Determine the products and/or services the agribusiness enterprise will provide.
Determination should include
- selecting a product or service
- modifying an existing product or service
- developing a new product or service, including constructing a prototype if necessary.
Criteria for selection should include
- factors of production (e.g., natural resources, human resources, capital resources)
- cost of product or service (e.g., to business, to customer)
- availability of production factors
- product or service requirements (e.g., for delivery to business, for modification/manufacture)
- human resources requirements (e.g., to sell/deliver product service)
- space requirements (e.g., for display, for inventory storage)
- determination of whether product or service matches established or anticipated customer need
- equipment and technology needs (e.g., for demonstration, promotion, display).
Process/Skill Questions:
- What is the difference between products and services?
- What is a product mix?
- Why is product or service planning important to a business?
- How does a business select the product or service mix to be offered?
- What is seasonality? What effect can it have on the sale of a product or service?