Exporting Apples in Taiwan Case studyExport Marketing

Part I

It was Margaret Schimke’s first day of work and she was already confused.

She had just been hired by FJ Limited, one of the world’s largest shipping companies. FJ ships goods all around the world by ship and train. It has offices in many cities in the United States and in other countries. Margaret had been hired to work in FJ’s Seattle office. She was an “Account Executive” for refrigerated goods. That is, she was hired to manage perishable goods – like apples or cherries – that needed to be shipped from Seattle in refrigerated containers.

It had been a quiet first day until Margaret’s boss gave her the first big assignment. “Apples are one of Washington State’s biggest crops,” her boss said. “And I want FJ to ship more apples to other countries. I want you to focus on Taiwan. One week from today, I want you to give me a marketing plan about what you are going to do to help FJ carry more apples to Taiwan. If you have a good plan, you will receive a $10,000 bonus.”

Now what? Margaret thought to herself. She didn’t have the first idea how FJ could carry more apples to Taiwan.

What should she do? Margaret decided to do some research:

She talked to other people in the office to learn what they knew about shipping apples. She e-mailed Nicho Liao, FJ’s sales representative in Kao-hsiung, Taiwan, and asked him about FJ’s business in

Taiwan. She used the World Wide Web and the library to learn more about exports from Washington State. She read everything she could find at the office about FJ’s history and its business.

It took a few days, but Margaret finally was able to answer her three questions.

a) What does FJ do to get apples from Seattle to Taiwan ? Margaret learned that FJ sends three ships a week from Seattle to Kaohsiung, Taiwan: one on Monday, one on Tuesday, and one on Friday. Because some of these ships go to other places first, one ship each week takes 21 days to get to Taiwan; one takes 17; and one takes 15.

Margaret learned apples kept in a refrigerated container can stay fresh for a 22-day trip. However, most customers of perishable goods want the 15-day trip. Margaret learned that FJ’s refrigerated containers guarantee FJ customers their apples will stay at exactly the right temperature, neither frozen nor too hot. And Margaret learned that FJ can promise customers exactly when their goods will leave Seattle and when they will arrive in Kaohsiung.

b) What is Washington State’s apple business ? Margaret learned that farmers in Washington State grow twelve different kinds of apples. She learned that Washington State apples are sold around the country and around the world. Washington State sells 15% of all fruit exported from the United States to other countries.

c) Do people in Taiwan want to buy apples ? Margaret learned that people in Taiwan do, indeed, buy Washington apples. Their favorite is the Fuji, a spicy-sweet apple. Unlike Americans, who often buy apples in big bags, Margaret learned that people in Taiwan tend to buy apples one at a time, paying special attention to how ripe, shiny, and well-shaped they are.

Margaret also learned that people in Taiwan buy more apples during holidays or festivals, using these apples for gifts or as offerings at shrines or temples. Washington State apples can be sold year-round, because those that aren’t sold at harvest-time are kept in controlled-atmosphere warehouses to “put the apples to sleep” until they are needed.

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Margaret learned that Taiwan’s biggest apple-buying holiday is the Chinese New Year, which usually falls around the end of January.

Margaret had learned a lot in just a few days. But she still didn’t know enough to write a marketing plan. What should she do next?

Part II

Of course! Margaret thought. I need to figure out who my customers are. I have to write this plan for my boss, but it is my customers who will decide whether or not to ship more apples. Margaret decided to do some research:

Margaret decided she had three kinds of customers:

First, the apple farmers in Eastern Washington. She had to convince them to trust their apples to FJ.

Second, the apple traders who buy and sell the apples.

And third, the grocery store owners in Taiwan who would sell the apples once they arrived in Taiwan. Margaret had to convince them that apples shipped by FJ would arrive in good condition.

Margaret would have to get to know each of these types of customers and convince them that FJ could do the best job.

She had to convince the apple farmers that FJ could deliver their apples safely and quickly to Taiwan. She had to convince them that FJ would do a better job than any other shipper.

She had to convince the apple traders that FJ would deliver the apples safely, but also that FJ had good connections in Taiwan. She wanted them to see that working with FJ would make a trader’s job easier.

And, she had to convince the grocery store owners in Taiwan that FJ would ship them only the finest Fuji apples and that those apples would arrive in good condition just at the time they were needed.

Now she just had to turn all of this into a presentation for her boss... and hopefully get a $10,000 bonus.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS: get information to solve problems!Getting the basic information or doing a research is the first step in this or any other problem when you don’t enough to solve the problem by yourself.

Information about FJ

1. What do you know about FJ? 2. What kind of services does FJ offer to Taiwan? 3. Is FJ good at shipping apples?4. How often does FJ send ships between Seattle and Taiwan?5. How long does it take a ship to get to Taiwan?6. Is it even possible to ship apples that far before spoil?

Information about what kinds of apples are grown in Washington State

1. When are they harvested, and what happens to them?2. How are apples shipped?3. What kinds of apples do Washington State farmers grow?4. Are many of them exported?

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Information on what people in Taiwan expect from apples

1. Do they buy apples now? If so, what kinds and why? 2. Are apples treated differently in Taiwan than they are in the US?3. What kind of apples do people there like?4. Are there times of year they are most likely to buy apples?

Information tools to solve problems

1. How can Margaret get the information she needs? Name six tools.

Explaining the marketing plan

Margaret is writing her marketing plan for her boss. But to be a good plan – and get her a $10,000 bonus – she REALLY needs to gear it to the needs of her customers: the apple farmers in Washington State and the grocery store owners in Taiwan.

1. What do these customers want to know about FJ? What can Margaret convince them that FJ could do the best job or better job than any other shipper?

2. Margaret’s boss sees her in the hallway and asks, “How’s it going?” What should she tell him about how she is doing on her marketing plan? Write one paragraph answer.

3. Write a marketing plan: a one-page memo to the boss outlining the steps Margaret will take to get Washington apple farmers and Taiwan grocery store owners to use FJ. (Should Margaret meet with them, send them information about FJ, take out ads, and try to match up buyers and sellers?)

4. Prepare a two-minute oral presentation that you will make to the teacher (pretending to be Margaret’s boss) summarizing the marketing plan.

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