Press Release June 18, 2025
Conlego today announced the launch of Portager, a groundbreaking SaaS platform that revolutionizes how retail merchants negotiate supplier deals and build transformative partnerships. Previously only available to select clients, Portager is now available as two products, Portager Category and Portager JBP. Together, Portager helps merchants efficiently compare supplier proposals, collaboratively negotiate better outcomes, and develop strategic joint business plans.
“After 30 years in the trenches with retailers and suppliers, our team built what no one else has: a tool that simplifies negotiations, drives significant, measurable value, and strengthens partnerships,” said Daniel Duty, CEO of Conlego. “Portager eliminates the clunky spreadsheets, endless emails, and opaque processes that have long frustrated merchants and their suppliers.”
Key Features and Benefits:
- Time Savings: Portager dramatically reduces workload, enabling merchants to conduct more assortment reviews, negotiations and joint plans in a fraction of the time.
- Negotiation Intelligence: Evaluates offers from suppliers in real time for sales, profit and other funding, highlighting what has changed, and guiding merchants through what they should be asking for next.
- Built-In Joint Business Planning: Simplifies creation and management of collaborative growth plans between retailers and suppliers, leading to game-changing new opportunities for growth.
- Common Merchant-Supplier Dashboard: Ensures both parties work from a shared, transparent set of financials and proposals.
- Standalone SaaS Model: Requires no integration with legacy systems but offers optional connectivity where needed.
- Leadership Oversight & Accountability: Managers can track deal and partnership progress and team performance in real-time.
- Deal History & Compliance Tracking: Keeps a comprehensive record of past agreements and supplier commitments.
Shelley Hytinnen, former SVP of Merchant Technology at Target, called Portager a “game changer that will revolutionize how merchants work.” Brand partners agree — Don Clark, CEO of Cerebelly, praised its ability to “give brands and retailers a common set of facts, making collaboration smoother and outcomes stronger.”
Developed in partnership with MasterBorn, a software firm known for solving complex business challenges, Portager was built despite other developers claiming it would be too difficult. Gray Skinner, CEO of MasterBorn, noted: “Conlego’s vision and deep retail expertise made this possible.”
For merchants on the ground, one buyer said “Portager is the solution we have been seeking.” Another said, “Once you have experienced Portager, there is no going back to the old ways of negotiating and developing joint plans.”
Several leading retailers have already piloted Portager with exceptional results, reporting savings and new investments averaging nearly 3% simply by using the system. Results increase with negotiations and partnership skills.
About Conlego
Conlego is changing the world of retail merchandising, with a laser focus on the needs of merchants and their suppliers. Its mission is to uncover the hidden value in retailer-supplier relationships, with a focus on merchant process and category management, strategy, negotiations, and partnership-building, including best-in-class training through its Conlego Academy.
To date, team members have created over $7B in new value for retailers and suppliers; developed hundreds of partnerships, and have created a culture of strategic negotiations and partnership-building for both retailers and suppliers alike. For more information, visit portager.ai.
