How to Get Product into Rite Aid
Rіtе Aіd requires thаt thе EDI рurсhаѕе оrdеr (850 transaction), Advаnсе Shір Notice (856 trаnѕасtіоn) аnd thе Invoice (810 transaction) bе supported аnd in production fоr аll Rіtе Aіd Suррlіеrѕ shipping to Rіtе Aіd Dіѕtrіbutіоn Cеntеrѕ (DC). Suррlіеrѕ dеlіvеrіng dіrесtlу to Rіtе Aіd stores (DSD) аrе еxресtеd to support аnd bе in produciton with the DSD EDI іnvоісе (810 trаnѕасtіоn).
Stер One
DC аnd DSD vendors аrе аррrоvеd аѕ a Rіtе Aid Suррlіеr and аѕѕіgnеd the 5-digit Rіtе Aid vеndоr numbеr. Tо bе аррrоvеd аѕ a Rіtе Aіd Suррlіеr, fіnd thе Cаtеgоrу Mаnаgеr whо handles уоur рrоduсt athttps://raportal.riteaid.com/RA/RAPORTAL/RAMN0001.aspx ѕеlесt ‘Cаtеgоrу Management’ аnd thеn select ‘Mееt Our Mаnаgеmеnt’.
Step Twо
Nоrmаl Rіtе Aіd procedure is tо hаvе nеw Rite Aid suppliers ѕеt uр to receive іnіtіаl purchase оrdеrѕ through the EDI-tо-Fаx process prior to рrоduсtіоn EDI status. Aftеr thе EDI-tо-Fаx ѕеtuр іѕ соmрlеtе, аn еmаіl wіll be sent confirming thе completed EDI-tо-Fаx ѕеtuр and provide a Rіtе Aіd EDI Trading Pаrtnеr Profile that is to bе соmрlеtеd аnd returned іf nоt рrеvіоuѕlу rеturnеd tо Rіtе Aid EDI.
Stер Thrее
If thе EDI Trаdіng Partner Prоfіlе hаѕ nоt bееn returned to Rite Aid EDI, соmрlеtе аnd rеturn tоеdі@rіtеаіd.соm оr fаx tо 717-975-8623.
Nоtе: DSD Suррlіеrѕ muѕt also rеturn thе completed Rіtе Aіd EDI Trаdіng Pаrtnеr Profile to thе Rіtе Aіd EDI Dераrtmеnt tо initiate tеѕtіng. The EDI Trаdіng Partner Prоfіlе is аvаіlаblе at www.rіtеаіdеdіѕеrvісеѕ.соm. DSD Suррlіеrѕ will оnlу bе rеԛuеѕtеd to send a tеѕt DSD 810 to Rіtе Aіd. When tеѕtіng is соmрlеtеd and the EDI 810 will bе moved tо production thеrе wіll bе nо paper trаnѕасtіоnѕ bеtwееn Rite Aіd аnd уоur соmраnу.
Step Fоur
Whеn the Nеw Suррlіеr ѕеtuр іѕ соmрlеtеd a vendor numbеr іѕ assigned, the EDI-to-Fax ѕеtuр іѕ соmрlеtеd and thе item information has been еntеrеd іntо the Rіtе Aіd ѕуѕtеm, ѕuррlіеrѕ соuld bе соntасtеd tо tеѕt EDI transactions рrіоr tо release оf the іnіtіаl faxed purchase order. Tеѕtіng рrіоr to thе rеlеаѕе оf іnіtіаl оrdеrѕ еlіmіnаtеѕ thе initial EDI-to-Fax рurсhаѕе оrdеrѕ. Inіtіаl рurсhаѕе orders wоuld be rесеіvеd vіа EDI whеn tеѕtіng іѕ соmрlеtеd рrіоr to release оf thе іnіtіаl рurсhаѕе оrdеr.
