| | Value Chains- Where Business Vision and Reality Meet
Laura Lee Billings, Leader, Value Chain Initiative, Agriculture and Food Council
Business leaders are reshaping what is important to their companies. William Taylor, founding editor for Fast Company, predicts it won’t be enough for businesses just to offer features, higher quality and lower cost. In the past, companies competed by pitting product against product, whereas in the future, Taylor predicts companies will compete value system against value system. Values will be the primary driver for successful business strategies now and into the future. Leading companies successfully using this approach include:
- ING Direct’s “Leading America Back to Savings.”
- Southwest Airlines’ “Making it Possible for the Average Person to Fly.”
- Chipotle Restaurants’ “Food with Integrity”
Customers only buy into corporate value claims when the values embody a real sense of purpose that drives the company’s business strategy. This is where your business vision and consumer reality meetif you can’t back up your claim, then the consumer walks away.
How are these companies aligning their vision to meet this potential? In the case of Chipotle Restaurants, their brand promise is validated through their value chain approach. Chipotle works closely with Nieman Ranch to carefully select food processors and farmers who are capable of implementing systems that ensure superior flavor; ethical production practices, environmentally sound land stewardship practices and guaranteed supply.
This is just one reason why food processors and manufacturers attending Global Links, an international value chain conference in Calgary, demonstrated such keen interest in using a value chain approach. Value chain strategies allows these exemplary companies to:
- Reduce supply chain bottlenecks
- Reduce costs through reducing variability of supply
- Introduce new product innovations more quickly
- Manage risk of new product innovation by gaining retailers commitment early in the product innovation process
- Improve demand forecasting
- Prepare for consumer experiences expected in the future
- Guarantee validity of credence claims
Chipotle Restaurants promotes their value proposition: “We know exactly where our pork comes from.” In value chains, genetic companies, farmers, processors and marketing companies plan cooperatively to find new ways to add value for the consumer through features such as regional cuisine, superior flavor profiles, streams of new product innovations or transparency of the source and growing conditions of products. Increasingly, value system strategies are becoming the key to satisfying consumer demands. Companies working closer and smarter are the new market leaders driving growth and innovation.
Learn more about value chains on the Value Chain Initiative section of the Ag & Food council website http://www.agfoodcouncil.com/serve/chainindex.html
Breaking News… Dairy Ingredient Funding Program Now Available In Alberta
Alberta food processors will now be able to benefit from 2 new funding programs offered by the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) with technical expertise provided by food scientists at the Leduc Food Processing Development Centre (FPDC). Available funds will encourage food and dairy companies to develop new healthier and innovative products and packaging utilizing dairy ingredients. CDC’s Direct Access Fund will allow companies to seek expert advice directly from FPDC for up to 7.5 hours of free consultation on a specific project. If a company requires additional technical advice in excess of 7.5 hours, the CDC may elect to share the costs associated with the additional consultation(s) up to a maximum contribution of $1,500. The Innovation Support Fund is available for developing new and re-formulated dairy products/ components and further processed products that utilize milk or milk ingredients. The Fund provides support of up to 75% of a project’s cost, to a maximum of $25,000.
For more details, contact: Jacqueline Martin-Lopez, FPDC at 780-980-4867 or Shana Bailey, CDC at 1-866-366-0676.
Need to speak to an agri-processing specialist? Start by contacting the Agri-Processing Branch
780-427-7325 Fax:780-644-2400
(Dial 310-0000 for toll-free access)
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