RECENT ASSIGNMENT

NEW ZEALAND DIPLOMA IN
BUSINESS (LEADERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT) LEVEL 6
602 (v4)
LEAD & MANAGE
ORGANISATIONAL
DIRECTION AND STRATEGY
(LEVEL 6, 20 CREDITS)
ASSESSMENT 1 – Case study based report
(10 CREDITS)
DUE: 2 December 2018
Instructions:
1 You are required to present your work in a word-processed report format using appropriate headings, page and section numbering, indentations, figures and tables, appendices, style (Arial or Times New Roman) and size (font 12, line spacing 1.5).
2 Please submit a soft copy to http://abacusconnect.co.nz/ by each due date. OR
Alternative arrangements can be made for presenting and submitting your work with help of the course instructor/tutor, in case of any special needs.
3 The presentation of your work must use appropriate tone, register, vocabulary (including non-sexist language), grammar and syntax.
4 You must use APA referencing in your assessment answers.
5 Only 1 website may be used other than the Zespri Website – and it must ONLY be an academic source.
6 All other citations/referencing must be from journals – textbooks – articles – periodical etc. It is strongly recommended that you use EBSCO.
1
New Zealand Diploma in Business Level 6 Lead & Manage Organisational Direction & Strategy Abacus Institute of Studies 602v4 Assessment 1
Learning Outcomes
At the successful completion of this course, learners will be able to:
1 Apply the knowledge of the principles and practices of the key functions of an organisation to determine the strategic objectives for the organisation.
2 Critically analyse and develop a stakeholder management strategy to maintain the strategic business relationships for the efficient and effective performance of the entity.
3 Critically evaluate the communication strategies to engage with the stakeholders of an organisation at a strategic level.
4 Critically analyse the impact of external environment and develop strategies that position the organisation most favourably in relation to its competition and influence industry structure to enhance industry attractiveness.
5 Critically analyse and apply the Treaty of Waitangi partnership to business activities and relationships at a strategic level.
6 Critically analyse and discuss the implications of globalisation and sustainable development on the organisational direction and strategy of an organisation in New Zealand.
Please note: Learning Outcomes 4, 5 and 6 are assessed in Assessment 2
2
New Zealand Diploma in Business Level 6 Lead & Manage Organisational Direction & Strategy
Assessment Overview
This is the first of two assessments for this course. This assessment requires you to complete a case study analysis. You will be provided with a real case of an organisation in New Zealand (See Appendix) and are required to determine the strategic objectives for the organisation. You are also required to identify the various stakeholders for the organisation and develop appropriate stakeholder management and communication strategy to maintain strategic relationships and engage the strategic stakeholders for the given organisational case.
Assessment Table
Assessment Activity Weighting Learning
Outcomes Assessment
Grading Scheme Completion Requirement
s
1. Individual Assignment 1
(Case Study Analysis) 50% 1,2,3 Competency-
Based A/NA
2. Individual Assignment 2
(Case Study Analysis) 50% 4, 5,6 Competency-
Based A/NA
Conditions of Assessment
1. You are required to present your work in a word-processed format using headings, page and section numbering as appropriate. Where necessary, use indentations, figures and tables, appendices.
2. 2,500 words (+/- 10%)
3. Use Arial or Times New Roman with a font size of 12, and line spacing of 1.5
4. Students must submit their reports via Turnitin for scanning of plagiarism which must be less than- equals 10%.
Refer to Policy 7.7. Clause (I) for uploading of assessments to Turnitin.
5. Please submit a soft copy to http://abacusconnect.co.nz/ by the due date.
OR
Alternative arrangements may be made for presenting and submitting your work with help of the course instructor/tutor. For students with special needs, please discuss these with your immediate teacher/Programme Coordinator so that measures can be taken to implement your requirements for your studies.
6. All parts of your submitted assessment must be completely your own work and references must be cited and referenced appropriately using APA 6th Edition referencing. It is recommended that
you use EBSCO and cite from only peer reviewed journals and articles. Only one website may be used it must be an academic source.