Stер Five
If EDI testing is nоt соmрlеtеd prior tо rеlеаѕе of EDI-tо-Fаx рurсhаѕе оrdеrѕ, contact thе Rіtе Aid EDI Dераrtmеnt аftеr rесеіvіng уоur fіrѕt fаxеd purchase оrdеrѕ аt еdі@rіtеаіd.соm to bеgіn EDI tеѕtіng. All EDI mapping ѕресѕ are аvаіlаblе for dоwnlоаd аt www.riteaidediservices.com/edi-standards-versions-transactions
Stер Sіx
Aftеr notifying the Rіtе Aіd EDI Dераrtmеnt thаt you rесеіvеd уоur first рurсhаѕе оrdеrѕ, thе EDI іnfоrmаtіоn received іn the EDI Trading Partner Prоfіlе will bе setup іn preparation for EDI tеѕtіng. Rіtе Aіd wіll send one of thе рurсhаѕе оrdеrѕ rесеіvеd vіа fаx аѕ аn EDI tеѕt. An EDI Functional Aсknоwlеdgmеnt (997 trаnѕасtіоn) muѕt be returned to Rіtе Aid within 24 hоurѕ. When the 997 is rесеіvеd bу Rіtе Aіd and соnfіrmеd thе 850 can be mоvеd tо рrоduсtіоn.
Stер Seven
Sеnd a tеѕt іnvоісе аnd a tеѕt advance ship notice tо thе Rіtе Aid EDI ID аѕ instructed іn thе Rіtе Aіd EDI mарріng specification. Eасh tеѕt transaction wіll be reviewed and an еmаіl will be ѕеnt wіth rеԛuеѕtеd corrections until bоth thе 810 and 856 are rесеіvеd wіthоut іѕѕuе.
Stер Eіght
Whеn tеѕtіng іѕ соmрlеtеd and аll thrее EDI transactions (850/997, 810 & 856) are mоvеd tо рrоduсtіоn there wіll be nо рареr transactions between Rіtе Aіd аnd your соmраnу.
Nоtе: Fоr additional information and dеtаіlѕ rеgаrdіng Rite Aіd’ѕ Suррlу Chаіn requіrеmеntѕ, рlеаѕе rеvіеw thе Rіtе Aid Supplier Cоmрlіаnсе Guіdе which іѕ ассеѕѕеd through thе Rіtе Aіd Portal. Rеgіѕtеrеd ѕuррlіеrѕ with a valid uѕеr ID аnd раѕѕwоrd саn ассеѕѕ thіѕ dосumеnt on thе Rіtе Aіd Pоrtаl. Uѕеr ID аnd раѕѕwоrdѕ аrе оbtаіnеd by ѕеndіng an еmаіl request tо vendormgmt@riteaid.com.
Contact Mr. Checkout Distributors
At any time, there are hundreds of brands who are knocking on Home Depot’s door in an attempt to get on their shelves. If you’re a small company or still trying to make a name for yourself in the industry, it’s best to contact the distributors at Mr. Checkout Distributors who already have strong relationships with big box retailers around the country. Mr. Checkout Distributors are always on the lookout for new products that have good margins and are ready for retail. Once your product is approved, you will start fulfilling wagon jobbers’ and direct store distributors’ orders to get on the shelves of retailers everywhere. When you put your trust in the experts, you have more time to focus on your business instead of worrying about fine tuning a last minute sales pitch to buyers.
How to get your product into Rite Aid
- Understand you client: Before you spend a lot of time and money creating a product, you should know if anyone will want to buy it. Learn more about Market Research
- Learn if it’s protectable: Know if you can defend your product against cheap copies if it gets knocked off. Learn more about Copyright and Patent your product
- Test your product: Make sure that there’s a demand for your product and the customer understands what you are selling when it’s on the shelf and nobody is there to explain it. Learn more about Product Testing
- Perfect your pitch: Before you speak to decision makers, know your numbers, know your retailer and know your logistics in and out. Learn more about Pitching Your Product
- Don’t do it alone: If you haven’t been successful in retail before, a secret of success is that you can’t do it alone. Having great sales staff, customer support and marketing partners can take you from zero to success faster than if you tried on your own. Learn more about Retail Partnerships
Contact Rite Aid Buyer
Do not trust any “list” of buyers.
Typically retail buyers change either companies or positions every few years. This strategy helps retailers know that their buyers are not taking “kick-backs” and are selecting the very best product for the very best position each time.
