台大農場之經營策略

Abstract

台灣食品產業處於高度競爭的狀態，且根據金融聯合徵信中心發表之台灣主要行業財務比率中顯示食品零售製造業整體而言其淨利率為負值。此一產業近年有越來越集中之趨勢，集團以及連鎖形態的製造商及零售商分分透過垂直以及水平的整合來加強其對於通路以及供應商的談判力。在此整併的風氣下，不少中小型獨資的食品製造及通路商利潤遭受壓縮，進而退出市場。然而另一方面由於食品產業進入及退出障礙均低，雖然產業整體利潤低，仍有為數眾多的中小型新進入者進入此產業。在此競爭態勢下，大型連鎖商店以及專賣特殊品牌或商品之專賣店表現優於其他型態之競爭者。 台大農場處於此一高度競爭的環境下，以低於市價水準之價格販售新鮮高品質之食品以回饋台大員生，然而目前台大農產品展示中心約有50%之顧客來自校外。台大農產品展示中心的銷售額於2004至2008期間，每年均有所成長，然而淨利率卻自2004年之33.59%下滑至2008年之28.57%，並且此一淨利率是在未將教育部(台大校方)補助之人員薪資以及房舍租金等成本納入考量之下所得之數字，若將人員薪資納入考量，則2008年之淨利率即滑落至2.1%。 經過針對台灣食品零售產業以及台大農場之現況分析後，本研究對台大農場提出下列建議 1) 引進專業經理人並使農產品展售中心成為獨立於教學單位之營利事業體，針對銷售及獲利表現設立獎金回饋機制，並鼓勵相關人員採納及執行下述建議 2)將農產品展售中心定位為提供優質台大農產品及食品之專賣店，並加強拓展校外顧客族群 3)將台大校方補助之人事費用納入成本，以正確反應其獲利狀況並相對調整現有之商品定價策略 4)開拓網路商店等新通路以刺激漸趨平緩之銷售曲線 5)整合台大各農場之農產品及食品品牌，以發揮台大之品牌效果。

NTU farms provide quality foods with a lower than market level price to benefit students and faculty of NTU. However,, more than 50 per cent of customers are non-NTUers. These customers tend to be residents living around NTUs who appreciate higher food quality and safety than price.

The Issue with NTU farms is that it is a heavily subsidized operation and as a result, the rate of return can be misleading. From 2004 to 2008, sales revenue at NTU Farm grew 60%, and net profit margin was maintained at around 30%, slightly higher than industry expected net profit margin – 25% for small size players. however, when this research adds faculty salary subsidies from NTU into expenses, the net profit margin drops dramatically from 28.57% to 2.1% in 2008, far below the industry net profit margin. Upon a closer examination, this research recommends the following actions to be taken in order to bring profit margin to industry standard. 1) Separate the business division (Agricultural Products Sales Center) from the farm and introduce professional manager with related background, also set up incentive mechanism according to the performance 2) Target at consumers outside of NTU, by positioning itself as a Specialty Store specialized in NTU agricultural products with a superior quality; 3) Count salary subsidies as expenses to reflect real profitability, and adjust its pricing strategy accordingly; 4) Develop online distribution channel to increase sales and 5) Consolidate different brands into a single superior one. The food industry in Taiwan, in which NTU farms operate, is very competitive. While big chain players excel other competitors by dominating the distribution channels, the specialty Stores competes well in the niche market providing quality food to a specific group of customers at a premium price. The food industry in Taiwan is getting more and more concentrated due to frequent horizontal integration among big players.This trend compresses profitability of small, independent players like NTU Farms. To avoid price war and dropping profitability under this trend, brand management, and develop special services / products are recommended by researchers.