Case Analysis of the Organic Perishable Goods Industry

Various consumer-based businesses outline their operation according to the fast changing development of the marketplace. Economists recognize the market competition mainly on variety, affordability and quality of products. In addition, a plus factor is making products available at all times or occasions where a particular consumer demand surf in the marketplace, as well maintaining the advertisements for product promotions. The consumer leverage of firms that market highly-perishable food products are specifically different from other businesses that generally engages in consumable product marketing.

Like perishable goods producers and suppliers, the shelf-life technology in packaging, storing and distribution are highly critical in order to meet the demands of consumers and the prevailing market price. At this point and time, perishable goods also competes with “time and motion” in delivering to the market, in which maintaining the quality or freshness of product conforms to timing the right customers, price and schedule of delivery.

In the emerging approach to strategic marketing, e-commerce (electronic commerce) through the Internet and mobile communication has integrated Information Technology (IT) essentially for creating market linkages in buying-selling or trade-marketing of products.

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The e-commerce can be also described as a cyber-marketing that link between the farm and marketplace, facilitating the business operation from the farm gates to market channels.

The approach of e-commerce in trading has totally “meddled out” the literal role of middlemen in marketing of goods, specifically the perishable products that must be applied with the process of shelf-life technology. This paper will examine and analyze the case of the organic perishable goods industry relating the business venture of Provide Commerce Incorporated (PCI) as a competing commercial enterprise in the marketing of organic perishable goods.

Methodology

The case study of Anthony Onwugbenu et al. , entitled: ‘Provide Commerce Inc: the Organic Perishable Goods Industry’ which was published by St. John’s University in 2005 will be used as the methodical review and main focus of examination, together with several data that depicts related findings will guide the overall analyses. Literature review Company background Based on its web site, Provide Commerce Inc. (PCI) was established in 1998 aiming to be a world renowned e-commerce company.

PCI believes in innovating an online business environment that envisions to "find a better way to do business", referring to link production areas, producers and suppliers to the right consumers and marketplace. To enable selective marketing of perishable farm products, PCI created specific e-commerce stores, namely (1) ProFlowers. com for flowers and plants, (2) CherryMoonFarms. com for fresh fruits and premium meats, (3) SecretSpoon. com for distributing chocolate and other gourmet foods directly from suppliers, (4) Berries.

com for varieties of cake berries, and (5) RedEnvelope which was acquired in 2008 to cater for online-merchandize-cataloguing of garments, jewelries and accessories (1). A strategic multiple-product-marketing venture of PCI has “streamlined” the flow of supply chain by shortening the bottlenecks in distribution of goods from the farms to the market consumers. In other words, a “business model” in trading is undertaken by PCI through providing e-commerce “just in between” the suppliers and consumers, in which accordingly eliminating the “mediators” in retail marketing.

Moreover, PCI has established marketing-supply contract with cooperatives that acts as a “consolidator” in the supplying of varied farm products, of which PCI directly managed the marketing. The relationship is therefore “exclusivity of distributorship” by and between the cooperatives and PCI. Case overview Based on the case study of Onwugbenu et al. (2005), PCI has found the potentials of Internet technology in providing markets to farm producers.

The modality of expansion that started in 1998, after which ProFlowers. com has been established, has encouraged marketing of specifically categorized organic perishable products. However, as cited, the expansion in “newly diversified marketing” has drawn PCI’s top-level management to define what would be the category of organic perishable products. In addition, the categorization must be complemented with the findings on business-policy environment effective of organic product marketing (1).