a new era

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Anonymous said:
And BTW, did you know that as of Jan 1 Merial began quietly selling OTC like we did, they just told their reps but that is it....if you know a merial rep that was with them for their National Meeting but now gone ask, they will tell you.
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Merial rep here...this line is the biggest load of BS I've ever heard.
 






Why are we selling our products cheaper to the Pet Specialty side than to our Vets? Should we tell our Vets they can buy cheaper if they become a pet store / Vet Hospital and become get one of the contracts mentioned above?
 












I had never heard of this site before today when one of my best Vet account called me in to see her and she asked me a million questions about this thread. Now I know why she is so upset. Is this all true?
 






Anonymous said:
I am the only real Bayer rep that has read this? ???????????????????????
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No you aren't. We are figuring out how to survive. P.S. This site has minimal credibility due to the number of "DVM's", competitors and agents that can post at will. Our competitors have been successful in denigrating us in the clinic. Some of our competitors have even made it personal and not about business. I challenge them to name another company (other than Merial) that has been more profitable for the DVM in the last 12 years. Our company is trying to survive with products that are well past a normal market life span. What are we to do? Keep plugging and restore our veterinary relationships. We all need to grow up. Bayer is still a very profitable company to work with. The silly plays on our customer's emotions by our new-arrival competitors will wear thin soon. We've had a nice ride over the last decade, time to fight or get out.
 






Very well said! These are good jobs. Think about other people's jobs who are complaining about gas prices, car problems, etc. We don't know any of this b/c of a company car and free gas. Be thankful!
 












LOL. A generic frontline now availabe at Walmart and CostCo. You people are all so clueless. Bayer is a chemical company, not a pharma company. If you think the folks in Germany didn't see this coming, you're crazy. If you didn't see this coming you're short sighted.

Considering how high your profit margins on Advantage/Advantix are (which I assume are the same for Merial) and that DVMs then marked it up 300%, OTC was inevitable. Wake up people, prior to Advantage people paid a few bucks for flea collars and sprays. How long did you expect them to tolerate your high prices and rediculous efforts to split hairs with obscure data to increase demand?

Perhaps if you had lowered prices before for DVMs and fought the volume battle in the clinic rather than in PetSmart, your products may have had a future.

PetArmor is the generic equivalent of the #1 flea/tick product for half the price sold in the world's largest retailer. Do you really think brand loyalty will save you in the face of a 50% cheaper product at an extremely convenient location?

The pipelines are dry. The DVMs soured. I'd find something else to sell if I were you.
 






I am almost afraid to post, but, I am an office manager for a veterinary practice. I found this forum three years ago and have followed many threads with interest. (the forum comes up fairly high in many google searches, so I am certain that I am not then only non-rep lurking) However back to the question at hand about Bayer having differing price schedules for vets vrs. other pet supply outlets...absolutely true. Due to one of our veterinarian's affiliation with the local animal shelter (shelters, npo's also get advantageous pricing), the lay side rep accidentally called on the office with price list and program details in hand, then left them. When I tried to place an order I was told that vets can't get the advantageous pricing and programs. We now use as little of Bayer products as possible, which kills me, because we like them. We have always known that a markup of 30 - 35% was about what works in the long run. Overcharging will eventually get around the clientel and "bite you in the butt". At our practice we like to "shear the sheep" over and over rather than cut the sheep's throat once. (or treat your clients as partners in your business not adversaries)
 






Anonymous said:
Spot on again. I work with Ken Allen and the OTC team here is the standard contract pricing to Pet Specialty. Peter Ryan has authorized us to offer the following. 5% off list, 2% early pay, 2.5% carrying and displaying all 4 epa sku's, 5% trade/co-op funds. As far as returns we can accept up to 2% of what has been purchased per quarter, no questions asked, nor do they have to ship them back. The reason why I am coming forward is that I, as a Bayer team member see the division that is being fostered between not only our pet specialty and vet accounts but reps as well. We are being incentivized to take business away from our peers on the vet side and being given tools that by far surpass what Peter is giving Kirk and his team. The long term effect of this is clear as far our relationships with vets. I truly believe Peter knows this but does not care as he obviously is comfortable that even with the alienation of vets he will grow the brands with the pet specialty. So he clearly has no hope or nead for Multi and the other vet only brands we have as well.
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This is fact. Look At Petcos online prices for starters or ask your Bayer rep to tell the truth
 






Anonymous said:
How are we supposed to respond to our veterinary accounts when they ask us why Fosters and Smith and many other web sites now have Advantage and K9 Advantix for sale for for literally 2-3$'s per card more than vet list? Is it true that our OTC partners are getting pricing that is truly better than our vets whom we have had long standing relationships with are getting? Obviously we will not be able to hit our goals because our peers on the pet specialty side are literally ripping the vet channel away from us. I feel like such a loser when vets ask these questions. Actually most vets are not even asking. They are refusing to see me and have dumped our products for others they admit they would rather not have been forced to carry. They do not want anything to do with the Advantage brand at this point. Our products are in Walmart, Costco and anywhere else our now newfound pet specialty partners can divert them to. At least when they were diverted through the vet channel it was obvious which accounts were doing so. Our channel is so wide open that we have completely eliminated the margins and fostered a brand that leaves little room for profit by all those associated with it except Bayer. We all know that this is the end game for Bayer and now that we have chosen this path there is no turning back. We can kiss Multi and our vet brands goodbye. I and for one am job hunting even if it means Merial!
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I can hardly wait until our next regional meeting
 






I am not sure what to make of this thread. It sure has some great points but does anyone really think we would sell to the Pet Specialty market at better prices than we sell to the Vets? Should we be upfront with Vets and tell them this is so? If we do that why do we tell them this is our new policy? I just noticed that Fiprogaurd is Petsmarts featured new product. So much for ours being the one they push. Maybe we will reduce the price even further to them to incentivise them to make ours more attractive to customers?
 




































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