Is Contract Growing For You?
April 29, 2011 Call me cynical but people trust way too easily.
We trust babbling politicians who spew countless promises on the campaign trail. We buy into their hype and take their words as gospel only to realize after they’ve taken office that they’re either corrupt or phony or incompetent.
We trust auto mechanics to fix our cars at a fair price, only to be gouged so ridiculously for labor that lawyers would belly over laughing at our misfortune.
We invest a lot of trust at work, too. We trust our employees and colleagues to show up to work on time and do what they’re asked. We trust they’ll respect our space and belongings and that they’ll keep company secrets in house.
Trust is a big factor in contract growing, as well. For many growers, contract growing is still new, and they’re rapidly shifting their trust in business from retailers they once served directly to a more select base of principal growers who serve those retailers. Knowing who you can trust is easier said than done. An argument can be made that no customer can be fully trusted and that growers will be taking risks regardless of who their customers are.
It’s even more difficult for contract growers to instill trust, though. They’re at the mercy of other growers who, in turn, are at the mercy of retailers that are seemingly becoming more powerful with each spring. To some contract growers, the principal growers serving retailers are an unnecessary link in an already-convoluted supply chain, but those growers participate in the chain because that business is better than no business.
Building Trust
There are, however, a handful of growers who’ve found a way to make contract growing work and put their worries aside. They’re making it work with trust – mutual trust – and modeling their businesses around multiple contract-growing opportunities.
One such grower is Plants Unlimited’s Nirmal Shah. Shah knows full well contract growing is risky business, but he worries no more about losing business than the growers he serves worry about losing box store business. Trust is the reason Shah sleeps well at night.
“The first place you start is to learn more about the customer,” he says. “How legit are they? How big are they? How do they work with other people? You try to get a feel for what you share in common. I like to meet potential customers, even if it’s just over lunch to talk things over. Most of the time, they give you a good idea what kind of people they are.”
But the process doesn’t end over lunch. Regular communication throughout the contract growing relationship leads to more trust. Some customers physically visit Plants Unlimited when they can, giving Shah a chance to get to know customers better. Others ask for weekly eMail updates with photos of their crops, keeping the line of communication open.
Shah keeps in touch enough to quash any of his concerns, too. “Typically, a week before the scheduled ship date is when we start touching base with customers,” he says. “We try to get a feel for what the weather looks like in their area and what their stores look like. Then we know if we’re shipping ahead of schedule or later than schedule so that a week or two beforehand, we can start adjusting our plans, too.”
Shah sheds more light on how he’s made contract growing his business in our May cover story. Another grower, Sedan Floral’s Jonathan Cude, makes a case against the contract-growing model. After reading both stories, perhaps you’ll have a better idea whether or not contract growing is for you.
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