N.G.A. Completes Member Value Proposition Project

The Member Value Proposition (MVP) Project, a major needs-assessment/satisfaction survey of National Grocers Association (N.G.A.) members, has been completed, and a final report was submitted to the organization’s board of directors. The aim of the survey was to provide findings, draw conclusions and make recommendations help N.G.A. leaders develop an effective plan for the future of the association and the independent grocery industry.

In September 2010, the board put the MVP Project into action to help determine the trade group's value to existing members and enhance value to prospective members. Over the next two months, N.G.A. held multiple in-depth interviews with key industry executives that produced more than 25 hours of valuable input and insights. Early in January, data gleaned from the interviews became the basis of an online survey sent to more than 1,500 people representing a broad cross-section of the N.G.A. membership. The results of the MVP Project have enabled the association to evaluate and improve its value to current and future members, and to ensure that resources are in sync with members’ needs.

“Rest assured, your input was extremely valuable and will help us plot a new course for the future of N.G.A.,” said MVP Advisory Committee Chairman Joe Sheridan, EVP of Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern Food Corp. and N.G.A. vice chairman, to members who took part in the survey.

Survey results would help “us understand what our members value most about the association, where we can improve and what they want and expect from us in the future,” explained Peter Larkin, president and CEO of Arlington, Va.-based N.G.A. “We learned that they place a high value on being a member of an association whose sole focus is geared to serving the needs of independent grocers and the wholesalers that serve them.”

The final report contains more than 60 pages of information and feedback on all aspects of N.G.A.’s programs and services, and shows how member companies perceive, depend on and make use of the association to help them deal with the business challenges they face on a daily basis.

As well as to raw data, the report provides specific conclusions and recommendations that, when implemented, will boost the association’s value proposition for existing and prospective members, according to N.G.A. Over the next several months, the N.G.A. Executive Committee, the board and various executive committees will further analyze the report and create an implementation plan focusing on six key opportunity areas: Technological Innovation; Trading Partners and Industry Affairs; Share Groups; Education, Research and Training; Operations Programs and Services; and Expanded Government Relations

“N.G.A. is and must remain a member-driven organization focused on the independent sector of the grocery industry,” noted Larkin. “Implementing the MVP project will require significant member involvement and a re-evaluation of the association's financial and human resources. We … will waste no time moving forward with our plans. Our members have spoken, and we listened. Now it's time for action.”