7. This assessment will need to be completed by: 2 December 2018
Pass Criteria
This is a competency-based assessment (A/NA). This means that all parts of the assessment must meet the required standard in order for you to be awarded the grade of ‘Achieved’.
Late Submission /Reassessment /Extensions
i. Students are given the opportunity to be reassessed up to two (2) times and at the convenience of the academic staff for all types of assessments. In most circumstances, reassessments shall usually consist of learners producing further evidence required to achieve competency in a given task.
ii. Students shall achieve competency in at least 50% of the set assessment tasks to be eligible for a reassessment (resubmission).
iii. If students’ fail two (2) attempts and have not achieved 50% of assessment tasks in the 2nd attempt, he/she must complete the course again and pay the re-enrolment course fee i.e. $50 per credit. iv. Timeframe for resubmissions: Within 1 week of submission date + 1 week for marking (minimum).
v. There shall be no opportunity for 3rd/4th attempts. If a teacher decides that specific circumstances require a 3rd attempt – this must be discussed and approved by the Director Teaching and Learning.
vi. Late submissions will not be accepted for marking, unless the teacher has granted this in writing to the student(s).
vii. If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent a student submitting by the submission date, he/she must discuss this with the Programme Leader / Course Coordinator, so that a resolution can be confirmed.
Instructions – Report Format
In this part, you are required to write a report on Zespri.
Your report should:
• use your work in following Steps 1-4 to write up your case analysis in an appropriate case analysis report format, as outlined in detail below:
Formatting of Case Analysis Report
You are required to present your work in a professionally formatted research report that meets academic standards:
1. The report is well-written using appropriate grammar, syntax, structure, and synthesizing the information/findings in a manner that assists management decisionmaking
2. The report is presented in the required format, register, vocabulary (including nonsexist language), grammar and syntax.
3. The report is written in good academic English, which has been checked, and proofread prior to submission.
4. The structure of the report must include (but not limited to) the following:
a. Assessment Cover page (Declaration)
b. Executive Summary
c. Table of contents
d. Introduction
e. Body – content – analysis of report. Use questions – type these in (correctly numbered).
f. Conclusion
g. Reference list
REQUIREMENTS:
Read through the case study in the appendix as well as relevant materials, carefully evaluate the information and answer all questions below with application to the case study.
Relevant materials may include but are not limited to the company’s website, latest annual report, relevant news items and academic articles.
1. Using value chain analysis, identify at least two resources OR two capabilities of Zespri for each of the five functional areas below:
§ Operations
§ Management accounting
§ Sales/marketing
§ HR
§ Risk management
The above is demonstrated by sound identification and analysis of resources OR capabilities in each functional area - Understanding of the principles and practices of operations, Management accounting, Sales/Marketing, HR and Risk Management.
(LO1)
2. Use VRIO external analysis to assess at least two resources OR two capabilities from Question 1 for:
a. competitive weaknesses
b. competitive strengths or core competencies
c. From your value chain analysis and VRIO external analysis, recommend two (2) strategic objectives for Zespri to help address issues identified in your analyses.
Results of the analysis must include classification of each resource/capability as a competitive weakness, strength and/or core competency.
(LO1)
3a. Stakeholders are identified under each of the following categories:
i. Capital market
1. Shareholders
2. Capital suppliers ii. Product market
1. Primary customers
2. Suppliers
3. Host communities
iii. Organisational
1. Employees
2. Managers
3. Strategic leaders iv. Natural environment
1. Natural resources
2. Climate
3. Government and environmental groups
3b. Identify all important stakeholders and describe each of their needs or objectives with regards to the organisation. Prioritise (rank) them in terms of the following:
§ Power – including needs and objectives
§ Urgency – including needs and objectives
§ Importance - including needs and objectives
(You could create a table / matrix to show this information).
3c. Based on your analysis in questions 3a and 3b, recommend two (2) management strategies to assist Zespri to maintaining strategic business relationships with its stakeholders.
