As this statement from a meat-processing executive reveals, matters confronting decision-makers occupying the industry’s executive suites are growing in complexity in the face of a weak economy, new politicians and bureaucrats in government, rising raw material prices, and the ever-present threat of the next big contaminated product recall. Don’t forget about the drop-ins by ICE to round up workers you didn’t know were illegals; dealing with the controversial country-of-origin law; and intra-industry bickering over consolidation, mergers and acquisitions, animal identification and traceability initiatives — and on and on.
Then there is that basic business issue of getting paid for your goods and services.