Hello everyone,
I'm a tea enthusiast, Andy.
The rainfall this week has been quite joyous. It effectively alleviated the water shortage in tea plantations, aligning well with the climatic habit of "rain drizzles
during Qingming season." Last week, I mentioned "tea brand" establishment. This time, I'll share about "tea supply chain integration."
1. What to Integrate in the Tea Supply Chain? Which Industries are Included?
Tea supply chain integration isn't about one company monopolizing all tasks but rather involves "organizing cooperation" among tea-related supply chains, independent yet collaborative. The tea supply chain is extensive, with core industries including tea plantation management, initial tea processing factories, refined tea processing factories, tea packaging factories, and tea sales. The supply chain's management capability will determine a company's competitiveness.
2. What Problems Exist in the Tea Supply Chain?
Tea farmers, tea factories, and tea merchants are closely linked. Tea farmers supply fresh, high-quality tea leaves to factories, which, with proper processing techniques, produce high-quality tea, further enhanced by merchants' marketing strategies. This forms a "healthy tea industry chain." From my observations, there are current issues:
• Trust Issues: This is the most severe issue.
From the tea farmers' perspective, merchants cannot provide "guaranteed purchase conditions" to farmers and factories, leading them to sell directly to consumers for livelihood.
From the merchants' perspective, if tea farmers and factories don't adhere to the "guaranteed purchase conditions" and sell higher quality tea at higher prices to others, leaving lesser quality for the merchants, it's challenging to offer "guaranteed purchase conditions," pushing some to become tea farmers or establish factories themselves.
Only through cultivating "trust" can these issues be resolved.
• Cost and Profit Issues: Seeing the "profits" from merchants selling tea, farmers and factories decide to directly reach consumers for "higher profits." Merchants, aiming for lower-cost tea, become tea farmers or establish factories.
3. How to Effectively Integrate the Tea Supply Chain?
"Guaranteed purchase conditions" plus "trust" are the best solutions.
Tea farmers and factories won't have to worry about sales and can ensure sufficient income for tea plantation management and enhancing processing capabilities. Merchants won't have to fret over tea quality and can focus on sales. We must consider that when tea farmers and factories are concerned about income or sales, it's challenging to maintain tea quality. And when merchants can't secure high-quality tea and engage in tea production, they'll lack time for sales.
Only by allocating limited resources to one's strengths and cooperating with each other can the tea industry sustainably develop.
Tea is a highly competitive industry. Fully showcasing the "beauty of tea" is every tea practitioner's duty. Let's leave the "flaws of tea" for the tea cupping phase.
That's all for today's share. See you next time.