(LO 2)
4a. Critically evaluate Zespri’s existing vision and mission statement to assess whether its intention was to capture the heart and mind of each of the earlier identified stakeholders.
4b. Develop a new vision statement and mission statement to broadly articulate the values and general direction of the recommended communication strategy for Zespri in a way that is intended to capture the heart and mind of each identified stakeholder.
Guidelines:
a. The vision statement and mission statement are original and consistent with the recommended new directions strategy.
b. The vision statement and mission statement are brief (less than 30 words each), aspirational and strategic in nature.
c. The mission statement is based on the vision statement with further detail, including the description of the type of business in which the organisation will compete and the predominant customer target segment it will serve.
(LO 3)
Marking Cover Sheet
Name: Date: Student Number: __________
Assessor’s Name: Assessor’s Signature: __________________ Date:________
Section Comment First Sub
A/NA Resub
/Reass
A/NA
1. Using value chain analysis, identify at least two resources OR two capabilities of Zespri for each of the five functional areas below:
?
Operations
? Management accounting
? Sales/marketing
? HR
? Risk management
(LO1)
2. Use VRIO external analysis to assess at least two resources OR two capabilities from Question 1 for:
a. competitive weaknesses
b. competitive strengths or core competencies
c. From your value chain analysis and VRIO external analysis, recommend two (2) strategic objectives for Zespri to help address issues identified in your analyses.
(LO1)
3a. Stakeholders are identified under each of the following categories:
i. Capital market 1. Shareholders 2. Capital
suppliers
ii. Product market
1. Primary customers
2. Suppliers
3. Host communities iii. Organisational
1. Employees
2. Managers
3. Strategic leaders iv. Natural environment
1. Natural resources
2. Climate
3. Government and environmental groups
3b. Identify all important stakeholders and describe each of their needs or objectives with regards to the organisation. Prioritise (rank) them in terms of the following:
Power – including
needs and objectives
Urgency – including needs and objectives
Importance -
including needs and
objectives
(You could create a table / matrix to show this information).
3c. Based on your analysis in questions 3a and 3b, recommend two (2) management strategies to assist Zespri to maintaining strategic business relationships with its stakeholders.
(LO 2)
4a. Critically evaluate Zespri’s existing vision and mission statement to assess whether its intention was to capture the heart and mind of each of the earlier identified stakeholders.
4b. Develop a new vision statement and mission statement to broadly articulate the values and general direction of the
recommended communication
strategy for Zespri in a way that is intended to capture the heart and mind of each identified stakeholder.
Guidelines:
o The vision statement and mission statement are original and consistent with the recommended new directions strategy.
o The vision statement and mission statement are brief
(less than 30 words each), aspirational and strategic in nature.
o The mission statement is based on the vision statement with further detail, including the description of the type of business in which the organisation will compete and the predominant customer target segment it will serve.
(LO 3)
Appendix
New Zealand Ministry of Education. (2011). Zespri / Business case studies [Government]. Retrieved November
12, 2017, from http://asia-knowledge.tki.org.nz/Business-case-studies/Case-study-3Zespri z
Table of Contents
Case study: Zespri........................................................................................................................ 1
Introduction................................................................................................................ 2
Kiwifruit origins....................................................................................................... 2
Business focus and functions.................................................................................................................. 3
Going global................................................................................................................ 4
Connections............................................................................................................. 5
Challenges .............................................................................................................. 5
Innovation and interactions.......................................................................................... 5
Business interactions................................................................................................ 6
External influences ....................................................................................................7
Exporting from New Zealand to China ..................................................................... 8
Internal influences .....................................................................................................9
Social and ethical standards ................................................................................... 11
The future .................................................................................................................... 11
Introduction
Zespri is the exclusive marketer of New Zealand green, gold and organic kiwifruit, with a current annual turnover of NZD$1.5 billion.
The Zespri brand was launched in 1997 following a decision by New Zealand growers to represent the high quality New Zealand kiwifruit under a unique brand to maximize the sales revenue for growers.
