Sponsored By

Fareway Stores eyes more agile sourcing via RangeMe

Product discovery platform offers one-stop access to over 200,000 suppliers

Russell Redman

October 1, 2020

2 Min Read
Fareway Meat & Grocery Stores-storefront.png
Under the collaboration, Fareway will use RangeMe’s online platform to streamline sourcing, communicate with suppliers and find new products.Fareway Stores

Midwestern grocer Fareway Stores aims to optimize sourcing and enliven its product mix through a new partnership with RangeMe.

Under the collaboration, announced Thursday, Fareway will use RangeMe’s online product discovery platform to streamline sourcing, communicate with suppliers and find new products that align with its customers’ needs and spur their interest. The solution provides the Boone, Iowa-based supermarket chain with access to more than 200,000 suppliers.

Overall, Fareway operates 123 stores in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Missouri. 

Clint Jenkins-Fareway Stores.jpg"RangeMe opens up so many new possibilities to tailor products to help [customers] meet their goals," Clint Jenkins of Fareway said. (Photo courtesy of RangeMe)

“With the new year fast approaching, we are committed to creating a personalized shopping experience for customers, with the added focus on how we can better help meet their needs,” Clint Jenkins, vice president of wholesale purchasing at Fareway Stores, said in a statement. “So many of our customers are on a wellness journey, and partnering with RangeMe opens up so many new possibilities to tailor products to help them meet their goals.”

Designed for retail buyers and suppliers, RangeMe’s platform uses a dashboard to put thousands of products at buyers’ fingertips, making it easier to find and compare items. Automatic alerts are sent to buyers when new products meet their selection criteria. As a result, retail buyers can more efficiently source innovative new products and manage the inbound product submission process, according to San Francisco-based RangeMe, a subsidiary of ECRM.

Related:KeHe looks to cultivate emerging brands

For suppliers, RangeMe provides added control over product marketing plus greater access to retail buyers. Suppliers can upload full details of their products to the platform for buyers to review. In addition, suppliers know when their products are being viewed and can receive feedback from buyers, while buyers can instantly contact suppliers of interest or track a product to be alerted of updates. 

With buyers and suppliers better able to concentrate on finding relevant and trending products, customers benefit from a wider selection in store aisles and online, according to RangeMe. The company noted that retailer-supplier communication and agility is proving especially critical amid the COVID-19 crisis, which has presented challenges in sourcing and shifting shopper behavior, with the latter including a sharper focus on health and wellness.

“2020 has been a year of learning and perseverance. We are excited to have a partner in Fareway that is eager to take these learnings into the new year, with a mission to provide a healthy product assortment to fit their consumers’ lifestyles,” commented RangeMe CEO Nicky Jackson. “Over the past seven months, the CPG and retail landscape has evolved dramatically,” she added. “Fareway is the epitome of this evolution not just from an innovation perspective, but also their openness to change and grow with rapidly shifting consumer demand.”

Related:RangeMe connects retailers with natural suppliers

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like