Recently, it’s been easier than ever to tell who are vendors and who are partners.

Today’s post is by Dave Wenig, Senior Vice President of Sales and Services at SafeSourcing.

Times are tough for many businesses. For many business the road to a full recovery is still long, even as some businesses boom and others find they haven’t been overly impacted. Regardless of how long or short your road to recovery is, I suspect you’ve had an opportunity to see how some of your vendors have behaved during this difficult time and have taken note.

We’re no different. Typically, the stories I share are those of our clients. In this case, we have been able to make observations both through our clients and in our own dealings with vendors.

We’ve seen some real partners out there. Even while their own business might have been struggling, they are still looking for ways to help their customer. Some are doing so an downright creative ways. One example would be offering up less expensive alternative products for consideration instead of the passing along outrageous price increases caused by increased demand for many supply items globally. Another example we’ve seen is partners considering and allowing changes in agreements to accept lower volume orders than had been agreed to previously.

Vendors taking steps like these are great partners. When the dust finally settles and we are all back to normal, the customer will remember that these great partners were there for them during their time of need.

We’ve also seen some vendors out there who have proven to be bad partners. In the face of adversity and when their customers needed them, they chose to take advantage or to refuse to provide any assistance. I previously talked about price gouging in another blog post. The sad reality is that this is also happening.

Vendors who prove through their actions that they are not your partner will also be remembered when this is all over. The reality is, your customers are not going to forget that you didn’t help them or that you decided to try to help yourself at their expense. While I don’t have a crystal ball, I can tell you what the future has in store for you if you fall into this category. Your customers will leave you as soon as they have the chance to do so.

Right now, SafeSourcing is helping customers replace some of their vendors with partners. Right now, our customers are saying no to price gouging. Right now, all vendors have the chance to show that they are great partners. If you would like more information on how SafeSourcing can help you, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service representative.  We have an entire team ready to assist you today.

Today’s post is from SafeSourcing’s  monthly newsletter that goes out to over 6500 subscribers.

Here’s some examples of where price increases rising and according to sources, why!

McDonald’s Raises Menu Prices In order to keep up with rising costs, including a 10% increase in employee wages this year, McDonald’s has increased their menu pricing. The company is struggling to hire enough staff to keep their doors open even with higher wages as an enticement. The company is paying more for paper, food, and supplies. The commodity costs for the year have risen 3.5% to 4%, up 2% from earlier in 2021. It is expected that menu prices will increase by 6% compared to last year. “Companies across the globe are raising consumer prices in response to growing costs spanning distribution and freight to fuel and food. U.S. inflation in September remained at its highest rate in more than a decade, Labor Department data showed.” Starbucks Corp. will increase the average employee pay to $17 an hour from $14. Baristas that have been with the company will get a 5% pay increase and employees that have been with the company for five years or more will be eligible for up to 10% pay increase. Many restaurants have increased menu prices to offset higher wages for cooks and servers, as well as increased prices for meat, packaging, vegetable oil and other commodities.

At SafeSourcing we help our B-to-B customers keep their costs down so that their B to C customers do not have to suffer huge price increases. You can too if you contact SafeSourcing.

References

Heather Haddon. WSJ, 10/28/2021

Today’s re-post is by Gayl Southard VP Administration at , SafeSourcing

The egg carton was invented in 1911 by newspaper editor Joseph Coyle of Smithers, British Columbia, to solve the debate between a local farmer and a hotel owner over the farmer’s eggs being delivered broken. Up until that time the eggs were delivered in egg baskets.  The egg carton, or “box” was refined by H. G. Bennett (Riseley UK) during the 1950’s and became the norm for egg transportation.

Some terms used in labeling eggs are as follows:

1.  Antibiotic-Free. This term is misleading, as all eggs produced in the U.S. are antibiotic-free. If the hen becomes ill and antibiotics are needed, they are used on a therapeutic level under the supervision of a veterinarian. Hens given antibiotics at a high dose would be diverted from human consumption according to FDA regulations.
2. Brown Eggs. Red-brown feathered breeds lay brown eggs. According to the USDA the nutritional content is the same as white eggs.
3. Cage-Free/Free-Roaming Eggs. Eggs laid by these hens are indoor floor operations, sometimes referred to as free roaming. These hens may roam in a building, room to room, or in an open area, usually a barn or poultry house and have unlimited access to food and water. Some hens may even be allowed outside to forage for food. These hens have a shelter that protects them from predators.
4. Enriched Colony. A production system that contains adequate perch space, dust bathing or a scratch area(s), and nest space to allow layers to exhibit inherent behavior. Enriched colony systems are American Humane Certified.
5. Fertile Eggs. Eggs, if not refrigerated, can be incubated to hatch into chicks. These are eggs are a result of roosters and hens housed together.
6. Free-Range Eggs. Eggs produced by hens that have access to outdoors. Hens have continuous access to food and water and may forage for wild plants and insects.
7. Good Source of Protein. All eggs qualify for the nutrient content as they meet or exceed 10% of the DV (daily value).
8. Gluten Free. All eggs are naturally gluten free. Any grains a chicken ingests is broken down during the digestive process and not passed through the body tissue.
9. Hormones. The egg industry does not use hormones in the production of shell eggs. The FDA require that a qualifying statement “Hormones are not used in the production of shell eggs” to prevent misleading consumers that some eggs have added hormones.

For more information on how SafeSourcing can assist you or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Representative we have an entire team waiting to assist you today

Source: Egg Nutrition Center SafeSourcing has a lot of experience sourcing eggs and poultry. It is a category that is run regularly.