Cargill Animal Nutrition Division-Dairy Focus Group
As mentioned previously, Cargill's strategic intent is to become the "Biggest and the Best Animal Nutrition Company in the World". This has been evident in the change in philosophy and approach they have taken in the market. In 1995 Cargill changed its animal feed division's name from Nutrena Feeds to Cargill Animal Nutrition for all its business except the Farm Store business. The purpose of the change is to communicate their new philosophy and be identified as an aiiimal nutrition company and no longer as simply a feed company. In the same effort, their sales representatives are now referred to as Dairy Management Consultants and have extensive training in nutrition and dairy management consulting as well as in sales. There has been a paradigm shift in Cargill's focus, from volume and economies of scale (when selling commodities was the way of business ) to revenue, as the customer focus has changed from price to value. The company seeks to sell high-margin products to high-level decision makers and create a strategic partnership with the customer.
The Cargill has created a customer-solution system called Focus Feed Program. Under this system, they developed a computer-based nutrition management system called Cargill Dairy System. With this system, the consultants work in the field with laptop computers to assess the forages that the producer has on the farm and what nutrients are missing. The proprietary, ration-formulation software is then used to formulate the appropriate ration and determine the retail price. Feed that is custom-formulated in the morning (according to the needs and limitations of the specific customer) is sent to the mill by electronic data transfer. Formulation coordinators revise them and check if there can be any cost reductions or improvements, and the feed can be delivered that afternoon.
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