Short Supply Chain Marketing as a Breeder
When you are a breeder, marketing your production through short supply chain is a solution that can be interesting but raises some questions. Some issues related to marketing in short supply chains are specific to breeders, especially in meat breeding and this is what we will discuss in this article.
The first questions you must ask yourself
- To whom do we want to sell our products? Individuals? Professionals? Both?
- In what form do we intend to sell our products? In boxes? Retail? Processed products?
- How far is the nearest approved slaughterhouse? It will be mandatory for all large animals : cattle, sheep, goats, …
- Do we want to handle the cutting and packaging ourselves or subcontract this part?
These initial answers will help guide our organization and our farm.
The imbalance of carcasses
Breeders practicing short supply chain sales highlight a demand imbalance between high and low cuts.
This imbalance can be very pronounced depending on the outlets.
For example, if selling to a restaurant that does little product processing, the demand will be much more focused on high cuts. So what to do with the rest? You need to diversify your outlets to diversify demand.
On the other hand, individuals can help sell all types of cuts thanks to a system of mixed boxes of high and low cuts. To meet their demand, it is often common to find options on the boxes, such as "with or without ground beef".
Communities, for their part, can be fond of lower cuts and often in considerable quantities.
The more you vary your outlets, the more heterogeneous the demand will be.
Next, you need to see if you offer only boxes or also retail sales. The latter is more delicate to manage during preparation and distribution, so do not hesitate to ask your customers directly about their preferences through satisfaction surveys to learn more about their needs and thus adapt the packaging.
The actual weight
A second issue specific to meat is the potential difference between the requested weight, whether box or retail, and the actual weight.
Depending on the cutting and packaging performed, it is not possible to predict the exact weight of the piece in advance and therefore its price. Some breeders adjust as closely as possible and others organize to charge the actual weight.
Most of the time, since meat is sold by the kilo, the price is calculated only after preparation.
If you decide to charge the actual weight, it is important that customers are informed before confirming their order.
Sometimes the weight of the pieces may not exactly match the customer's request and this can surprise them at payment and cause harm, especially in online sales, where the product is sold at a price that will not correspond to its true value.
To exactly match the consumer's request, specific tools such as Sucrine Pro allow adjusting the actual weight of cuts and boxes once packaging is done. The consumer accepts from the start a margin of maneuver on the product weight, and the actual weight will be entered at the end of preparations. The final order price is then calculated at that time.
Managing supply
How to anticipate customer demand before taking the animal to the slaughterhouse?
To be sure to sell all the boxes, it is possible to set up a pre-order system by SMS or email.
You then need to estimate the number of boxes to sell in order to sell the animal, and once pre-orders reach this level, you can take the animal to the slaughterhouse and inform customers of the distribution date.
This solution allows ensuring all sales, without needing to freeze or waste.
It also allows dividing the order taking and preparation steps over time.
The day before distribution, depending on the yield :
- If the stock is higher than expected:
- Offer customers remaining cuts to increase the average basket.
- Increase the weight of the boxes. Be careful in this case, you will need to charge your customers the actual additional cost.
- If the stock is lower than expected :
- Offer some customers to switch to the next distribution, explaining the situation.
- Decrease the weight of the boxes, to satisfy all pre-orders. Be careful in this case, you will need to charge your customers the actual reduced cost.
Managing freshness
Another characteristic of meat sales is the obligation to keep products at a temperature below 4°C.
For this, you must be equipped with a cold room or a high-performance fridge and a refrigerated truck if you make deliveries.
To prevent customers from forgetting their boxes, which would force you to freeze them, do not forget to send them a reminder message.
Also, in case of delivery, it is possible to organize a common drop-off point to gather customers and be more efficient in product distribution. Send a group SMS to all customers, at the time you arrive at the distribution point to facilitate exchanges.
Make sure to put a label with customer identification to facilitate distribution, especially if you have options or boxes with variable weights. You can also imagine a stamp system on all sides of the box to find your way more easily.
Sources
This article was written thanks to the kind contribution of Sucrine Club.
