[0:00]Hello everyone. This is Wayne Bennett with Range Me and ECRM and I'm very, very, very excited to announce today the launch of US Open Call, Walmart's Open Call, which is now in its 12th year.
[0:14]And with me today is the business leader responsible for open call, joining me today is Jason Fromstead, who is the senior Vice President of Supplier Development for Walmart Sourcing, and we're going to have a quick chat about what to expect at this year's Open Call.
[0:29]So Jason, welcome back. Good to see you and uh how you doing?
[0:34]Well, first of all, good morning, Wayne. Thanks for having me back. Excited today's the day where we kick off open call applications for now the 12th time. So, I'm doing great. I'm excited to talk to you again. I appreciate you taking the time.
[0:48]Jason, I appreciate it as well. So Jason, let's get into this. So why is Open Call such an important opportunity for emerging brands today?
[0:58]Yeah, but first off, um, I I want to start with as we said, this is the 12th open call event we've had, but this is also this year celebrates the 40th anniversary of when Mr. Sam started his bring it back uh to the US program.
[1:17]Where he challenged the company and really the industry, um, to bring more US manufacturing, um, back into into create new US manufacturing.
[1:30]So, you know, with that, um, we have had, you know, goals over the years, our our current goal started in 2021 where we said we'd invest 350 billion in US manufacturing.
[1:43]Uh, we think that'll create around 750,000 jobs. And then each year to highlight that commitment, as well as to continue to invest in US manufacturing, we host open call.
[1:54]So, why it's so important is because this is the event where we open up the door and from an application standpoint for small, medium and even large suppliers to come pitch directly to Walmart merchants, Sam's Club merchants, uh, and as you know, last year, we've included some merchants from Walmart Canada and Walmart Mexico to talk to US manufacturers.
[2:17]And so, for us, it's just this really unique experience where we get to see these great new companies that maybe we haven't seen before, or maybe they have a new idea.
[2:30]And they get to talk directly to the decision makers at Walmart, US and Sam's Club. So, really excited that today kicks off the application period.
[2:39]Um, and every year, we're just, we get excited to see what's going to come our way and and see all the suppliers that that are going to look for the opportunity to pitch to us directly.
[2:47]Yeah, no, Jason, uh, really, it's a, it's a spectacular event and for brands that uh, have been there, you know what we're talking about and for brands out there that uh, have interest in applying, they should apply and uh, hopefully get invited back to Bentonville.
[3:03]So, with that, Jason, if a brand does get invited back, what is the experience look like for a participating brand?
[3:13]Can you explain a little bit about the process and what they can expect at Open Call?
[3:16]Yeah, absolutely. I I mean, I think you hit it on the, you hit it right on the, the head, like, we we want to start with just apply. And so any entrepreneurs that are seeing this today,
[3:28]Um, whether again, you're small, medium, large sized company and you're not currently working with Walmart, um, or you're working with Walmart in a capacity that you want to expand that that work that you're doing, potentially in new categories or into new, uh, whether that's into now into stores or clubs, et cetera.
[3:47]But just apply, you know, we, we want, uh, applications as many as we can get. From there, our team along with merchants, we sit through through those applications.
[3:57]Uh, and when when we sit through those applications, we're looking for great businesses, uh, that we think, um, you know, could be successful with Walmart, Sam's Club, uh, or, you know, on walmart.com and then, of course, marketplace.
[4:14]And so, once the application process starts, we go through everything. Uh, and then applications that are chosen to come to Bentonville, uh, we do our best to support that journey.
[4:24]So, before, uh, the open call event that happens, we'll have webinars, we'll have mentoring sessions.
[4:34]Uh, we'll provide, you know, as as much support we can through things like supplier Academy, grow with us, our new program that supports small businesses.
[4:42]Uh, but we really want to make sure suppliers are really ready to work with Walmart, uh, and so we do that as, as we start, it's really getting them together, getting them prepared,
[4:55]Ensuring that we're answering all of their questions, and really just doing all we can to set them up for success on the actual, the open call day.
[5:01]Yeah, and and Jason, I just wanted to let the audience know that not only are you leading and your team is responsible for open call, but also too, creating supplier excellence within Walmart.
[5:14]Supplier, so supplier excellence within Walmart, uh, so I want to make sure we clarify, so that's a specific group that sits within Walmart US.
[5:24]So, Jacqueline Lomax's team leads that. And their group will also provide support and where they really help out is once the supplier gets to the, um, the agreement phase,
[5:37]Um, they really help, they have a team called Supplier Administration. They do great work on on helping suppliers. The team, uh, there's another team that sits within Supplier Excellence, uh, Sherry Sing's team.
[5:48]Uh, and they lead small business supplier development as well and the, the, I mentioned the grow with us program.
[5:58]And they're leading the grow with us program, which is brand new to Walmart, we just launched it a few months ago now, and it's awesome. It's an, it's a program that focuses on small businesses.
