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For a vendor looking to increase profits, Kroger’s Direct Ship is a great way to boost sales. Since Kroger is the largest supermarket chain in the United States, a smaller supplier can easily sell goods and deliver the items to the buyer’s home.
Customers can order items such as consumer packaged goods (CPG) in bulk from their homes. Another benefit is that a consumer can also request shipping products that might not be available at the local store.
Another easy way for suppliers to sell and deliver items through Kroger is dropshipping. Sellers list goods on Kroger and dropship to customers across the U.S., but before you start, there are Kroger DSV guidelines of which each vendor needs to be aware.
With Kroger’s Direct Ship program, vendors fulfill orders on Kroger’s behalf and maintain the inventory. Through direct shipping, the grocer uses ship-to-home to directly deliver to the consumer’s home address, creating a perpetual buy-and-sell chain.
Kroger Direct Ship Guidelines are subject to change, and vendors need to accept any new change within 60 days to stay part of Kroger’s Direct Ship program.
When listing products, vendors need to keep several things in mind:
There are several Direct Ship guidelines that Kroger evaluates to assess a vendor’s performance. In the beginning, Kroger’s Direct Ship program lists new sellers in the “Probation” classification.
Kroger monitors its suppliers’ performance on an ongoing basis. Vendors selling products on the Direct Ship platform have access to various self-monitoring tools to ensure they perform at an optimal level.
Kroger uses various key performance indicators (KPI) such as financial impact, overall performance, and policy compliance quality to classify each vendor. Kroger expects Direct Ship vendors to provide the same quality of service as the grocer itself.
There are several compliance parameters that Kroger calculates quarterly:
Each of the four main parameters has its non-compliance fees. If a vendor fails to comply with the quarterly parameters, the Kroger Direct Ship platform maintains the right to the following:
Related Reading: Avoiding Common EDI Errors with Kroger
Additionally, there are other non-compliance types within Kroger’s Direct Ship program that might result in non-compliance fees.
Kroger determines the total non-compliance fee after assessing the error. The retailer may fine for errors as the actual financial loss cost. This chargeback also includes the labor and a $100 fee.
If the supplier fails to comply, Kroger reserves the right to remove products at any time and for any reason. Kroger may return products if the vendor conforms to the expected service quality.
Adhering to Kroger Direct Ship guidelines ensures the vendor maintains the partnership. Provided third-party performance tools can help vendors effectively keep an eye on essential parameters such as rejection rate, fulfillment rate, and timeliness of shipments.
When facing an issue, it’s better to communicate proactively with the Kroger Digital Assortment Team directly, rather than trying to solve it on your own. Through clear communication, vendors can run a successful business and keep a productive relationship with Kroger.
SupplyPike and SPS Commerce are partnering up to leverage EDI data to help Kroger suppliers fight invalid chargebacks. Using SPS’s data and SupplyPike’s Deductions Navigator, we bring you maximum visibility and 1-click disputes.
Take a tour today and see how we can help you fight invalid chargebacks!
SupplyPike builds software to help retail suppliers fight deductions, meet compliance standards, and dig down to root cause issues in their supply chain.
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