Since the pandemic we’ve been seeing the wide swings of the economic pendulum start to slow down and reach stasis, including the food industries that we serve. That slower movement is the perfect opportunity to think, plan, and work towards stability in business, operations, and supply chain.
That leads us to the question, what exactly does stability look like for a food business?
For our foodservice friends that can be focusing on areas such as compliance, labor (which has particularly been volatile), optimization in purchasing and menu, as well as bringing stability to market forces.
What about our retail friends? Stability can be as simple as moving towards a more bullet-proof supply chain with a specific focus on optimization and process.
As always, we know and understand the challenges of the food business as that has been our life work. From that we understand that success in a world of tight margins, volatile markets, unpredictability, and short shelf life means no room for error for procurement, support, and delivery in any type of food business.
For Foodservice
If I were to describe why we suggest fresh cut items for foodservice, it would be stability. The advantage is that you know the exact quantity, quality, and consistency of a shredded lettuce or chopped romaine product and that brings a level of stability in planning, in maintaining brand standards, and very importantly a stable level of safety with the product.
This is just one area where our team builds produce programs in foodservice where stability is a primary benefit. If that is what you are looking for in 2024, reach out, we’d love to help!
For Retail
In the retail sector, we have found that stability comes from focusing on bullet-proof supply chain strategies. This largely comes from consolidation of product in central cooling facilities. This allows for LTL buys, more optimized loads, better rotation with more frequent delivery of fresh items, and the list goes on and on!
Stability often is that driving force when we are looking at building out a consolidation plan for our retail customers. That bullet proof supply chain results in consistency in purchase and less shrink.
For Leadership
What does stability look like for those who are in leadership roles? Recently I was in a coaching class where we learned that you needed to do work on yourself before you can help others. The idea is the same for leadership, if you want stability in the company, its your job to be stable first.
This article in Forbes written by Mike Myatte gives 4 pillars to build stability in a leadership role. For the new year, this is a great place to begin in building stability in yourself so that it translates to stability in the workplace and ultimately in the supply chain.
- True North
- You Play how you Practice
- Lead with Compassion
- Freedom to Fail
