The GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company

The GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company has been operating for years now with its warehouse, distributing aquatic feeds to its customers from Talisay, Laurel and San Nicholas, Batangas. The warehouse is located at Brgy. Balakilong, Laurel, Batangas before the town proper of Laurel. GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company is an exclusive distribution channel or intermediary of B-Meg Aquatic Feeds by San Miguel Feeds, Inc. (SMFI) as part or component of its marketing mix. As a partner distributor of SMFI, GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company is exclusively wholesaling and retailing aquaticfeeds from the manufacturer- supplier B-Meg located at Brgy. Darasa, Tanauan, Batangas with the provision of policies when it comes to marketing of aquaticfeeds to the area which the aquatic feeds is most demanded. As part of the distributing aquatic feeds of SMFI to its end users, generally the GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company has been assigned by SMFI where its target market which they called “Farm universe”. Farm Universe is technical term used by SMFI for its geographically segmented target market for specific target potential customers who culture aquatic fish around Taal Lake.

GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company is one that has been assigned to market within the towns of Talisay, Laurel and San Nicholas. With the provisions of SMFI, GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company has been distributing Feeds to said farm universe to its customers. Pertaining to its target market or their farm universe, GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company has been searching for more potential customers that are buying aquatic feeds in the area. With regards to the regulations implemented by the government for owning cages that cultures aquatic fish around Taal Lake, financers that farm with big number of cages who uses dummy names with the cages is a real deal potential customer to deal with to the said farm universe consuming thousands bags of aquaticfeeds. Developing a conceptual framework based on the conditions of the company to explain the relative importance of operating areas of distribution functions.

The need for Identifying and understanding the major functions and operations of a Distribution Channel, GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company of SMFI as a component of their marketing mix, following a scheme to analyze and attempt to explain functions to eventually improve its operations of being an intermediary and a part of a supply chain from point of production to the point of consumption and with concepts that is ideal for the improvement of its quality service of distribution. Hopefully, with the report on the distribution channel management and its physical distribution, GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company will have an ideal framework on channel decisions on how to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of this marketing system and observe quality in terms of customer service levels, warehouse management and physical distribution. GTG Aquatic Feeds Supply Company’ capabilities lie at this research, with the recommendations with the integration among the areas and functions of the distribution channel; we believe it will lead to significant results if so adopted.

Aquaculture and Aquafeeds Industry
Aquaculture is a fast-growing source of food here in the Philippines and became a more staple food for its low value in the market as todays scenario instead of capture fishery industry and plays a significant role to the country’s economy. Our country Philippines where fisheries plays a very significant role in the industry, aquaculture was well established imparting a large percentage of contribution. Aquaculture is recognized as an important component of the fisheries industry and figures prominently in all fisheries development plan.

“Aquaculture will continue to be the main source of food fish for the Philippines and the main driver of growth for the agricultural sector. My vision for the aquaculture sector is one that will provide more food, more employment, and more foreign exchange rather than an aquaculture sector that results in habitat destruction, pollution, and farming-induced calamities such as fish kills. There should be no compromise where the environment is concerned.” MALCOLM I. SARMIENTO, Jr.(Director,Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources)

Aquaculture is broadly defined by Edwards and Demaine (1997) as “the farming of aquatic organisms by small-scale farming households or communities, usually by extensive and semi-intensive low-cost production technology appropriate for their resource base. The resource-poor base of most farms requires off-farm agri-industrial inputs to intensify production to provide low market value produce affordable to poor consumers”

Aquaculture and capture fisheries are different. Aquaculture involves some control of the natural environment such as stocking, feeding, and water management, while capture fisheries is more akin to hunting for fish species in the wild. Aquaculture and capture fisheries are the two main sources of fish in the Philippines and in other countries as well. Not all species caught in the wild can be cultured or cultivated.(FAO)

The rise of the Aquatic business has come to its boom in the country as to demand, needs, popularity and the aquatic industry that showing big growth year afters year. Relatively, there are different modes of aquatic culture in our country that needs process feeding than natural growth of fishes in the ecosystem. The Aquatic Business is also the way of maximizing resources to cater growing market needs in the Aquatic Industry (B-Meg). The Aquaculture made a way to the Aquatic business to further supply feeds to a sustainable production of cultured fish like tilapia and bangus that are known to be the most staple fish for a typical Filipino family based on current headlines and survey.

Aquaculture in cages uses intensive culture system of farming where there is a decreased dependence on the availability of natural food resources as stocking of fishes as concerned, greater dependence on the use of commercial feeds has been available for most farmed fishes.(Aquaculture.Asia)

B-meg Feeds has become popular in the Aquatic Business providing a well made quality undergone to a well research and development of the product in accordance with the regulations and requirements of making feeds suitable to the Aquaculture Industry for a stable and sustainable production of cultured fish as well as to the environment as concern. B-meg Aquatic Nutrition is a companion in culture fish products in the industry delivering only the best quality feeds for finfish, providing technical service and support, and marketing assistance programs to B-Meg Aquatic Farms to serve farming requirements. (B-MEG)

B-MEG remains to be the leading feed brand in the country, providing raisers with the freshest, best-in-class quality products. Coupled with value-added technical services provided by our B-MEG personnel, and help ensure raisers of high quality products, shorter grow out periods and business success in today’s challenging times. (B-MEG)

B-Meg is one of the businesses of San Miguel Feeds Inc. (SMFI) a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has established partnering businesses towards distribution of the aquatic feeds to areas where aquaculture is most popular and demand of commercial feeds is relatively high. Penetration of such products upon distribution is crucial and made strategy which they called as Placement or Distribution as part of their marketing mix strategy. One of which is the GTG Feeds Supply Company.

Evident to our modern marketing system, companies are then looking supplier’s supplier upstream and at their distributor’s customer’s downstream. They are looking for customer segments and considering a wide range of different possible means to sell, distribute and service their offerings (Kotler, Keller, Hoon Ang, Meng Leong, Tiong Tan., 2009) Distribution channel management will be of important study by which the B-Meg taken a marketing channels or distribution channel have been popular to the area of which products is mostly demanded with stable and sustainable production cultured fishes.

Channel intermediaries or the product distributors which are independent businesses that assist producers in the process of making their products available for consumption (Coughlan et al.,2001).Channel management has played an important role in the marketing and operations discipline. How this channel was established and organized , and organizational policies relating to centralization, formalization, standardization, and surveillance (cf. Dwyer and Oh 1988; Fein and Anderson 1997; John and Weitz 1988; Shervani, Frazier, and Challaga 2007). Rosenbloom(1987) identifies six distribution tasks that an intermediary performs for customers—(a) making theproduct available; (b) delivering customer service; (c)providing credit and financial assistance; (d) assortmentconvenience; (e) breaking bulk; and (f) givingadvice and technical support.

Physical distribution has been relatively part of channel management (cf. Coughlan, et al. 2006; Frazier, et al. 1988). How this channel management and its physical distribution functions deliver products to end-customers, with the areas of interest on ordering processes, inventory control, placement and design of warehouse, customer service levels, security and transportation or delivery service (Buell,1986)