Down East Spud Busters is a company located in northern Maine and eastern Canada. They are a part of a conglomerate that represent the potato growers of northern Maine and Eastern Canada and also oversee the collection, processing and distribution of potatoes and potato products. They have functioned as a local cooperative for years. They have a local center where potatoes are simply weighed, washed, graded, bagged and distributed in various size and weight bags. They have recently built a large manufacturing building in northern Maine with a new focus on higher value products which will include a frozen division line, (French fries, gourmet stuffed potatoes and the like) a dried food division line, (instant mashed potatoes, potato pancake mix etc.) and the traditional potato food line. Bu doing this, they hope to increase their revenue by three times the amount they are currently generating. The next phase of their project calls for a nationwide distribution and sales program. Their major strategy is to recruit the right sales force and develop a system for selling and distributing the product. Down East Spud Busters is currently leading towards the concepts of hiring sales associates who will work out of their homes in strategic locations around the United States. The sales associates hired will then be responsible for a number of things involving meeting a quota, overseeing the sale and any other issues with the sale. The final stage of their plan is to eventually build a second manufacturing center in five years and oversee an increase in crop planting. They then want to hopefully expand into Europe and the Pacific Rim.
There are many different issues that are facing Down East Spud Busters right now. They have all these plans for expanding their distribution but they don’t have a solid way of doing that while keeping the items fresh. They have a plan for