Summary
On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Angie Bailey, the Co-founder and CEO of Best In Class Suppliers, a team of retail experts dedicated to helping businesses navigate the processes and challenges of working with major retailers. Angie also serves on the City of Bentonville Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Community Task Force as well as the Bentonville Library Foundation Board of Directors. Throughout the episode, James and Angie discuss challenges facing the retail industry, how Best In Class Suppliers helps its partners overcome those challenges and Bentonville’s influence on the world of retail.

Thanks for tuning in!

‍Show Notes
(0:52) Introduction to Angie
(3:21) Angie’s Passion for Retail
(6:00) About Best In Class Suppliers
(9:10) Overcoming Challenges
(12:23) COVID’s Impact on the Retail Industry
(17:13) Emerging Retail Trends
(19:41) How Technology Affects Retail
(21:01) Remaining Competitive
(24:03) What’s Next for Best In Class 
(26:18) Bentonville’s Role in Retail
(33:37) Angie’s Work with the DEI Task Force
(40:49) Advice to Young Professionals
(42:48) Closing Questions
‍
‍Links
JAMES BELL‍‍
‍BENTONVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT‍‍‍
ANGIE BAILEY, 479-657-0671
BEST IN CLASS SUPPLIERS

Quotes
“We are the type of people who will work with you from A to Z. We’ll be with you through the good and the bad of working in retail, and we’re very curious. We like to learn new things. We think anything we can learn and share with our company partners will help us be better and help them be better.” – Angie Bailey, (2:00)

“We’re still seeing the effects of what we went through with the pandemic and the shutdown. The supply chain has gotten easier, but it has caused all of us to rethink the way we manage a supply chain.” – Angie Bailey, (14:34)

“The thing that is most important for us to keep central is to know who our customer is and what they need from us…The best thing we can do to help the companies we work for is understand the technology that’s impacting them that they don’t have the time to learn about.” – Angie Bailey, (21:02)

“I do think there’s an increased level of competition here…Competition makes us think outside of our comfort zone, makes us do things or take chances we might not otherwise take. So I think that’s amazing about living in a community like the one we have. I think it affords people the opportunity to better themselves.” – Angie Bailey, (27:18)

Navigating the World of Retail with Angie Bailey and Best In Class Suppliers
On this episode of The Bentonville Beacon, host James Bell is joined by Angie Bailey, the Co-founder and CEO of Best In Class Suppliers, a team of retail experts dedicated to helping businesses navigate the processes and challenges of working with major retailers. Angie also serves on the City of Bentonville Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Community Task Force as well as the Bentonville Library Foundation Board of Directors. Throughout the episode, James and Angie discuss challenges facing the retail industry, how Best In Class Suppliers helps its partners overcome those challenges and Bentonville’s influence on the world of retail.‍‍‍
‍
Fostering Retail Partnerships
Best In Class Suppliers (BICS) is a family-owned and operated company focused on working with businesses who want their products to land on shelves in major retailers. It offers solutions at every stage of the business life cycle including sales support, top-to-top relationships, supplier onboarding, retail analytics, forecasting and demand planning, replenishment, packaging and branding, merchandising, ecommerce and product life cycle. Oftentimes, businesses don’t have the time or money to become expert salesmen; therefore, BICS makes their job easier by becoming their third-party sales team.

“We are the type of people who will work with you from A to Z. We’ll be with you through the good and the bad of working in retail, and we’re very curious. We like to learn new things. We think anything we can learn and share with our company partners will help us be better and help them be better.” – Angie Bailey, (2:00)
‍
Best In Class Suppliers’ mission is to create long-term, strategic relationships between its supplier partners and retailers that will meaningfully impact the world by driving sustainable business growth. Furthermore, it hopes to set the standard for a new class of retail partnership by changing the expectations of what working with an outside sales team looks like. BICS treats every client as a business partnership, guided by the principles of passion, compatibility, reliability and trust.
‍
Adapting to the Supply Chain
In recent years, the pandemic presented significant challenges to Best In Class Suppliers and its partners due to the disruption it caused in the supply chain. Meetings that historically have been held in person were forced to happen over Zoom, and product placement on shelves became less important because people were no longer shopping in person. Moreover, companies that didn’t care to have warehouses in the United States pivoted and started diversifying their manufacturing.
‍
“We’re still seeing the effects of what we went through with the pandemic and the shutdown. The supply chain has gotten easier, but it has caused all of us to rethink the way we manage a supply chain.” – Angie Bailey, (14:34)

On the horizon, Best In Class Suppliers and its partners can expect more changes in the form of ecommerce solutions and technological advancements. However, these emerging retail trends have the potential to create more product placement opportunities rather than challenges. Overall, BICS will continue to be mindful of the companies it works with and will keep enriching itself with the knowledge to make sure it’s pairing its partners with the most suitable retailers.

“The thing that is most important for us to keep central is to know who our customer is and what they need from us…The best thing we can do to help the companies we work for is understand the technology that’s impacting them that they don’t have the time to learn about.” – Angie Bailey, (21:02)
‍
Get Connected!
‍Thanks for tuning in to this episode of The Bentonville Beacon! Join us weekly for more stories from entrepreneurs and business leaders who are making a positive impact on Bentonville’s culture, community and lifestyle. Don’t forget, Bentonville is a place where you can have more of what you want and less of what you don’t! You may reach James at JBELL@GREATERBENTONVILLE.COM or (479) 273-2841.