Our mission is to Develop, Enhance and Maintain Profitability and Equity for every Pepperidge Farm Owner
POAA Gives Meaning to the Motto: "In Business For Yourself, Not By Yourself."
DON'T FALL FOR A FALLACY
Like many words, “fallacy” is an imprecise term with more than one definition, but for our purposes it means: an error in reasoning, which is different from a factual error. It is easy to identify an error of fact - e.g., Kyle counted 1,000 cases but 3 owners counted 999 cases of consigned inventory. It can be more challenging to identify a fallacy because an error in reasoning can be fallacious in its form, its content or both. For example, the Slippery Slope Fallacy has the following form: Step 1 leads to step 2. Step 2 leads to step 3. Step 3 leads to … an obviously unacceptable step, so step 1 is not acceptable. That form of reasoning occurs in both good arguments and fallacious arguments. The crucial quality of arguments of this form depend on the probabilities of actually going from one step to another. Those probabilities involve the argument’s content, not merely its form.
The vast majority of common fallacies involve arguments, but some involve explanations, definitions and other products of reasoning. Owners can avoid falling for a fallacy by applying critical thinking techniques, such as asking and answering a lot of basic questions, to identify errors in reasoning. It explains why past POAA newsletters have called out PF’s use of new terms to change well-established industry practices, such redefining “Allocations” to mean “Orders” for specialty and seasonal varieties more than 6 months prior to its production runs, even though “Allocations” is a well-known contract term that PF now calls the “Order Cap Process". PF announced the Order Cap Process to justify its ongoing cuts to our DSD orders due to, as PF explained to owners, pandemic-related production problems. PF's fallacious explanation is deceptive because there is overwhelming evidence that PF is producing and selling directly to consumers via central warehouse distribution the exact same varieties that PF is cutting from our DSD orders. In response to written demands for PF to cut its central warehouse sales until it can produce an adequate supply to satisfy our DSD orders, PF simply claimed that it allocates limited supplies of consigned products proportionally based on “overall” demand. What does that mean? Does PF produce consigned inventory than it is supplying to DSD owners? Is it a fallacious argument?
Write to PF to find out how it is allocating proportionally based on "overall" demand, and brainstorm with owners to determine whether PF provides you with an open, honest and transparent response - or PF tries to trip you up with a fallacious explanation.
The opinions and beliefs expressed in this newsletter are intended only to spark discussions about serious and ongoing business issues that impact every owner in PF’s distribution network. If you need or want legal advice, you must consult with your attorney.
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You are receiving this email because you own an Exclusive Pepperidge Farm Franchise and/or an Exclusive Pepperidge Farm Distributorship, and you should know that the Pepperidge Farm Owners Association of America is proactively protecting your rights.
