Food Marketing Supply Chain Process

Question: Discuss about the Food Marketing Supply Chain Process. Answer: Introduction A food supply chain is a process which describes how a food ends up on a dining table from a farm. This process also includes production, distribution, processing, consumption and discarding or disposal. By the help of this food supply chain, the producer has basically supplied the raw form of foods such as fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, poultry, grains, etc. In a food supply chain industry, the farmers are the producers and they are the most important part of this industry (Seuring, 2013). According to the given case study, the East Coast Trawl Fishery (ECTF) is a fishery company who has a supply chain business of various types of prawns. In this research study, the researcher has mainly identified the supply chain process which takes place within this industry and the challenges and opportunities of this business. Evaluation of Design and Performance According to the given case study, the ECTF is never operated as a financial entity. It is basically managed by the association of Queensland Fisheries. The ECTF also has the representation of their operation from some big associations such as Queensland Sea Food Marketers association, Queensland Sea Food Industry Association, and Moreton Bay Sea Food Industry Association (Diabat et al., 2013). These reference associations are enter into a partnership with Queensland Fisheries and develop an industry development plan 2010-2013. By the help of this plan, the associations are able to identify the marketing and promotional issues which affect the business process of the East Coast Trawl Fishery. However, in the recent competitive market, to have a good marketing plan is very important for the ECTF to hold the position within the market and to gain high profitability. The recent structure of ECTF has been influenced by many contrasting factors which divide the organizational membership a ccording to the geographic, government, peak bodies, species caught, individual fisherman, retail and processing firms, wholesaling, and farm aquaculture. The strategy becomes more effective and efficient to improve the marketing strategy of ECTF when it represents as a cohesive entity (Varsei et al., 2014). The marketing audit team has exposed that Australian dollar and competition strongly influence the current position of East Coast Trawl Fishery. Recently, the ECTF has implements focus strategy which is mainly focused on the narrow segment. By the help of this focus strategy, the company is able to achieve either a differentiation advantage or a cost advantage. Mapping of Supply Chain ECTF is a large fishery company which is pulled out from the eastern coast of Cape York towards the border of Queensland and NSW. According to the Fishery Management plan 1999, the Fishery business has been controlled by the zoning plan of Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and help for the development of the nearby areas of the marine park such as Moreton Bay Bugs and the Great Sandy Straits (Rushton et al., 2014). The ECTF takes a long time to improve and optimize the physical flow of their material within the incorporated supply chain for gaining a competitive advantage within the market. Along with the physical flow, it is also important for the ECTF to improve their information flow within the fishery. By the help of the improvements in their information flow the ECTF is able to create favorable condition within their supply chain process (Estampe et al., 2013). By the help of an improved information flow, the ECTF is able to influence their current position within the market and also projecting an effective marketing strategy for the next three years. By the help of this information, the company is able to maintain a tough competition with their competitors into the market. Figure: the physical flow and information flow showing two different approaches in supply chain process It is very important for the ECTF to maintain a good relationship with their business partners, distributors, customers, and for running the business of supply chain successfully. The entire supply chain management of a fishery totally depends on the strong relationships which effectively help the fishery to run the business successfully (Oke et al., 2013). The ECTF also has the representation of their operation from some big associations such as Queensland Sea Food Marketers association, Queensland Sea Food Industry Association, and Moreton Bay Sea Food Industry Association. These reference associations also enter into a partnership with Queensland Fisheries. Challenges and Opportunities in the Supply Chain The ECTF has to face several challenges for running their business successfully within the market (Markmann et al., 2013). In the year of 2012, the average production of prawn is tremendously increased by 1.3% per annum. However, two leading countries of Asia i.e. Thailand and China totally dominate this growth. For this reason, Australia has to face tough competition during importing prawns. The ECTF has also enjoyed many opportunities during importing prawns into their country. By the help of the cost leadership strategy, the ECTF is able to maintain a sustainable position within the market (Golev et al., 2014). Due to this cost leadership strategy, the firms are bound to sell their products at average industry price either to gain more market share or to earn higher level profitability than their competitors. Recommendation The ECTF should ensure that the fishing process should be conducted in a proper manner for minimizing the impact of the risk factor in future. They should adopt a multiple-strategy into their market strategy which helps the fishery to identify and target the factors of multi-dimensional satisfaction such as price, quality, convenience and style. They should improve their information flow within the fishery to hold a stable position within the competitive market. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that the ECTF has to improve their physical flow and information for maintaining a sustainable position within the competitive market. They have to maintain a good relationship with their business partners, distributors, customers, and for running the business of supply different types of prawn successfully. References Diabat, A., Khodaverdi, R. and Olfat, L., 2013. An exploration of green supply chain practices and performances in an automotive industry.The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology,68(1-4), pp.949-961. Estampe, D., Lamouri, S., Paris, J.L. and Brahim-Djelloul, S., 2013. A framework for analysing supply chain performance evaluation models.International Journal of Production Economics,142(2), pp.247-258. Golev, A., Scott, M., Erskine, P.D., Ali, S.H. and Ballantyne, G.R., 2014. Rare earths supply chains: Current status, constraints and opportunities.Resources Policy,41, pp.52-59. Markmann, C., Darkow, I.L. and von der Gracht, H., 2013. A Delphi-based risk analysisIdentifying and assessing future challenges for supply chain security in a multi-stakeholder environment.Technological Forecasting and Social Change,80(9), pp.1815-1833. Oke, A., Prajogo, D.I. and Jayaram, J., 2013. Strengthening the innovation chain: The role of internal innovation climate and strategic relationships with supply chain partners.Journal of Supply Chain Management,49(4), pp.43-58. Rushton, A., Croucher, P. and Baker, P., 2014.The handbook of logistics and distribution management: Understanding the supply chain. Kogan Page Publishers. Seuring, S., 2013. A review of modeling approaches for sustainable supply chain management.Decision support systems,54(4), pp.1513-1520. Varsei, M., Soosay, C., Fahimnia, B. and Sarkis, J., 2014. Framing sustainability performance of supply chains with multidimensional indicators.Supply Chain Management: An International Journal,19(3), pp.242-257.