CDS Consulting Co-op identifies areas for improvement and works with you to develop strategies for results in organizational and business performance. We specialize in collecting and comparing data from many co-ops, helping to set realistic goals, identify best practices, develop strategies for improvements and monitor results.

With CDS consultants, you get technical support and expert advice for developing and implementing an improvement plan. We emphasize accountability, systems development, and training so that changes are sustainable and lead to continuous improvement. We support you throughout your change process because we believe long-term relationships are of primary importance.

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Products and Services

Business planning
Department and General Manager mentoring
Successful Produce Departments
Management and Staff Training
Labor management
Employee surveys
Human resource systems and structure
Inventory management
Merchandising assessments
Margin Analysis and Enhancement
Financial and Ratio Analysis
CoCoFiSt (Common Cooperative Financial Statements
Organizational/Operational Assessments

Business planning: Business planning is a key to business success. We can provide any level of support you need to prepare a useful and reliable business plan including:
• Work with your management team to facilitate a planning process and ensure all key elements are addressed
• Write the plan based on interviews with your leadership group
• Critique a plan you have prepared before you take it to a bank or other lender
• Providing an external objective assessment and suggestions for improvements even if you are not taking your plan to a bank for financing

Department and General Manager mentoring: Even the best players benefit from supportive coaching. Managers also need support and coaching to be successful in their job performance. Whether you are a new or experienced manager, we can help managers at any level of a retail food co-op – general manager, store manager, department manager. Our mentoring services will be tailored to the particular needs and experience of your managers including:
• Review all key job responsibilities and skills
• Receive and critique reports
• Trouble shoot problems
• Education and training on best practices in the industry
• Provide a sounding board for discussion of any issue

Successful produce departments: A great produce department can build you brand, wow customers, bring in profits and support local farmers. Investing in our produce department manager and staff can reap big rewards. Our consultants can provide a variety of services to help your co-op excel.
• On site & phone consultations
• Systems Development for single and multi store formats
• Local grower program development
• New Department set up- – Department layout and design – Equipment and small wares purchase – Display and merchandising assistance – Interviewing & hiring – Manager and staff training
• Department resets
• In store staff trainings
• Department Merchandising for better sales and more efficient use of labor
• Management training, mentoring
• Accountability training & set up
• Financial training
• Buying and inventory systems
• Passion building
• Team building
• In store customer education

Management and Staff Training: Invest in your staff. Our consultants can provide on-site or web based training tailored to meet your co-op’s needs.
• Margin Management Workshop
• Goal Setting and Monitoring
• Business Planning-Process and Product workshop
• Merchandising
• Supervision
• Team building

Labor management: Your staff is the one of your most valuable assets and one of your biggest expenses. We can help you get the most out of your workforce, while increasing staff job satisfaction. Our services include:
• Identifying opportunities for labor efficiencies
• Assessment of your current practices and/or tools and provide tools for greater control of labor costs
• Organizational structure and staffing plans
• Help you set benchmarks and best practices for managing labor

Employee surveys: Let us help you improve employee morale, reduce turnover, and increase customer service by assessing employee satisfaction. Our employee surveys provide you with results you can use to:
• Identify training needs
• Identify policies and practices that need improvement
• Help set benchmarks by comparing results to other food co-ops across the country
• Monitoring board policies on staff treatment and compensation

Human resource systems and structure: A satisfying and productive workplace is built upon sound systems and structure. We can help your co-op achieve its goals with collaborative problem solving services, including:
• Human resource systems audits
• Pay scales and pay raise systems
• Supervision training
• Personnel policy manuals
• Team-building
• Organizational structure and staffing plans

Inventory management: Retailers need to invest their inventory dollars on products that customers want. We can help you manage your inventory to maximize inventory productivity, free up cash and increase sales including:
• Assess current inventory management practices
• Establish appropriate benchmarks
• Inventory management tools
• Staff training

Merchandising assessments: Increase your store sales by improving your store’s merchandising and presentation.
• Assess current merchandising practices
• Make recommendations to improve your store’s merchandising approach
• Train your staff in merchandising techniques
• Provide tools for monitoring and maintaining your store’s appearance

Margin Analysis and Enhancement: A small increase in margin can yield big results in your co-op’s financial performance. Let us help you get the most out of your margin while maintaining the price image you want. Our services include:
• Training to build department managers’ pricing/gross profit achievement skills
• Setting realistic benchmarks for department margins
• Tools to consistently achieve your desired margin
• Creating the competitive price image you desire

Financial and Ratio Analysis: We can help you assess your co-op’s financial performance and improve it. Our services include:
• Assessment of your co-op’s key financial indicators
• Establishing benchmarks and tools for achieving them
• Operating, cash flow, and capital budgets
• Upgrading accounting and reporting systems
• Staff and management training

CoCoFoSt (Common Cooperative Financial Statements). CoCoFiSt is a database of financial and operating data from participating food cooperatives designed to use the data to achieve targeted improvements. CoCoFiSt included a variety of tools and workshops including:
• CoCoHiFi – A spreadsheet with each co-op’s financial and operating data updated each quarter specifically for that co-op.
• CoCoGap – Comparing your cooperative’s performance to high performers
• CoCoBud – Projects financial performance using current trends
• CoCoWorks and CoCoConcentrate – Workshops to help general and department managers use CoCoFiSt data to improve performance

Organizational and Operational Assessments. Organizational and operational assessments provide an objective view of your current position and provide you with information and recommendations to prepare for potential changes (relocation, additional store, etc.) or to fine tune current operations.
• Organizational assessments
• Operational assessments