Summary: Getting Your Product On Shelves At Whole Foods

Customers around the United States are beginning to see the importance of both healthy and organic foods, and along with this new importance comes the demand of lower prices. Inside of Wall Street Journal article, “Getting Your Product on Shelves at Whole Foods Just Got Harder”, written by, Heather Haddon and Sarah Nassauer, an inside look at Whole Foods’ Total Quality Management process is presented. “Total quality management (TQM) is the coordination of efforts directed at improving customer satisfaction, increasing employee participation, strengthening supplier partnerships, and facilitating an organizational atmosphere of continuous quality improvement” (Business, 181). The article covers Whole Foods’ overall plan, when the company began

Whole Foods last updated their rates nine years ago, and in comparison, their promotional fees were a bargain to other competitors. Whole Foods now looks at sales trends from Nielsen data for price recommendations, just like their competitors do. Whole Foods developed its cachet by carrying niche brands without being able to pinpoint whether they drove sales. During promotions, stores in a geographic region wouldn’t stock special displays or discount promoted items, which irritated

Some suppliers feel as though Whole Foods’ changes are rushed and confusing. Some smaller businesses, like Kitchen28, who once wanted to expand to the Whole Foods stores, find difficulty in doing so because of the tighter management of shelf space and started selling product at other places. Other businesses are taking advantage of Whole Foods’ adjustment period. For example, Kroger Co doesn’t require smaller businesses to pay a fee to sell their products in store. Walmart also has been said to treat incoming suppliers as a partner. “Partnership a voluntary association of two or more persons to act as co-owners of a business for profit” (Business, 110). Whole Foods executives say they haven’t seen suppliers defect because of the higher fees and stricter requirements, although they were expecting some discontent. Some suppliers thought that the changes at Whole Foods were long overdue and intend on paying the increased fees for promotion. Whole Foods is currently having some challenges, but in the end, it is thought to create a more competitive