Initially the business was in two parts with offices based in Auckland and Tauranga. A decision to bring these together in Tauranga was made in 2001, as 80% of the crop is produced in the Bay of Plenty (BOP) region and the major port for the export of the crop is also in the BOP. The remaining 20% of the crop comes from Nelson (5%), Northland, Auckland and Waikato (4% each), Gisborne (2%), Hawkes Bay and the Southern North Island (1% each).
Zespri employs approximately 240 people including 57 in Europe and 40 across Asia. A small number are based between the US and Australia, leaving 140 people in the Tauranga headquarters.
Kiwifruit origins
Wanganui teacher, Miss Isabel Fraser, brought the first Chinese gooseberry seeds to New Zealand in 1904. These were then cultivated by a horticulturist. The person responsible for the first New Zealand commercial kiwifruit was Hayward Wright who established the first kiwifruit orchard in the BOP and cultivated a green kiwifruit variety he then named after himself, Hayward. The Hayward variety is now the most commonly globally-grown kiwifruit.
Exports of green kiwifruit to the United Kingdom (UK) began in the 1950s when the name ‘kiwifruit’ was first used. After the Zespri brand was launched in 1997, exports of Zespri Gold kiwifruit began the following year.
Over the past 10 years, New Zealand sales volumes have almost doubled, from 52 million to 100 million trays. (A tray equivalent equals approximately 30 pieces of fruit.)
Zespri Gold is the industry success story. By 2013, volumes for Gold are expected to increase to around 33 million trays.
'Our industry’s success is directly attributable to our integrated structure, as well as the innovation, attitudes and commitment of growers, the post-harvest sector and other industry stakeholders. It is quite extraordinary to think that – thanks to our track record of research and development, innovation, marketing excellence and productivity improvements – we can realistically plan to become a 3 billion dollar plus industry but still be using less of this country’s land resources than when we were far smaller – almost a fringe industry – back in the 1980s.
Nearly 100,000 seedlings have been, or are being evaluated as part of our innovation programme – the world’s largest – carried out in partnership with the New Zealand Government through Plant and Food Research.' - John Loughlin – ZESPRI Chairman
Business focus and functions
While the company is 100% grower-owned (by past and current growers), Zespri’s focus does not include the growing and packing of fruit. Rather, their focus is on connecting the market and its requirements and translating those needs back to the people who grow and pack the fruit, ensuring the product is in the right market at the right time and within each market's specifications.
Prior to Zespri, multiple exporters were competing to sell kiwifruit independently around the world. A large increase in crop volume meant that the overseas importers and retailers could put pressure on the industry to drive the prices right down, and in doing so, diminish the returns. As a result a decision was made to change from having a marketing board to having a corporate that would be responsible for the sales and marketing of the entire New Zealand crop.
Zespri’s business revolves around the sales, marketing, procurement, and logistics of the kiwifruit brand.
They manage grower relationships in New Zealand and also procure fruit from around the world as well. Zespri has proprietary rights for the Gold variety, which allows them to produce gold kiwifruit in other countries. Currently Italy and France supply 80% of Zespri’s off shore supply. Italy is the largest country where this takes place but local production of Zespri licensed fruit is also used to help supply the domestic markets in Japan and Korea.
Going global
After the first exports to the UK in the 1950s, there was a focus on supplying to Europe and the United States (US). While the connection to the US has diminished over time, Europe still sells around 50% of the product.
Over time the business has evolved to focus more towards Asia, specifically Japan, which has been the biggest market in Asia for some time. During the 1970s New Zealand began to develop stronger relationships with Japan as an export partner. This relationship was built around a rise in Japanese wealth and their ability to pay good prices, combined with New Zealand having a relatively expensive production base for most things.
In the first instance, Japan was the entry point for kiwifruit into Asia, followed by the discerning and relatively wealthy market of Taiwan. More recently this has led to markets in Singapore, Korea, and China. The market in China has grown from .5 million trays in 2001 up to over 7 million in 2010. This can be attributed to a growing middle class with more wealth and an awareness of the health and nutrition properties of food. The sweeter Zespri Gold variety is particularly well received by Asian consumers.
