I did another read of the 'Letter to Shareholders'
I had initally understood the Walmart section to mean ActiPatch was under consideration for a spot on store shelves. Here is the statement:
"Keith Nalepka – VP of Sales and Marketing, is going to attend and invitation-only event from Walmart for its annual supplier’s orientation meeting this week. ActiPatch is one of 30 products that were selected by the pain category manager at Walmart, with the total number of solicitations in the program exceeding 10,000. This is an important opportunity for the company."
This is not a Walmart 'cattle call'. 9,970 other companies already got the, 'try again next year' letter, BIEL got the, " Annual Suppliers Orientation Meeting " invitation.
Notice that this meeting is not described as a 'Product Presentation Meeting' but a 'Suppliers Orientation Meeting'. Why would BIEL need to attend a suppliers orientation meeting if they were not becoming a Walmart Supplier?
I suppose it could be a Walmart requirement to confirm that a potential supplier can meet the supplier requirements. There is a long list of requirements for Walmart suppliers:
https://corporate.walmart.com/suppliers/minimum-requirements
I don't know if BIEL has the resources to comply with all these rules but, IMO, they are a lot closer than I had originally thought.
This might also explain the final paragraph in the Sales/Marketing section:
"Our design and engineering team are developing braces and wraps that include our device to provide a combination of active and passive therapy –neuromodulation from the medical device and compression from the brace/wrap. These combination products are ideal for the wraps and braces section of pharmacies, and will be marketed to orthopedic physicians, physical therapists and chiropractors."
A full line of ActiPatch/Compression products for Walmart?
I had initally understood the Walmart section to mean ActiPatch was under consideration for a spot on store shelves. Here is the statement:
"Keith Nalepka – VP of Sales and Marketing, is going to attend and invitation-only event from Walmart for its annual supplier’s orientation meeting this week. ActiPatch is one of 30 products that were selected by the pain category manager at Walmart, with the total number of solicitations in the program exceeding 10,000. This is an important opportunity for the company."
This is not a Walmart 'cattle call'. 9,970 other companies already got the, 'try again next year' letter, BIEL got the, " Annual Suppliers Orientation Meeting " invitation.
Notice that this meeting is not described as a 'Product Presentation Meeting' but a 'Suppliers Orientation Meeting'. Why would BIEL need to attend a suppliers orientation meeting if they were not becoming a Walmart Supplier?
I suppose it could be a Walmart requirement to confirm that a potential supplier can meet the supplier requirements. There is a long list of requirements for Walmart suppliers:
https://corporate.walmart.com/suppliers/minimum-requirements
I don't know if BIEL has the resources to comply with all these rules but, IMO, they are a lot closer than I had originally thought.
This might also explain the final paragraph in the Sales/Marketing section:
"Our design and engineering team are developing braces and wraps that include our device to provide a combination of active and passive therapy –neuromodulation from the medical device and compression from the brace/wrap. These combination products are ideal for the wraps and braces section of pharmacies, and will be marketed to orthopedic physicians, physical therapists and chiropractors."
A full line of ActiPatch/Compression products for Walmart?
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