Ahold Delhaize wants to harmonize buying terms quickly

Ahold and Delhaize supplier are asked to discuss harmonized purchase conditions, as the merger company seeks to generate money out of the deal.

Between Brussel and Zaandam

The ink on the Ahold – Delhaize merger agreement has barely dried or the suppliers have already been asked, kindly but urgently, to schedule a meeting with Senior Vice President Sourcing Integration Sebastiaan de Jong and his team. German retail watcher Mike Dawson broke the news in a very entertaining way on his German Retail Blog and several brand manufacturers in Belgium have since then confirmed the news to us.

The goal is to harmonize Albert Heijn and Delhaize’s buying terms. The “alignment talks” are not meant to replace the annual talks, which start in October. The meetings will take place in Breda, right in the middle between Brussels and Zaandam.

Looking for synergy

It is not a surprise the merger company would do this. Both companies had mentioned in their merger talks that they expected to create 500 million euros’ worth of synergy in three years’ time. They envisioned that more than half of that sum would come from improved buying term, both with brand manufacturers as with private label suppliers.

The question begs how this buying terms harmonization will take place. RetailDetail already pointed out that Belgium and the Netherlands have an entire different set of rules and deals in place when it comes to promotions, magazine contribution, introduction fees and so on.