Success in these markets depends on having the right relationships and while these take time to build, Zespri has now established many long-term relationships. The search for potential distributors can have mixed results and is a long-term process. Time spent working on developing these mutually beneficial, long-term relationships is critical to the success of the business. Activities that support this include:
• regular attendance at trade fairs
• hosting customer tours to New Zealand to visit orchards
• investing heavily in marketing and merchandise to support sales.
Connections
Zespri is now in the fortunate position within many of its Asian markets of having a successful network of importers and distributors with good connections to the retail trade. Having a high proportion of locally sourced staff is an important factor in their business model, with the Asian team comprised of a blend of local and New Zealand staff. These staff not only have relevant knowledge of business practices but also a depth of understanding related to cultural awareness. However, it is important to remember that every country is very different and there is no uniform approach that works well. Recognising the diversity of culture in Asia is very important to business success.
Challenges
The broad challenges facing Zespri marketing fruit across all markets is a tendency for people to be eating more manufactured products and fast food, and competing against the many lower cost fruit products available.
In fact, kiwifruit only represents 0.25% of the global fruit bowl – a tiny amount when compared alongside fruit such as bananas and apples. Furthermore, now that many retailers are owned by multinational organisations they have significant influence on pricing and sourcing of product. These businesses tend to be totally price-driven, especially given the economic events of recent times. As kiwifruit is more of a top-end fruit product, sitting in the middle-to-upper price bracket, Zespri needs to work hard to continually overcome these challenges. This is particularly true in Asia where there are numerous tropical fruit competitors and other varieties competing for shelf space. In China, for example, there are numerous varieties of Kiwifruit grown locally, which Zespri fruit must also compete against.
Innovation and interactions
The development of Zespri Gold Kiwifruit in the 1990s, as a new variety, is probably their best known innovation.
However in 2010 three new varieties were introduced. Two of these have gold flesh (initially being marketed as Zespri SunGold) and include characteristics such as being able to be harvested earlier or stored longer, therefore extending the potential selling time. Both varieties will extend the current Zespri Gold offering and from an orchard perspective have high yields.
The other new variety, known currently as sweet green, has all the attributes of the current green variety but is sweeter and therefore appealing to a different palate, particularly in Asian markets. Within the next 12 months, small amounts of these new varieties will be for sale in both Japan and Taiwan. It is planned that within two years, production increases mean they will also be on the shelves in most other major markets.
The kiwifruit industry has invested a great deal of resources into ensuring that when the product reaches the market shelves it is in a condition that enables it to be consumed immediately. Historically the fruit was purchased and then had to be left for quite some time before it ripened and was ready to eat.
Priorities for research included:
§ the right time and way to harvest the fruit to ensure optimum flavour
§ the application of natural ethylene gas to ripen the fruit more quickly
§ the carriage temperature on board the ships during transit to ensure fruit firmness is upheld ? the in-market ripening processes, controls, and consistency checks.
For Zespri, factors influencing fruit quality and ripeness are fundamental to having premium quality. The results of this research have enabled the fruit to be in optimum state at the most effective time, giving the industry up to two weeks more selling time, equating to around another 10% extension to sales.
Our Innovation Portfolio is broad and includes such areas as: health and nutrition, sustainability, market access, orchard productivity and of course new product development.
In short, with our track record, we have earned the right to grow and the future is bright. I know we have the vision and determination to grasp it. Today, as we look to the future, we see clear opportunities to grow.
Lain Jager – ZESPRI CEO
Business interactions
Industry planning to ensure all aspects of the business are working effectively is crucial. Zespri’s role is to manage all interest groups and balance their competing needs:
§ Retailers and distributors want to know the fruit is of a high standard.
§ Growers want to know as much of their fruit as possible is making it to market in good quality.
§ Suppliers want their fruit to be better than any of their competitors.
