Collaboration, Consumers and Business Success: The Winning Formula

In the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, we talk a lot about collaboration, a cooperative arrangement in which two or more parties work jointly toward a common goal. For most CPG organizations, there are actually two shared goals – satisfied consumers and sustainable business growth.

Along the entire CPG value chain, manufacturers, retailers and suppliers have many common values, but what we all value the most is the consumer. If we keep our combined efforts focused on providing consumers with the products and shopper experience they want, business success will follow.

Our efforts are working, and collaboration among CPG trading partners has never been greater. Advancements in innovation, technology and joint business planning have helped our industry serve consumers better, faster and more completely than ever before.

But if we are going to continue to thrive in the years and decades ahead, we must use our culture of continuous improvement to drive collaboration to new heights.

But if we are going to continue to thrive in the years and decades ahead, we must use our culture of continuous improvement to drive collaboration to new heights. That is exactly what the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), working with its member companies, retailers and allied trade associations, is doing.

For instance, through the Trading Partner Alliance (TPA), GMA and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) are working together to find solutions to common issues facing manufacturers and retailers. The TPA is working to harness big data to drive business growth. It is developing solutions to prevent the flow of counterfeit goods into the CPG supply chain. It is re-engineering how the CPG industry utilizes and processes coupons to reduce cost and prevent fraud. It is driving adoption of the Rapid Recall Exchange program to improve product recall management and better protect consumers.

These are just a few of the important issues that GMA and its retail channel trade association partners like FMI, GS1, the National Grocers Association, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Association of Convenience Stores and other allied trade groups are tackling to improve the consumer experience and help drive growth and efficiency.

We stand much stronger together than we do apart. Together, as manufacturers, retailers and suppliers, we can accomplish our shared goals of satisfied consumers and sustainable business growth.

Pamela G. Bailey
President & CEO Grocery Manufacturers Association