Thursday 3 September 2009

Grocers' range extension to include legal services..

This is not about a race between Tesco and the Co-op for legal customers, but more about the multiples constant search for categories that can give them an edge over traditional providers.
In other words, all grocers eventually need to provide anything that can be legally sold to existing and new shoppers, or suffer share-loss.

Vested interests will present many arguments as to why including legal requirements in a weekly shop is 'inappropriate' (legal language!)
However, this misses the essential point that in the absence of alternative suppliers, the public having had to settle for the only level-of-service available, are now in the market for a provider that is focused on shopper-need, is passionate about efficiency, thinks and acts in seconds rather than 'working weeks', reflects the result in demonstrable value-for-money, and aims for up to 25% shares of categories.

Traditional lawyers should instead try to adapt (not copy) grocery business process and KPIs to the provision of legal services.
They might also keep in mind the fact that having cherry-picked the key parts of the legal range, Tesco, JS, Asda, Morrisons and the Coop will probably want to outsource the more complicated legal services to appropriate trade partners…

In which case, lawyers should perhaps seek advice from key FMCG suppliers on how to optimise trade partnerships with some of the best negotiators in the world…perhaps even bartering advice on the Law of Supplier-Retailer Contract, the next 'Big Thing'….

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