About Western Montana Growers Cooperative (WMGC) 

WMGC is a farmer-owned producer cooperative based in Missoula, MT. Since the Cooperative’s inception in 2003, they have been dedicated to improving the area’s local food system through wholesale, delivery services, and a CSA program. WMGC is a key player in the Northwest Food Hub Network — a group of food hubs partnered together to expand opportunities for local food. Read more about the Network and WMGC’s role in our Northwest Food Hub Network Year One Case Study!

WMGC’s wholesale department, led by Emily Mayberry, represents the majority of WMGC’s sales. They serve grocery stores, resorts, restaurants, and schools. Having a separate wholesale department allows them to cater to the different needs of each type of buyer.

WMGC runs both their Wholesale and CSA sales through LFM. They joined us to chat about it on a recent webinar: Bringing your Wholesale Business Online.

Watch the recording

Selling wholesale: Key considerations from WMGC   

Selling to wholesale buyers differs significantly from direct-to-consumer, requiring a distinct sales strategy. Here are several key considerations to take into account when selling wholesale, alongside the specific LFM features WMGC utilizes to effectively manage and enhance their business: 

 ➡️ Varied Pricing Structures

WMGC’s wholesale pricing is structured around category margin pricing, where margins are determined by product categories such as fruits, vegetables, frozen goods, and dry items. In addition, the Cooperative takes things like distance, sales channel, and order minimums into account when determining pricing. With this variability, it’s important for WMGC to be able to efficiently and accurately reflect these pricing structures on their storefront.  

💡LFM‘s software allows WMGC to fully customize each buyer’s pricing and product availability 

With LFM, WMGC can set different margins within each of their product categories to finely tune each sales channel and accurately price items in accordance with each buyer’s needs. In addition to customizing the pricing, WMGC uses LFM’s Custom Product List feature to customize which products are visible to each customer.

WMGC runs both their Wholesale and CSA sales through LFM. They joined us to chat about it on a recent webinar: Bringing your Wholesale Business Online.

Watch the recording

➡️ Streamlined sales process 

WMGC’s weekly workflow includes bi-weekly sales calls held on Mondays and Thursdays to ensure orders are being placed in a timely and efficient way. LFM streamlines WMGC’s weekly workflow by consolidating orders placed on the storefront with orders placed by the WMGC sales team.

💡LFM’s software streamlines WMGC’s weekly sales process

LFM aligns seamlessly with WMGC’s weekly sales workflow. WMGC uses LFM to: 

• Enable customers to place orders on the storefront, reducing the amount of time spent on admin work. This increases efficiency and the number of customers each salesperson can assist. 
• Consolidate storefront and admin orders in one centralized location, saving time and maintaining organizational efficiency. 
• Allow admins to create future orders and view product availability by producer, enhancing sales forecasting and planning. 
• Set up recurring orders for consistent orders, increasing average order value and offering a valuable time-saving feature for WMGC staff. 

“LFM’s recurring orders feature is a huge time-saving tool for our staff.” – Emily Mayberry, Sales Manager at WMGC

➡️ Efficient inventory management 

Ensuring that there is an efficient inventory management process between producers and the cooperative is vital for WMGC. WMGC Category Managers work closely with producers to facilitate efficient ordering through twice-weekly pick tickets and purchase orders.

💡 LFM enhances WMGC’s inventory management and ordering efficiency  

Here are a few of the LFM features WMGC uses to save time during their weekly workflow: 

• Automated purchase orders & pick tickets: By automating these processes, WMGC saves time on admin tasks. 
• Par Level: Par Levels ensure efficient inventory management by automatically alerting WMGC if a product falls below the designated par level.
• “Just in Time” and Warehouse Inventory: To ensure maximum freshness, WMGC keeps some products in their warehouse to fulfill orders and others are fulfilled Just In Time (Harvest to Order).  LFM’s flexible inventory system ensures accurate inventory and streamlined producer communication.
• Dynamic Order Fulfillment: LFM’s dynamic order packing data enables warehouse staff to find and modify customer orders with a single click.
• Bulk Credits and Swaps: If  a producer isn’t able to deliver products that were ordered, WMGC can easily credit all affected customers with just a few clicks, or swap the items out for a different producer’s product.

“LFM’s Par Level feature is invaluable for us. To be able to log into LFM, run an inventory report, and see where our current inventory lies, is very important to our weekly workflow and has saved us a ton of time.” –Emily Mayberry, Sales Manager at WMGC

WMGC runs both their Wholesale and CSA sales through LFM. They joined us to chat about it on a recent webinar: Bringing your Wholesale Business Online.

Watch the recording

➡️ Year-end planning 

Year-end planning is an integral part of the success of WMGC’s wholesale operations. This process is a collaborative effort between producers and the Cooperative, and it involves analyzing sales data from the previous year to project and plan for the upcoming growing season. 

💡LFM’s reporting tools help WMGC plan ahead 

LFM’s sales reporting plays an integral part in ensuring WMGC builds reliable and accurate sales plans each year. Here are a few of the key LFM reports WMGC utilizes: 

• Sales by Product: WMGC uses this report for streamlined access to every products sold throughout the year — this LFM feature allows the Cooperative to build accurate sales plans for the coming year.
• Comparison Reports: WMGC utilizes LFM to analyze monthly sales data and strategize crop sales for the upcoming year.

“I use LFM’s sales reports to make sales projections for the following year so we can more efficiently build an accurate budget.” -Emily Mayberry, Sales Manager at WMGC

LFM’s collaborative approach plays a role in WMGC’s scalability and future growth 

In addition to the tools mentioned above, WMGC highly values LFM’s focus on implementing feedback and fostering a collaborative approach to solve problems and ensure success. With regular product development releases and communication from LFM, the functionality of the system is constantly enhancing to help WMGC scale their business.  

“LFM is so open to feedback. There’s always an open door for collaboration, and I can’t tell you how much we feel supported from LFM.” –Emily Mayberry, Sales Manager at WMGC

Want to learn more about how LFM can help you grow your wholesale business? 

Emily Mayberry from WMGC joined us to chat about WMGC’s wholesale business and how LFM’s software help them manage and grow.

Innovative Sales: Bringing your Wholesale Business Online

Where: Watch the recording here!  

You’ll learn more about WMGC’s wholesale processes and how they use LFM to set up a customized shopping experience for buyers, including:

🌟 Custom price lists

🌟Support for master and sub-accounts

🌟 Customized payment terms and methods

🌟 Recurring orders

… and more!