Considering Distribution Channels For Agricultural Products

If your run a farm that has grown big and you need good channel for your goods, you have to seat down and consider your options. Agricultural products easily go bad and for the producer, the aim should be to be able to get it to market as soon as they are harvested. Most often there are not enough storage facilities to be able to keep this type of produce for longer than necessary.
Even with if you have vehicles, you have to make sure that they are fit for purpose. For example you may be required to get the right racking for vans when you have to distribute agricultural products. That said even with the right vehicle, you still need to decide you distribution channel. Are you going to be selling directly to consumers, retailers or do you preferred to sell to wholesalers. The choice of distribution channel will definitely depend on the quantity of produce you have, available the storage facilities and the profit margin you are looking to make.
Sell directly to consumers
You can decide to skip all the retailers and wholesalers and sell directly to consumers. However, this is most suited for those who do not produce in large quantities. As such they can create a small market around their farm where consumers buy directly from them. This will help them make better profit as they can afford to sell at retail prices while avoiding the extra cost involved in selling through retailers and wholesalers. However, when you decide to sell directly to consumers, it means you have to be ready to create time to sell. This may cause you to be slow in expanding your business as you may not be motivated to produce larger quantities.
Sell to retailers
You can also decide to sell to those who own shops that sell the type for produce you cultivate. This may be a better option when the amount of produce from your farm is such that it may be hard to sell all using only consumers. Also with this type of distribution channel, you avoid the extra cost that comes with perishing goods. However, your profit margin may also have to suffer as you will have to sell at a price that allows the retailer to also make a profit. The problem with selling to retailer is that you may not get your money upfront as they may pay thirty days late. Also you will need to have distribution facilities to serve the different retailers.
Sell to wholesalers
If you are selling to wholesalers, it means you should be producing very huge quantities that only wholesalers can handle. While this may be good for your business, just like in the case of selling to retailers, your profit margin may be reduced further. Also you may have to wait days for payments. However it has the advantage that you don’t have to worry about what happens to the produce after you harvest as you can get the wholesaler to worry about that.