A new generation of faces has quietly assumed leadership positions within the mass retailing community, a generation that has come to dominate the buying and merchandising ranks. In the main, these merchants are largely unknown outside their companies, though they are quickly gaining recognition and respect.

With the NACDS Total Store Expo event coming to Boston this month, the opportunity for the supplier community to form and cement some new and important relationships is at hand. And the savvy suppliers will no doubt seize the moment.

This new merchant class is mostly nearer 20 than 30 in age. It has followed no particular path to its present position. Rather, many different paths have been taken, including transference within specific organizations, which has made easy identification more difficult.

But one thing’s for certain: This group is clearly in control of the categories it has been assigned. Importantly, the merchants are bringing to their new assignments a range of knowledge and experience that previous generations could only imagine. The days of “the right product at the right price right now” are clearly over. Now, that equation is just the beginning.

Who are these people? Without naming names, they are concentrated in the health and beauty categories. They have mostly come to their new assignments honestly, having performed admirably in their previous jobs. And they are taking their new duties seriously, charting new directions and expanding parameters while not losing sight of the basic requirements to get products onto shelves quickly and logically.

Which companies do they represent? Many — but Walmart and Walgreens stand out, at least initially, because many new faces have appeared at these retailers in less than a year. But rare is the retailer that hasn’t altered its merchandising staff with at least one or two meaningful changes this year.

What do these changes mean for the supplier community? In the main, they mean that suppliers will be asked to be smarter, to rely less on historical data and past performance and more on the strategies of specific retailers in developing and honing relationships going forward.

As well, they will be asked to learn more about the digital side of a retailer’s business and how, at this early date, it is beginning to influence its brick-and-mortar operations. This is particularly important, because a retailer’s digital business is quickly becoming a barometer for product performance at the store.

Finally, this new crop of merchants will, some say, force suppliers to take retailer relationships more seriously, particularly at levels they had often taken for granted in the past. How they will accomplish this is guesswork at this point, though closer collaboration will certainly be key. That likely means more time at retailer headquarters for supplier salespeople, whatever the additional expense.

The place to start, of course, is at the upcoming Total Store Expo. That could mean sending the extra person to Boston or spending the additional day at the event. It might mean more entertaining, especially during the evening hours. And it certainly means directing one or two more individuals to specific accounts, even though these accounts have never before gotten this much ­attention.

In short, everything is about to change — again. But these changes are perhaps more meaningful than those that have preceded them, more permanent and more serious. Retailers, clearly, are becoming more sophisticated and knowledgeable about the merchandise they buy, sell and promote — and they expect their supplier partners to keep up. How well they carry out that assignment will determine, to a great extent, how effectively they meet retailer demands going ­forward.