[6:06]And how do we make sure that we're training them, um, to become better small businesses. And so as you know, we have programs like this, um, in different parts of the globe.
[6:17]But this is the first time we've had this in the, in the US. So, we work collectively as a team to support suppliers. And so what suppliers will see throughout the journey, whether that's before, during or after open call,
[6:27]You're going to be working with the right team at the right time that's going to help you be set up for success for for being a Walmart or Sam's Club supplier.
[6:34]Yeah, and and Jason, in terms of supplier divine, uh, development and supplier, uh, excellence, can you share some, uh, maybe one or two success stories of a brand that applied and broke through via Open Call?
[6:48]Yeah, I I you know, we've we've talked about this brand many times, but I'll bring it up once more, which is Athletic Brewing. You know, Athletic Brewing came through open call in 2020.
[6:59]You know, for those that don't know, they focus on non-alcohol craft beer, um, and at the time, that business wasn't significant.
[7:07]But what they, you know, as a as a team figured out was there was this white space that customers did want a non-alcohol alternative and they wanted something that tasted more like their favorite craft beer.
[7:20]So, Athletic Brewing came through in 2020. I can't quote exactly the amount of barrels they're doing at the time, but the growth post open call has been significant.
[7:29]I mean, they, uh, they have really been huge supporters of open call and the opportunity that that that opened for them.
[7:35]They now sell in thousands of Walmart stores and have had incredible success. So, so I was going to talk about them. Um, a couple new ones that I'd like to talk about, Ugly Company, great name.
[7:44]Yeah. Um, and Ugly Company, what they do is is really unique, um, and and sustainable and great all around, which is they're taking fruit that, um, potentially would have not made it to market from a fresh standpoint for a number of reasons.
[8:00]Maybe from an appearance standpoint, et cetera, but perfectly healthy, great fruit that they dry, and they talk, they, you know, have some fun with the name of the company, Ugly Company, because it's fruit that wasn't accepted to sell, you know, on, uh, in the fresh aisle.
[8:17]But it's still perfectly great and healthy and so they're creating this, you know, fresh dried, uh, or this dried fruit, um, solution that's now in Sam's Club and in Walmart, you know, in different sizes.
[8:30]And just an amazing, amazing story, amazing company. A couple of other ones, really quickly, um, and by the way, Ugly Company was just with us in DC, we had a fly in event, we got to help introduce them to their congress people.
[8:41]Um, which was great. But then, uh, Smack and Seeds is another one. Um, Smackin is, they took the idea of sunflower seeds, which have been around, obviously, forever, turned it on its head, added these really cool flavors from ranch, barbecue, dill pickle, you name it.
[8:57]They even have a, um, I think it's a churro style or a cinnamon sugar style. Um, and just really cool, cool thing to see these young entrepreneurs bringing this to market.
[9:07]And again, they'll also be in Walmart. And then finally, uh, Pop Daddy. So, started as a popcorn supplier, actually, you know, making popcorn in their basement.
[9:17]Uh, and then went that natural route to farmers markets and then started to sell into small retail, came through open call, um, and now selling in, I think well over a thousand, I think 1500 stores, if I remember correctly,
[9:31]Uh, their pretzels and they're also popcorn. So, they've expanded, but just a really cool, cool, uh, story. I I think, you know, one thing I want to make sure, you know, we get into and this may be a question you have, Wayne, is we want suppliers to tell their story.
[9:44]You know, what's really unique about open call is as as merchants, you get to meet these entrepreneurs.
[9:55]Again, small, medium, some of them large, they all have a story and their story is all unique and when you get to hear the story and you see that come to life in the product, many times that creates a really successful product.
[10:03]So, for us, we want to hear the story. We want to know the differentiation they see, you know, in their product and why they believe Walmart and Sam's Club customers and members will love it.
[10:17]And so, that's really what they want, we want them to focus on, um, when they have that opportunity to open call. You know, Jason, I was going to ask you the question to put on your merchant hat, because I know back in the day, you were a merchant.
[10:29]So, obviously, uh, storytelling is important. Is there any other bit of advice there from a merchant view that you may want to just share with these brands?
[10:34]Yeah, I I think, you know, just knowing that, uh, merchants are looking for, always looking for the next great opportunity to serve customers.
[10:46]And we're always looking to try to find what will, you know, excite our customers when they come into our stores.
[10:54]What can we get them in front of them that helps them, uh, you know, want to choose Walmart as their retailer of choice?
[11:01]And so, and when you think about from a US manufacturing standpoint, we know, I think it's 85%. It's well over 80% of our customers, they want items that are made, grown or assembled in the US.
[11:13]It's important to them that items are made in the US, they want to see that in our stores. And so Open Call brings, you know, all these great things together where it's new unique items that are made in the US.
[11:25]Uh, and that, you know, we believe can can fill this new, you know, whether it's white space or this new demand that customers have.
[11:33]And the last thing I would say is entrepreneurs are closest to the customer, you know, they have started their company because they've seen this need.
