wary, however, as their quantities may be insufficient, you usually pay a premium, and product isn’t necessarily your specs and will rarely be from your own primary source or label. Depend on short buying too often and, like Ricky Ricardo once said, you’ll have some ‘splainin’ to do.
When you’re long
The other side of this coin is when you find yourself long on product. You just concluded an ad, and you have six pallets of something that needs to be moved right away. What then?
Sometimes this mandates you divide the quantity between the stores and force a distribution, which is never a popular route. Or you may be able to keep the lower ad price active until the stores naturally clean up the inventory. All the more reason to calculate your projected needs ahead of time, relying on history and other related information.
In conclusion
As you might surmise, there are numerous tipping points and pitfalls at the produce buying desk. You can’t possibly avoid all issues, especially with perishable goods. Murphy’s Law might as well have been invented for the produce industry; you can count on something going awry on occasion.
However, you do have some control. If you prepare well, set up and maintain excellent shipper and transportation relationships, keep good records, and take care to check – and double check – your work throughout the week, you will have done all you can to minimize problems and the added stress that goes along with the job.
Here’s a serenity plaque message I’ve seen hanging over a produce buyer’s desk:
“God, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the Courage to change the things I can, and
the Wisdom to know the difference.”
Hand-scratched beneath was this: “Especially during a cherry ad.”