On shore interactions are continually taking place with the pack-houses, growers, packaging companies, and government owned innovation organisations such as Plant & Food Research, government agencies such as Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and New Zealand Customs. Offshore these interactions are focused at the importer and distributor, retailer, consumer, and government level.
Zespri staff work to ensure their principle focus is on ensuring the returns they receive for the fruit they provide is at the highest possible level.
Growers are charged a set commission that is negotiated every 3 years, which is about 7.5% of total sales on average. Ongoing interactions with growers take place in a number of ways. This includes:
§ grower liaison personnel whose role is to be out working with growers face-to-face
§ a call centre who deal with queries and respond to issues from the head office
§ specific product groups; for example, category development groups have up to eight grower representatives who meet with the Zespri team on a monthly basis to discuss strategic issues related to their product.
An industry advisory council group also meets regularly to discuss issues and develop industry strategy and is made up of representatives from Zespri, together with growers and supply companies (packhouses). In this way, extensive consultation and interaction takes place throughout the year.
External influences
As the result of the hard work that has gone on over a long period of time, several of Zespri’s markets are close to stocking exclusively 100% Zespri kiwifruit during its selling season, for example, in Japan and Taiwan where competitors such as Chile have not managed to penetrate the market.
However, a major barrier to this growth has been the challenge of duty or tariff levels. As an example, Zespri currently pays a 45% duty on fruit sold into Korea as opposed to Chile, the major southern hemisphere competitor, who pay around 12%. This is the result of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Korea and Chile, which will see the Chilean tariff reach 0% in the next few years. Where there is such an obvious imbalance in tariff level between New Zealand fruit and competitors, it can pose a significant problem as a lower tariff means that fruit is available at a lower cost to consumers (and thus more attractive) and returns are higher to exporters. One strategy to overcome this has been to work with the New Zealand Government in support of New Zealand’s own FTAs. This has been particularly effective in the case of the China and Malaysia FTAs, where the government has achieved significant reductions in the kiwifruit tariff and given New Zealand fruit an even playing field with its competitors.
China’s FTA in particular is of value to Zespri, where the tariff declines from 20% to 0% as shown in the table below, which highlights how this is phased in:
A parallel strategy for growing the consumer base and awareness has focused on working with the customers around the world to ensure Zespri products are chosen for reasons associated with quality, experience, taste, and brand relationship.
The recent outbreak of Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (Psa) – bacterial vine disease – could also potentially affect the future crop levels and while this is as yet unknown, the company is mindful of the risks and is planning accordingly.
Perhaps the biggest external influence on Zespri’s business in recent times, however, has been the impact and response to the global financial crisis. Like all businesses, Zespri has had to consider the fact that their customers and partners throughout the supply chain are likely to be under increased financial pressure and are having to compromise or limit consumption. The financial crisis has been wide reaching and has impacted on other significant factors that influence Zespri, in particular the foreign exchange rates and the global demand and price of fuel. Given Zespri’s reliance on sea freight to transport the fruit to market, even a small increase in fuel price or the currency in which it is purchased or for which the fruit is paid for in, can have a significant impact on profitability.
Internal influences
With 2700 orchard owners across New Zealand (4,000 growers globally) Zespri has built an industry of growers who are passionate, committed, and customer-focused. New Zealand’s clean, green image, together with optimal soil, light, temperature, and rain conditions for growing, has given them the competitive edge.
Issues of food safety are supported by programmes encompassing rigorous plant hygiene and quality control systems together with a controlled crop protection programme that is continually improved. All post-harvest suppliers implement recognised Food Safety programmes, such as the HACCP-based British Retail Consortium (BRC) standard, used to identify and manage potential hazards throughout the supply chain.
After fruit has been harvested it must be graded and sorted by specially trained graders who visually inspect the fruit for defects, pests, and diseases. Fruit with defects are removed at this point and the remaining fruit is sorted by size (fruit-weight) before packing.
