FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Food Marketing Institute and Grocery Manufacturers Association Sign Collaboration Agreement to Build on Legacy of Successful Cooperation
Contact:
Scott Openshaw, Director, Communications, 202-295-3957
Brian Kennedy, Director, Communications, 202-639-5994
January 15, 2009
ARLINGTON, VA and WASHINGTON, D.C. – Steven C. Smith, president and CEO of K-VA-T Food Stores and chairman of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), and Douglas R. Conant, president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company and chairman of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), signed a Joint Memorandum of Understanding Collaboration Agreement at the FMI Midwinter Executive Conference in Orlando, Florida. The agreement calls for greater collaboration and is focused on enhancing manufacturer-retailer engagement to achieve improved supply chain efficiency, better ways to serve consumers and more efficient use of association and member resources.
"FMI will leverage the strengths of our organization with those of GMA to find innovative ways to collaborate, eliminate duplication and provide all our members with more robust programs and services," said Leslie Sarasin, FMI president and chief executive officer. "We will create a policy multiplier on issues of critical concern by harnessing the collective wisdom of the industry through this partnership."
“Collaboration is the key to success when it comes to confronting the challenges and opportunities facing our industry, and GMA has no more important ally than FMI,” said Pamela Bailey, GMA president and CEO. “We look forward to working with our good friends at FMI to build on that legacy of friendship and success, and to help our member companies achieve and maintain sustainable business growth in 2009 and beyond.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the associations’ industry affairs agenda will be strengthened through the creation of a joint industry affairs-industry relations leadership group known as The Trading Partner Alliance (TPA). The TPA will develop a common agenda on supply chain efficiency issues, the application of information technology, the adoption of environmentally-friendly business practices and other issues. That unified agenda will be executed jointly by the FMI and GMA staffs, and overseen by the boards of directors of both organizations.
The agreement also calls for increased collaboration on public policy, scientific and regulatory affairs activity. In addition, both organizations agreed to hold at least one joint board of directors meeting annually and seek greater synergies with regard to meetings and conferences that benefit the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry.
The term of the agreement is from January 2009 to December 2010.
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Based in Washington, D.C., the Grocery Manufacturers Association is the voice of more than 300 leading food, beverage and consumer product companies that sustain and enhance the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people in the United States and around the globe. Founded in 1908, GMA is an active, vocal advocate for its member companies and a trusted source of information about the industry and the products consumers rely on and enjoy every day. The association and its member companies are committed to meeting the needs of consumers through product innovation, responsible business practices and effective public policy solutions developed through a genuine partnership with policymakers and other stakeholders. In keeping with its founding principles, GMA helps its members produce safe products through a strong and ongoing commitment to scientific research, testing and evaluation and to providing consumers with the products, tools and information they need to achieve a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. The food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry in the United States generates sales of $2.1 trillion annually, employs 14 million workers and contributes $1 trillion in added value to the economy every year.
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