Perdue Farms Inc: Responding to 21st Century Challenges

Perdue Farms Inc: Responding to 21st Century Challenges

Perdue Farms began in 1917 when Arthur W. Perdue bought 50 leghorn chickens for $5 and he began selling table eggs. Since that time, Perdue has been on a long journey towards the successful poultry business it is today. Though Perdue has faced its challenges, it has always landed on top through its commitment to quality and continuing and proactive drive for excellence.

Perdue has been a successful business with profits in all but a couple of years. Although they are a thriving company, there are a few things that could be improved. The SWOT Analysis highlights a few key points.

Strengths

„X Vertical integration

„X Connected to the international market, 5% of total revenue in 1999 ($140M)

„X Strong brand recognition - Branded a commodity

„X Large product mix

„X Strong R&D, created a reputation for innovation.

Perdue¡¦s most obvious strength is their high quality. The quality is a key component through every department of their business. When Perdue decided to vertically integrate, they made one of the best decisions their company could make.

Perdue was also quite efficient when moving into the international market. While Americans enjoyed the white meat of the chickens, foreign countries enjoyed the dark meat. This made great use of the entire chicken.

Through a variety of products, Perdue adapted to the changing life styles of consumers. They were able to produce the bulk fresh deliveries to the supermarkets, domestic frozen foods and further processed products, and the consumer packaged goods. Perdue was the first company in their industry to package their products in microwavable tray. Perdue was willing and able to capture consume...

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... has already invested a great deal of money to implement a new Information System that helps with this forecasting.

My recommendation for Perdue Farms is that if they are going to compete with other companies, they need to focus on product differentiation. Perdue must react to the growing trend of easy and quick prepared meals. I also feel that they should also focus on the food service industry. Since more Americans are eating out, Perdue can reach a great number of people. Perdue has been known to produce high quality chickens, so why not sell them at restaurants. Customers will expect high quality food items when eating out at restaurants. My final recommendation is that Perdue should focus on the prepared food industry. The trend in America is for quicker meals. Perdue can cater to these people by producing their quality products in a way to prepare quicker.