Most kiwifruit is packed by hand into specifically designed Zespri packaging. The filled boxes or trays are stacked onto pallets before going into cool storage.
Zespri sets the quality standards that are implemented by the industry. Pack-houses and cool stores are Zespri accredited, operating to their own documented quality systems. Quality is managed in several distinct ways. The Quality Controllers who regularly check the fruit attend annual Zespri certification and training programmes while Zespri’s Quality Assessors regularly visit pack-houses and audit against Zespri quality standards. MAF, in turn, undertake audits on Zespri, while pallets and data are thoroughly checked at the wharf.
Consumers are now also demanding traceability of the product throughout the production process as part of the greater global emphasis on food safety. Zespri was one of the first to use the pallet card to track fruit from the market to the orchard it was grown on, giving visibility throughout the supply chain. Zespri representatives sample the product in-market to ensure standards are being maintained to the point of delivery and these results are fed back to growers to complete the quality cycle and drive continuous improvement. This series of audits and checks ensures customers have confidence in Zespri’s ability to provide products of a consistently high quality.
Providing offices with a robust indication of supply in order to confidently commit to their customer sales programme is an important part of the process. Customers’ requirements form demand plans that are used to drive production planning and to understand when customers require product to be delivered into the market.
Zespri liaises closely with suppliers to ensure that fruit is packed to meet customer demands and then works closely with shipping companies to plan optimal modes and timing of delivery to get the right fruit to the right market at the right time in the best possible condition.
By having robust controls and processes to ensure Zespri kiwifruit is in the best quality when it reaches the market, the distributors and consumers have confidence in the brand and the fruit attributes and will often pay a significant premium over competitor fruits.
Zespri spends significant amounts of money on promoting the fruit (in 2009 NZ$86m was spent in advertising and promotion) and this has built brand loyalty with distributors, retailers and consumers, and supports the price premium that Zespri kiwifruit achieves over competitors.
Social and ethical standards
As a global company with a complex international supply chain, it is of the utmost importance that Zespri has high standards of integrity, performance and honesty. This requires that there be systems and procedures in place to deal with any issues which have the potential to impact on the businesses reputation or brand. The recent situation with PSA was one such example of how quickly, upon realisation of the situation, Zespri identified the issue and worked with the industry, government, and offshore partners to develop a plan to manage the situation.
The company has extremely good relationships with government authorities worldwide as a result of this approach and is trusted to perform in line with the policies they set down. Delegations of government officials and accreditation bodies regularly visit New Zealand to learn more about the Zespri operation and are able to gain a strong sense of the integrity from the procedures the company follows.
The integrity and reputation of the Zespri brand will continue to be integral to the success of the industry. Giving meaning to the brand through investment in promotional materials and point of sales collateral has resulted in Zespri being in a position where it now earns premiums above other kiwifruit producers.
Another critical factor will be the success of new varieties of kiwifruit. Zespri has released three new varieties in 2010 and is looking for other opportunities to release more, including a red-fleshed variety.
Research shows some consumers prefer their fruit sweeter or with improved attributes such as colour, while others want fruit that will store for longer periods. Successfully developing these combinations is important.
In terms of ensuring regular consumption, health will also be a big consideration. Sharing the health benefits of kiwifruit with their high levels of vitamin C and fibre will continue to be extremely important in the challenge to convert new consumers. Ultimately the ability to move consumers from eating kiwifruit once a week to more often will also factor into this strategy, as will the taste performance aspect which is continually being enhanced. While this is a difficult task, it is important for Zespri to ensure they can justify their premiums by consistently delivering better tasting products.
Sustainability has been a big factor within the industry for some time and will continue to be a focus. Owners and key stakeholders tend to be those who are very in-tune with the land and aware of the issues related to sustainability.
Zespri’s packaging out of New Zealand is manufactured from renewable, sustainable, harvest plantation blocks. The company looks to reduce the amount of packaging required in any one shipment and, as much as possible, sell in bulk formats to minimise packaging and maximize the freight efficiency of this process, having less environmental impact.