That's an excellent track record, Eddie. 17 years of service with no known complaints or lawsuits is a powerful testament to your reliability and quality, and the stores calling you is a clear indicator of demand.
The fact that stores are still calling you is your best piece of leverage. The ability to "get back in" largely depends on the specific reason your contract was terminated in 2023.
Here's a strategic approach to try and re-engage with Walmart:
1. Determine the Official Reason for Termination
You must first understand why the contract ended at the corporate level. Without this information, any attempt to be reinstated will be difficult.
Review Your Termination Notice : Carefully check all emails and formal letters from 2023. Look for terms like "strategic sourcing change," "vendor consolidation," "contract expiration," or any mention of a policy violation.
Identify Your Former Buyer/Contact : Reach out to your direct contact (Buyer or Merchandising VP) to request clarification on the official reason for the decision to discontinue your company's service. Since you had no issues, it may have been a high-level strategic decision to shift to a single national provider (a common corporate strategy).
2. Leverage Store Demand to Build a Case
The calls you're receiving from stores indicate that the centralized replacement service (if one was put in place) is not meeting local demand or quality standards. This is your biggest asset.
Document Everything : Keep a log of every store call you receive since the termination. Record the store number, the name/title of the person who called, the date, and the specific item(s) they needed assembled.
Show the Need : This documentation proves an internal service failure and a demand for your company's consistent, reliable service. This creates a quantifiable business case for your reinstatement.
3. The Reinstatement Strategy
If your termination was due to a Responsible Sourcing (RS) or compliance violation, the process is formal and typically requires a minimum 12-month waiting period and approval from a VP-level or higher merchant.
If your termination was for Business/Strategic Reasons (which is likely given your clean history) :
1. Prepare a Proposal : Create a professional, concise one-page proposal that highlights your 17-year history, your clean record, and a summary of the current store requests you've logged.
2. Target the Right Decision-Maker : You need to contact the Category Manager, Merchant, or Vice President who oversees the assembly service contract nationally or regionally. The store managers are great advocates, but they can't change the corporate contract.
3. Use Your Store Contacts : Instead of responding to the stores directly, ask the store contact who they are supposed to call for assembly. Use that contact name to reach out to the corporate sourcing or merchandising team.
4. Seek Merchant Support : The official re-entry process for many types of suppliers requires documentary evidence of merchant/sourcing support at the VP level or above. Your proposal should be designed to earn that support.
Action Steps :
Call the Retail Link Help Desk : If you have your old supplier information, call the Help Desk and see if they can direct you to the correct Merchandising team contact for assembly services.
Focus on Local/Regional Gaps : Position your company not as a replacement for the primary supplier, but as a solution to fill the service gaps in high-demand or geographically challenging areas that the current vendor is failing to cover.