[11:39]And so, coming back full circle, we want them to tell us about why do they, why do they think this need exists, what's the differentiation and then tell us the story of how they created it.
[11:49]Yeah. Jason, that's great. Uh, and I, I want to ask you, um, how, how should, what is your message to small suppliers, vis-a-vis how they may feel intimidated about doing business with Walmart?
[12:19]Yeah, I mean, I think it's a, it's a very normal feeling to have in working with Walmart or Sam's Club in the size and scale we are.
[12:28]Uh, I think first and, first off, I mean, I think in the last couple years, we have done our best to build, um, support tools and teams to help entrepreneurs and small businesses,
[12:41]Um, be set up for success like they've never been before. So, I mean, we relaunch supplier Academy. And supplier Academy free, by the way, all that we've talked about these tools, supplier Academy, grow with us, all free, all open to any supplier that wants to to use them.
[12:57]And so, that's an important part of it. We we we've created these support tools and teams, um, that suppliers can reach out to and they can and they can use these tool sets that help them with grow with us, become a better small business in general.
[13:12]To become a better entrepreneur, be more informed, we, we have a number of different trainings, and then with supplier Academy, how to work with Walmart, and that starts from the very basic all the way through.
[13:22]So, I would say first and, you know, foremost, there's now more tools and support than ever before when it comes to working with Walmart.
[13:30]But I, but I think the one thing that's the most surprising when we tell suppliers is that you come to open call, or even if you just get the opportunity to pitch to a buyer at Walmart or Sam's,
[13:40]You're not expected to serve every store. You're not expected to supply every store right out of the, right out of the gate.
[13:49]And so, what's very important is suppliers are transparent on what they are capable of doing. And it is absolutely not even okay, but great if you can serve 100 stores.
[14:00]Or 50 stores, or 500 stores, it is not a necessity to work with Walmart and serve all stores.
[14:10]Where we want to see is we want to see suppliers set up for success. We want to see them have success and then we want to see them grow from that success.
[14:19]It is so much better if a supplier starts with 50 stores and one day goes to 5,000 stores than starts in 5,000 and and ends up in 50.
[14:28]We want to grow with suppliers, that's important to us, that's important to suppliers. So, for suppliers that are out there listening to this, apply, come take your shot, come talk to us,
[14:38]And know that we can start in a way with you that is supported in a way that allows you to grow with us, because when you grow with us, you know, that helps us grow as a company.
[14:50]Right. And and Jason, like, in conclusion, the, um, the opportunity again is for American-made, grown or assembled US manufacturers to apply to Open Call, which opens today.
[15:22]Yes, sir. That's exactly it. That's exactly it.
[15:26]And for myself, who's been there, it's a great day. If, um, if this is a, if a new supplier is hearing about this for the first time, you should submit.
[15:36]Uh, we wish you lots of luck in the selection and application process. And if you get the, the gold, the, uh, the announcement to come to Bentonville, you really should. So Jason, really fantastic, uh, discussion about Open Call.
[15:49]And before we leave, is there any final comments or any things you just want to add and conclude with?
[15:53]Yeah, I I want to just reiterate Wayne to all the entrepreneurs and, you know, business owners out there apply. You know, please apply. We'd love to see you,
[16:05]Um, you know, in Bentonville and and we, we want to make sure that you are going for that opportunity to come talk to our merchants, our Walmart and Sam's Club merchants.
[16:15]Um, and if you, you know, get the invite to attend, please do. You know, like we've talked about, uh, the golden ticket is obviously what our, you know, the entrepreneurs and businesses are looking for.
[16:26]But but know the way we build open call is that we want to make sure anyone that attends walks away with value. They walk away learning about the Walmart strategy.
[16:37]They hear from key leaders, uh, they hear about what's important to us. A lot of times we have special guests that come and talk.
[16:45]Um, about specifics on entrepreneurs and and just how to grow your business. And so the, we always want to make sure first and foremost that if you take the time to attend the event,
[16:55]Uh, that you leave knowing Walmart better, you understand our company better, our culture better, uh, and that you, um, hopefully, just walk away being a fan of Walmart and then understand what it takes to do business with us.
[17:10]And so, finally, there, there'll be a link, um, that's included with this video. That link will take you directly on how to apply.
[17:19]We'll be posting in any way we can think of, uh, you know, via LinkedIn and our team will be posting. But we're we're going to do our best to really spread the message and make sure,
[17:29]Uh, that we can get as many applicants as possible this year. Uh, and again, Wayne, thank you so much for ECRM and support and all the support that you provide.
[17:38]And uh hopefully this is our biggest open call yet. Jason, thank you so much again for the opportunity. I agree with everything you just said in terms of the experience and the opportunity for the suppliers to touch and get, uh, more insights and connectivity to Walmart at Open Call.
[17:53]Jason, thank you so much, uh, and, uh, have a great day. I'm excited that today's the day to launch Open Call, the 12th anniversary. Thank you, Wayne.
[18:01]You got it. Thank you.
