Input on that question would be greatly appreciated.
The follow up question is: "Are there things that that would entice you to buy ahead, rather than just prior to your event?
A bit of background:
Our Business: We're a mid-sized farm-to-table cattle business located in Minnesota. We raise high end Wagyu beef. We currently harvest about 220 head per year, with the goal of getting to 500 per year. Average weight of the calves at harvest is roughly1,800 lbs.
Our customers buy our product on line, at retail outlets, and at nicer restaurants. We supply both fresh and frozen Wagyu products. (Fresh is mainly to restaurants and a handful of retail outlets.)
Our Goals: 1. Properly anticipate customer demand to have proper inventory at different times of the year.
2. Make buying at "slow" times of the year more attractive/convenient to customers.
Our Problem: At busy times we run out of certain cuts. At other times, the demand drops, so we freeze products that would otherwise be sold fresh. (Example: in the 2 weeks prior to Memorial Day weekend, our sales spiked . . . and we ran out of a number of products well before the weekend. In the weeks following Memorial Day, sales dropped off more than expected on certain cuts.)
Biggest Hurdle: Timing our cattle raising/feeding operation to have the proper number of calves ready for harvest each week of the year, so that our butchering schedule matches the demand as much as possible.
Possible Solutions: We (briefly) considered freezing everything, as managing frozen inventory is much easier than fresh. However, our largest customers are high end restaurants, which require fresh product . . .
A 2nd partial solution is to improve our supply-demand projections. Although all of us have been in the cattle business for decades, we have only been in the farm-to-table business a bit over 2 years, so we have lots to learn. One thing we know is that demand is not just based on the time of year. The economy and weather are also key factors, and we know that unexpected fluctuations are simply part of the business. We will never be able to precisely predict demand, but we can do better.
A 3rd partial solution is to better understand the factors consumers consider when deciding WHEN to buy, and seeing if we can adjust our operations accordingly.
To help us understand what plays into your decision of when to buy, please let me know which of the following factors (or any others) play into the equation:
1. The weather (for example, do you need a solid forecast before deciding what to buy for an upcoming holiday?;
2. The time of the year, beyond weather (How much does your consumption of beef vary throughout the year?);
3. Whether there is a special or sale going on;
4. Whether the beef is fresh or frozen;
5. How much space you have in your freezer/frig;
6. Whether bulk volume discounts are available; and
7. Whether the meat is what you regularly have, versus something for a special occasion.
We are trying to identify ways to incentivize customers to buy products at times of the year when they otherwise would not buy. We feel this would limit our being sold out of certain products at certain times. For example, we are thinking of discounting briskets during the winter, in order to avoid filling freezer space. Would discounting briskets 10% during winter months entice purchases. Or would 20% do the trick? Something else?
Another example is whether to offer locker space. Do many customers only be would like to buy shortly before the date of cooking (due to a lack of freezer space), would they be open to buying at other times if the product could be stored in our freezer?
We've also thought of offering the sale of quarters and halves more often, but that presents different challenges, and we don't know how many people would be interested.
In any event, we'd appreciate any insight that you have! Thanks!
The follow up question is: "Are there things that that would entice you to buy ahead, rather than just prior to your event?
A bit of background:
Our Business: We're a mid-sized farm-to-table cattle business located in Minnesota. We raise high end Wagyu beef. We currently harvest about 220 head per year, with the goal of getting to 500 per year. Average weight of the calves at harvest is roughly1,800 lbs.
Our customers buy our product on line, at retail outlets, and at nicer restaurants. We supply both fresh and frozen Wagyu products. (Fresh is mainly to restaurants and a handful of retail outlets.)
Our Goals: 1. Properly anticipate customer demand to have proper inventory at different times of the year.
2. Make buying at "slow" times of the year more attractive/convenient to customers.
Our Problem: At busy times we run out of certain cuts. At other times, the demand drops, so we freeze products that would otherwise be sold fresh. (Example: in the 2 weeks prior to Memorial Day weekend, our sales spiked . . . and we ran out of a number of products well before the weekend. In the weeks following Memorial Day, sales dropped off more than expected on certain cuts.)
Biggest Hurdle: Timing our cattle raising/feeding operation to have the proper number of calves ready for harvest each week of the year, so that our butchering schedule matches the demand as much as possible.
Possible Solutions: We (briefly) considered freezing everything, as managing frozen inventory is much easier than fresh. However, our largest customers are high end restaurants, which require fresh product . . .
A 2nd partial solution is to improve our supply-demand projections. Although all of us have been in the cattle business for decades, we have only been in the farm-to-table business a bit over 2 years, so we have lots to learn. One thing we know is that demand is not just based on the time of year. The economy and weather are also key factors, and we know that unexpected fluctuations are simply part of the business. We will never be able to precisely predict demand, but we can do better.
A 3rd partial solution is to better understand the factors consumers consider when deciding WHEN to buy, and seeing if we can adjust our operations accordingly.
To help us understand what plays into your decision of when to buy, please let me know which of the following factors (or any others) play into the equation:
1. The weather (for example, do you need a solid forecast before deciding what to buy for an upcoming holiday?;
2. The time of the year, beyond weather (How much does your consumption of beef vary throughout the year?);
3. Whether there is a special or sale going on;
4. Whether the beef is fresh or frozen;
5. How much space you have in your freezer/frig;
6. Whether bulk volume discounts are available; and
7. Whether the meat is what you regularly have, versus something for a special occasion.
We are trying to identify ways to incentivize customers to buy products at times of the year when they otherwise would not buy. We feel this would limit our being sold out of certain products at certain times. For example, we are thinking of discounting briskets during the winter, in order to avoid filling freezer space. Would discounting briskets 10% during winter months entice purchases. Or would 20% do the trick? Something else?
Another example is whether to offer locker space. Do many customers only be would like to buy shortly before the date of cooking (due to a lack of freezer space), would they be open to buying at other times if the product could be stored in our freezer?
We've also thought of offering the sale of quarters and halves more often, but that presents different challenges, and we don't know how many people would be interested.
In any event, we'd appreciate any insight that you have! Thanks!
), but I will be out of town on the next available delivery date.
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