The general assembly of the Association of South Tyrolean Fruit Growers' Co-operatives (VOG) has given the green light to the VOG 2010 programme, which will commercially and structurally reorganise the group’s 18 co-operatives.
The new strategy was devised with the aim of streamlining the association’s commercial activity and increasing its effectiveness by means of an internal reorganisation process.
The programme, referred to as the “pool model”, envisages the creation of four pools starting from August 2010, comprising the association’s 18 fruit growers' co-operatives, which will be evenly divided by production zone.
These pools will be responsible for commercialising all dessert apples produced by the individual members, working according to the same supply, selection and counting directives and paying the individual fruit growers according to their membership status and yield in kilos.
The directors of the member co-operatives will be directly involved in commercial decisions, enabling each co-operative to control and influence the strategic decisions of the association.
Each pool will appoint a representative who will form part of a central working group. Presided over by the director of VOG, the board of representatives will be tasked with formulating general sales plans and identifying production and revenue targets, as well as using brands and marketing strategies in support of turnover objectives.
As a result of this structure, the association will co-ordinate the entire sales process by means of a centralised invoicing system, divided into eight “strategic activity sectors” corresponding to the various target markets.
Georg Kössler, chairman of VOG, said: “The VOG 2010 strategy was created with the aim of consolidating our position in the market and, in the long term, guaranteeing a fair deal for our producers. Thanks to the new strategy, we will be able to offer our customers a more efficient service, responding more quickly and efficiently to their requests and to market changes."
VOG director Gerhard Dichgans added: “Today, the individual co-operative is no longer able to stand up to the international challenges of the market. The watchword is ‘close ranks’ and this is the route indicated in our programme, which also brings our structure into line with the formal requirements of current EU regulations, thus enabling us to continue enjoying producers’ organisation status.”
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