Fyffes Strategy

It is important to implement the right and winning strategies fit into the company’s internal and external situations which can enhance the organization performance, build sustainable competitive advantage and uplifting company’s productivity.

It is important that before submitting the new strategies, the worker consults with the team or the people directly involved or beneficiated by the new strategy. They have to be consulted because they are the responsible of the operations in that specific department and at the end they and their efficiency and productivity are going to be the affected or beneficiated by the new strategy.

As for the People, it should be determined whether the organization has the right skills and talents for the change to be supported and for the organization to achieve its strategic goal.  For example, if the strategic goal is to increase revenue through increased sales then the company sales people should be given sufficient training about the company’s own and acquired products as this will enable the sales staff to more easily sell the company’s products.

Becoming a larger more efficient company with a strengthening competitive position opens up the opportunity for more mergers and acquisitions of competitors, suppliers and/or customers.

The topic selected is (Strategic Procurement & Supply Chain Management). For this study, we have selected Toyota Motor Corporations as our company of choice. Toyota is without doubt the best in the world, with its many philosophies and principles on how to make the best out of the least; JIT, lean production and elimination of waste and the desire for continuous improvement are just a few ways how Toyota has become the best in the auto industry. Toyota as a name, a company, and as a brand has become synonymous with Quality.

People: The emergence of the triple bottom line has led to companies becoming more aware of how their decisions affect not only employees and customers but those within the community they operate in. To achieve this in an ever changing global world a company needs to create policies and guidelines on how to select suppliers and evaluate performance.

By 1993, the Banana Empire ceased to exist due to Panama Disease, ongoing labour issues, the rise of new competition and the increased assertiveness of host country governments all contributed to the growing intricacy of the industry. Nowadays, the modern banana farmer has been exposed to many pesticides, which have led to adverse health conditions for the majority of workers but working conditions and wages are on the rise currently. The introduction of fair trade bananas in 2004 was fundamental in bettering the working conditions for farmers and labourers.

In Costa Rica banana trees are harvested everyday by people who wake up at four in the morning and bike their ways to work on steep muddy slopes. The people Kelsey Timmerman interviewed in Costa Rica told him that their work was safer than another place that paid higher; the place that paid higher may pay their workers more, but they use pesticides on their plants, and them doing this can cause harm to the workers that are harvesting the bananas (Timmerman, 2014).

The thirst for control over the production and distribution of the banana trade has dramatically affected countries socially. The members enduring the brunt of the effects are the plantation owners and workers. Banana production is both physically and mentally demanding. Most workers are forced to work ten to twelve hour shifts, yet are only paid for eight; the pay rate in which a worker receives fluctuates with both the country and the selling price of the banana. In addition, workers are at a high risk of developing medical conditions such as cancer and infertility because of the exposure to toxic pesticides. Studies reveal, “Over 400 types of agrochemicals are used in an attempt to meet the demand for aesthetically perfect bananas” (Cohen). Also, “it is estimated that 30 kilograms of pesticides are used per hectare per year on a banana

The author of the book, “The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World” (2008), Dan Koeppel, who is a famous journalist describes in a fascinating way banana’s cultural importance, threats associated with the crops of banana in the future and banana’ history. Banana is a very delicious fruit and is eaten all over the world. Banana is one of the world’s fourth largest harvests in the world. Dole and Chiquita are eminent American based distributors and producers of banana. They are claiming to produce the banana on low price. In this book, Koeppel discusses the risks associated to the plantation of banana around the world. He also discusses the fact that due to blight, the plantation of banana is destroyed (Koeppel, 2008). He points out that the farmers and the producers have no insight at all regarding this matter (Koeppel, 2008).

These strategies are of significant value to how the organization looks at the long term operation of the company. These strategies are: 1. Where to put your financial and people resources, 2. Structure and processes that can deliver the strategies; 3. Metric and rewards to support strategy, structure, and process; 4. Values and behaviors required to achieve goals; ( www.managementparadise.com/forums/foundation-human)

Six firms dominated the banana industry in the early 1990’s, three from Europe and three from the United States. In 1994, the three United States producers, Chiquita, Dole, and Del Monte, accounted for approximately 72.4% of world banana sales. Chiquita accounted for 48% of worldwide banana sales and 66.4% of banana sales of the three U.S. producers.

The banana industry has been met with much hardship since its establishment, and Colombia is no stranger to those hardships. The total production in Colombia is estimated at 95 million boxes a year, generating around 700 million dollars in 2012. Banana represents 3.0% of Colombia 's total exports and 6.0% of non-traditional exports, which generates 0.4% of the country 's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Colombian banana exporters are the third biggest in Latin America. In 2009, 24.21% of the production was sent to the United States and Canada, 62.26% to the European Union and 13.55% to other countries. The production of export bananas takes place in two different: Urabá, and Santa Marta. Between 2009 and 2010, Colombia was reported as the country with the third highest Fairtrade income, with approximately $62 million USD. In order to maintain a high form of production, banana farmers would often neglect important matters such as environmental standards and human working conditions as the path to a cleaner farming and safer working conditions is not the most cost-effective form of production. However, the integration of fair trade in the banana world has directly greatly modified the banana industry. Along with the implication of fair trade the environment has been made one of the top priorities with ensuring farming is done so by means that will allow the land to regenerate and even to promote healthy environmental initiatives. The farmers

Numerous problematic aspects were shown throughout this film that needed to be resolved as quick as possible. It was mentioned that there are no seasons in the supermarket which is a very valid point that not a lot of people notice. All year round fruits are placed on shelves in our supermarkets. Since we are used to seeing this, we never realize that this is odd. For instance, Food, Inc. claims individuals can get tomatoes any time of the year. They are picked when they are green and ripened with ethylene gas. This is similar to apples that are sprayed with thiabendazole which causes birth defects. In order to resolve this is to stop buying conventional fruit. If there is a decrease in sale of these injected fruits it will lead to a decrease in production. A company is not going to continue releasing an item if they are not getting any sales.

Fyffes follows a low cost strategy, but what does a low cost strategy mean for Fyffes?