Any entrepreneur worth their salt will often tell you, that there are two hard problems to solve on the demand side. The first one is that of finding market. Finding the segment of people that need your goods or services. Because without market, there’s no business to run. There are two ways to finding market, one involves building that market from scratch. The other is to find a ready market and placing a product in that market. All those problems have their own variations and play out differently.
However, the harder problem, beyond finding market is that of market fulfilment. Most people can work hard and find the market, few can fulfil the market. Market fulfilment is a separate dynamic. It requires a full integration of one’s supply chain, a coordination of all the capitals, the monetary, and the human capitals, above all, it requires an efficient and effective management of all resources.
In the case of the Ugandan Food Export Industry, you see these two problems play out. Normally, a player will work hard to get a Food Export License. Once they have a license, they realize that there’s no market to serve, they can’t find clients. Assuming they’ve chosen Avocado as their market entry product. They succeed and find a client in Oman or in Qatar. It’s at this point that the market fulfilment problem kicks in. How do you ensure that you find the right quality of avocadoes in the right quantity, package them in the right time and get them to the right location without compromising on any of the rights? That is the puzzle of market fulfilment.
There’s a way out, but that will be addressed in our future insights. For now, we are highlighting this challenge, for awareness is the first step of solving any problem. How do you currently solve these two problems in your industry? Let’s hear from you.
About Featured Photo: Kilyawan Farm Resort, a global leader in sustainable tourism.