Our Business
Line
The main business line of Dumark Enterprises Limited is supplying agricultural and non-agricultural products to government institutions. Supply of agricultural products, which is the major business line, involves buying and selling of maize and beans. Since 2006 when the company identified a business opportunity in produce, it has successfully been tendering to supply maize grains, Grade I maize flour and beans to the Ministry of Defense (soldiers), Uganda Police Force (UPF), Uganda Prison Services (UPS), Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Makerere University, Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH), UNHCR, TASO Uganda and various district local governments. To succeed in fulfilling the obligations of supply, the company buys the produce from agents at the village collecting centres, transports it to the store in Mbarara where it is cleaned, sorted, bagged, and delivered to the consumers. Some of the maize grains is milled and the maize flour is supplied to institutions and individuals who keep poultry and piggery consume the maize brand.
Dumark's Business Model
Step One
The farmers bring the produce to the collection centers. Dumark buys the produce directly from the farmer groups at the collection centres. Dumark Enterprises Limited is involved through the whole process
Step Three
In Dumark's store in Mbarara, the produce is unloaded from the trucks. Depending on the type of product the produce is cleaned, sorted, weighed, bagged, and finally loaded again on the truck for delivery to the customer. If it is maize grains, some is milled into flour, then weighed, bagged, and added on the truck for delivery to customers.
Step Two
Dumark Enterprises Limited buys the produce based on negotiated quantities and prices. The company then collects the goods by its own and rented transporting vehicles. Payment is usually done by bank transfer with reference to sales invoices of the agent. In the Dumark records reference is made to the delivery.
Step Four
Customers order the produce by means of purchase orders. After delivery of the goods Dumark issues a sales invoice. In case of direct sales, the produce is directly delivered by the agent to the customers, which means process steps 2, 3 and 4 are combined.
In respect of the produce, the following (physical) services in the process can be identified:
- Loading truck at agent location
- Transport from agent location to Dumark store
- Unloading truck at Dumark store
- Cleaning, Sorting, Weighing, Bagging of the produce, and loading on truck at Dumark’s store, transport from Dumark store to customers
- off-reloading at customer location.
In case of direct sales, the agent takes cares of some or even all the above services. In case that this takes place, the costs associated with these services are part of the purchase price and therefore, reduce the gross profit.
When these services are carried out by Dumark itself the costs associated with these services, apart from product losses during the process, are part of the operating expenses and therefore will not reduce the gross profit.
