2006/216 Development of supply chain, distribution and communication tools to support entry of Australian Southern Rocklobster into the super-premium fine-dining sector in the USA

By Roger Edwards

The current trading paradigm of the Australian Southern Rocklobster (ASR) industry has primarily targeted export to China and Hong Kong. However, due to recent market fluctuations, this has resulted in significant value collapse throughout the whole ASR industry, which has highlighted the need to spread risk in order to buffer against the impacts of the single product/single market paradigm. This project investigates the development of supply chain, distribution and communication tools to support the entry of Australian Southern Rocklobster into the super-premium fine-dining sector in the USA. Provided that entry into this market is feasible and that a premium product can be exported to the USA, this market could provide an additional $90 million in export value within the next 10 years.

This project aimed to:

1. Develop a new supply chain system, this guarantees consistent supply and quality of Australian Southern Rock lobster (ASR) to the Super-Premium-Fine-Dining (SPFD) sector specifications in the USA.
2. Develop a niche distribution system for ASR that services the SPFD sector in the USA.
3. Develop the most effective communication system to support entry of ASR to the SPFD sector in the USA.
4. Undertake demonstration trials to confirm the suitability and effectiveness of the supply chain, distribution and communication systems developed for the SPFD sector in the USA.