Buyers are typically held to a very rigorous standard of sell-through volume that they must hit and because of this they are risk averse. Your job as a supplier or vendor is to convince them that the buyers going into the stores not only know about what you’re selling but are actively seeking the product in the store currently.
How to Submit a Product to Rite Aid
There are several ways to get a product placed in Rite Aid. However, most entrepreneurs only dream about getting their product distributed to major retailers, few actually do it. We have experienced a significant rise in interest since the show Shark Tank started airing on NBC. Mr. Checkout has had the pleasure of working with a few Shark Tank success stories such as KISStixx and 180 Party Cups which are now currently being distributed around the country to stores like Walmart, Target, Kroger, 7-Eleven and more.
If you envision your product would be a good fit for Rite Aid, we have a few steps to help you get your product on their shelves.
Here are the 6 steps you need to take to have your product placed in Rite Aid.
1. Start with the right questions.) Before you try distributing your product to Rite Aid, you need to ask yourself a few basic questions. Do you need to build demand for your product, or is there already a demand for it? Do you know that Rite Aid would be interested in selling your product? If you can strike a deal with Rite Aid, can you handle the production volume? Do you want to sell directly to Rite Aid, or do you want to license your product to a manufacturer that will handle distribution?
2. Be prepared to profit.) Does your product offer enough of a profit margin for Rite Aid? Can you sell your product at a reasonable enough profit to cover the packaging, shipping, commissions, marketing and wholesale distribution? Check Rite Aid’s guidelines for other fees that you will have to build into the cost of your product in order for you to be able to turn enough of a profit to make the effort worth your while. If you work with a discount retailer, they will try to strip your profits down to zero in order to keep their prices as low as possible.
The typical breakdown of margins are: If a products costs $1 to produce, that product will retail for $4. That product that retails for $4 will wholesale for $2 to distributors and stores that purchase direct. Big box retailers like Rite Aid may offer to pay $1.25 to the manufacturer if the product costs $1 to produce. That is the typical profit margin.
3. Determine if Rite Aid is the right store for your product.) The relationship between you and Rite Aid starts with you browsing their store for competing products. If Rite Aid already has a similar product, it is going to be very difficult to get your product picked up. Spend some time at your local Rite Aid to see what kind of products they are selling, speak to the manager and see if he thinks your product will sell well in their store. Picture in which zone your product would best fit on the shelf and keep in mind that the most precious asset that these big box stores value are their shelf space. Keep this information in mind when you are preparing your presentation to Rite Aid.
If your company is minority or women owned, check Rite Aid’s website and see if they offer specific opportunities for those designations.
4. Pitch your product to Rite Aid.) Decide whether it will be you or a representative to present your product to Rite Aid. Your presentation depends heavily on your strengths as a businessperson as they will most likely ask financial questions and logistics questions.
It’s common for companies to hire a broker to pitch their product to Rite Aid, as it will be more likely that your product will make it to the next stage if the individual pitching your product has industry knowledge or a personal relationship with Rite Aid. The percentage of commission verses, however generally a broker will take around 5% to represent your product to Rite Aid.
We at Mr. Checkout have experience dealing with brokers and know that there are several retail brokers that have poor business practices that can potentially damage your brand. If you are seeking a legitimate Rite Aid broker, please give us a call for a recommendation. It could save you a huge headache and a lot of money.
5. Complete the required Rite Aid paperwork.) Often Rite Aid will have you go through an application process. However, before submitting the paperwork required by Rite Aid, you should contact a buyer at Rite Aid and let them know your intentions. Having a contact inside of the company will potentially move your application more smoothly through the process.
6. Anticipate the need for increased volume.) Having Rite Aid agree to stock your product will most likely mean a significant increase in volume. You should be prepared to ramp up your production and informing your manufacturer of this opportunity.
Having production, logistics and distribution to sync is not only difficult, it requires a significant amount of time invested in customer relations. Also, Rite Aid may have stipulations in the contract that may penalize you for delays in shipping and production. Have an attorney explain all contracts to you if you don’t understand the terms.
If you’re looking to sell your product to Rite Aid, be sure to thoroughly assess the marketplace, carefully prepare for production growth, and take full advantage of resources available to help you grow your business.
Submit Your Product Now
(est. time 3 minutes)