Case Study Description of Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction
Food Donation Connection is a for-profit company that creates sustainable value - value for both shareholders/owners and stakeholders - by facilitating the redistribution of surplus prepared food from donor corporations, such as restaurants, convenience stores and grocery stores, to charities that distribute the food to people in need. In fulfilling its mission of "Let nothing be wasted," the company addresses the extensive food waste at the retail and wholesale stages of the food supply chain, a key pressure point in global food waste. Food Donation Connection has operated successfully for more than 20 years in the United States; however, the founder and chief executive officer is now considering the company's future. He must determine whether and how to expand the company's services globally. Chris Laszlo is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University. Katherine Gullett is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management.
Swot Analysis of "Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction" written by Chris Laszlo, Katherine Gullett, Craig Dicht, Megan Schulstad Buchter includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Food Donation facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Sustainability and Strategy & Execution.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction casestudy better are - – supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , geopolitical disruptions, wage bills are increasing, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, technology disruption, increasing energy prices, cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models,
banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Food Donation, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Food Donation operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Food Donation
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Strategy & Execution field.
4. Making a Strategy & Execution topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Food Donation
Strengths Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Food Donation in Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction Harvard Business Review case study are -
Analytics focus
– Food Donation is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Chris Laszlo, Katherine Gullett, Craig Dicht, Megan Schulstad Buchter can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Strong track record of project management
– Food Donation is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Food Donation is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Food Donation in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Diverse revenue streams
– Food Donation is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Strategy & Execution industry
– Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Food Donation to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Food Donation to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Food Donation has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Food Donation has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Ability to lead change in Strategy & Execution field
– Food Donation is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Food Donation in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Food Donation has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Food Donation in the sector have low bargaining power. Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Food Donation to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Food Donation has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Food Donation has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Weaknesses Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Food Donation is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Strategy & Execution segment. Food Donation needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Food Donation to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Slow decision making process
– As mentioned earlier in the report, Food Donation has a very deliberative decision making approach. This approach has resulted in prudent decisions, but it has also resulted in missing opportunities in the industry over the last five years. Food Donation even though has strong showing on digital transformation primary two stages, it has struggled to capitalize the power of digital transformation in marketing efforts and new venture efforts.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Food Donation has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction, it seems that the employees of Food Donation don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Lack of clear differentiation of Food Donation products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Food Donation needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Chris Laszlo, Katherine Gullett, Craig Dicht, Megan Schulstad Buchter suggests that, Food Donation is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Food Donation supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Food Donation vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Food Donation is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction, is just above the industry average. Food Donation needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Food Donation, firm in the HBR case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Food Donation has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
Opportunities Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Food Donation can develop new processes and procedures in Strategy & Execution industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Food Donation can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Food Donation in the consumer business. Now Food Donation can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Food Donation is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Food Donation to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Manufacturing automation
– Food Donation can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Strategy & Execution segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Food Donation can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Food Donation operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Strategy & Execution sector.
Loyalty marketing
– Food Donation has focused on building a highly responsive customer relationship management platform. This platform is built on in-house data and driven by analytics and artificial intelligence. The customer analytics can help the organization to fine tune its loyalty marketing efforts, increase the wallet share of the organization, reduce wastage on mainstream advertising spending, build better pricing strategies using personalization, etc.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Food Donation in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Strategy & Execution segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Buying journey improvements
– Food Donation can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Food Donation has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in the sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled, as illustrated in the Harvard case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction - to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Food Donation to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Food Donation can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at Food Donation can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Strategy & Execution segment.
Threats Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction are -
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Food Donation is facing in Strategy & Execution sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Food Donation can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction .
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Strategy & Execution field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Food Donation can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Environmental challenges
– Food Donation needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Food Donation can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Strategy & Execution industry.
High dependence on third party suppliers
– Food Donation high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Food Donation in the Strategy & Execution industry. The Strategy & Execution industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Food Donation needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Strategy & Execution industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Food Donation.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Food Donation in the Strategy & Execution sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Food Donation with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Food Donation business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Food Donation Connection: Profitably Scaling Food Waste Reduction is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Food Donation needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
