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Retail Strategies & Supplier Insights
Discover the strategies and insights you need to thrive in the competitive retail landscape. Retail Strategies & Supplier Insights delivers expert advice, actionable tips, and the latest industry trends tailored specifically for retail suppliers. Whether you’re looking to boost sales, recover profits, or navigate retailer relationships, our blog is your go-to resource for success.
Deduction Recovery with Your Broker—A How-To
Think triage and workflow. The goal is to recover fast while preventing the next hit.
Jon Allen
Oct 2, 20251 min read
Food Broker + Deduction Recovery
You don’t have to choose between a food broker and a deduction recovery team. The compounding effect comes from both: brokers prevent...
Jon Allen
Sep 30, 20251 min read
Understanding the Impact of a Government Shutdown on Retailers and Suppliers
If Congress misses the October 1 funding deadline, parts of the U.S. government will shut down. Essential services will keep running, but...
Jon Allen
Sep 29, 20254 min read
The Hidden ROI on Retail Deductions
Retail deductions aren’t a one-time clean-up—they’re a tax on sloppy hand-offs. A strong food broker earns their keep long before the first PO by preventing the errors that become chargebacks: mis-keyed price files, barcode hiccups, promo mismatches, late/short deliveries, and compliance misses.
Jon Allen
Sep 29, 20252 min read
Retail Deductions 101: Terms, Causes & Solutions
“Retail deductions” are amounts a retailer withholds from your invoice—usually for shortages, compliance issues, pricing discrepancies,...
Jon Allen
Sep 24, 20255 min read
What Is a Food Broker? (And When You Should Use One)
A food broker is a contract sales representative who connects food and beverage manufacturers with retail buyers—think grocery chains, club stores, mass, and specialty.
They don’t buy or own your product; they sell it, manage the relationship, and help move it through existing retail channels.
Jon Allen
Sep 23, 20254 min read
Retail Deduction Recovery Strategies Every Food Supplier Should Know
Imagine this: a food supplier delivers 20 truckloads of salsa to a retailer. Everything looks good—until the next remittance statement. Suddenly, thousands of dollars are missing. The codes? “Shortage,” “labeling error,” and “freight non-compliance.”
Jon Allen
Sep 15, 20251 min read
Food Broker Advantages: Why Small Brands Need Representation to Compete with Giants
For every small brand dreaming of shelf space at Walmart, Kroger, or Target, the reality is clear: the competition isn’t just tough—it’s...
Jon Allen
Sep 8, 20251 min read
Retail Deduction Recovery Strategies: How to Minimize Losses When Deduction Deadlines Shift
Retail deductions are frustrating enough when they’re predictable. But what happens when the rules change—when a retailer quietly shortens the dispute window or introduces new deduction codes with little warning?
Jon Allen
Sep 3, 20251 min read
Promotions Gone Wrong: When Retail Discounts Hurt More Than They Help
Promotions feel like a win-win. Shoppers get a deal, sales lift, and the retailer’s happy. But not every promo helps. Some destroy margin without driving lasting volume.
Jon Allen
Sep 2, 20251 min read
Food Broker Insights: Adapting Fast When Compliance Standards Shift”n
Just when you think you’ve nailed a retailer’s compliance playbook, the rules change. Maybe the OTIF (On Time, In Full) window gets...
Jon Allen
Sep 1, 20251 min read
The Freight Trap: How Shipping Errors Become Chargebacks
Late trucks. Wrong pallet configs. Missing paperwork. Each slip turns into a deduction. And the math adds up fast. A $300 error on a truckload? Multiply that by 200 loads a year, and you’ve lost $60K before you know it.
Jon Allen
Aug 28, 20251 min read
90-Day Rule: Why Waiting Too Long to Dispute Deductions Costs You
Retailers are relentless about deadlines—especially when it comes to deduction disputes. Many give you just 90 days from the deduction date to submit your case. Miss that window, and the money is gone forever.
Jon Allen
Aug 27, 20251 min read
5 Common Mistakes Companies Make with Retail Deduction Recovery
Recovering retail deductions can be complex, but most brands lose money due to avoidable mistakes. Here are the five most common missteps:
Jon Allen
Aug 14, 20251 min read
Retail Deduction Recovery 101: What Every CPG Brand Needs to Know
If your CPG brand sells to major retailers like Walmart, Kroger, or Target, you’ve likely experienced the frustration of deductions ...
Jon Allen
Aug 13, 20251 min read
UNFI Deduction Pitfalls: What to Watch for and How to Fight Back
If you’re a CPG supplier working with UNFI, you know the drill: you send the shipment, you send the invoice, and you wait for payment. But somewhere between “invoiced” and “paid,” things get messy.
Jon Allen
Aug 12, 20252 min read
Target’s “Perfect Order” Changes: Fines, Fixes, and Next Steps
Target is raising the bar for suppliers, and your invoices could take a hit if you’re not ready. In 2025, the retailer updated its...
Jon Allen
Aug 7, 20251 min read
SNAP Shake‑Ups & What They Mean for Retail Suppliers
The 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill” puts $186 billion in SNAP cuts on the table over the next decade. Starting in 2028, states begin covering 5–15% of benefit costs based on their error rate, up from zero, and must pick up 75% of administrative costs instead of 50%.
Jon Allen
Aug 4, 20253 min read
Your Retail Data is Talking—But Are You Listening?
You don’t need a crystal ball to understand your retail future—you just need to pay attention to what your data is already telling you....
Jon Allen
Jul 24, 20252 min read
Deduction Management: Retail 101
Are you struggling with deduction management in retail? Learn how to recover revenue and streamline the process with our expert tips.
Jon Allen
Nov 7, 20243 min read
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