The responsibilities of a dealer
Many consumers who are not familiar with the process of transporting and marketing agricultural produce tend to regard the distributors who act as middlemen as “parasites.” But people who think that way are ignoring the fact that there are numerous steps between farm and table and that it is rational to have a professional division of labor once an industry reaches a certain scale.
However, after founding his business and becoming a distributor, Syu tried to carve out a different path for himself. “For consumers I provide honest, transparent information about fruit production, for farmers I do all I can to promote and sell their produce, and I enable the company to grow stably and revenues to climb so that my employees will have a future.” These have been Syu’s intentions since the very beginning, and he has never changed tack. “I think this is the optimal approach for all involved,” he says.
As a bridge between farmers and consumers, Syu and his staff not only must spend a lot of time in production areas searching for outstanding farmers, but their biggest challenges consist in maintaining the highest possible quality and dependably getting fruit into consumers’ hands. How they handle these issues determines whether or not the firm can operate on a sound footing. Therefore, circumstances permitting, Syu requests that farmers first send their products to the company in Taichung, where employees tirelessly screen them to select the best fruit, which is then packaged and shipped to customers.
Supplying consumers with safe, toxin-free products is a basic requirement. But it is not enough for Our Table to simply say that products are safe; samples of the fruit that goes on sale are sent for testing every year, so that such claims are backed up with scientific evidence. At the same time, Our Table is famous for its excellent after-sales service, giving customers their money back if the quality of their fruit is not up to snuff. They do not try to persuade people with arguments not related to quality or to play the sympathy card, but instead rely on the market mechanism, pragmatically ensuring that each link in the chain is handled properly. “Only in this way can the industrial value chain function,” Syu concludes.
Marco Syu (left), who invariably goes and visits farmers during each production season, sees these farmers as partners who grow together with his business.