Just in France, 14% of food waste comes from food retailers and their malfunctions dealing with the short-dated or damaged products.
The retail industry is at a turning point and distributors need to reinvent their model. This transformation goes by strengthening their anti-waste strategy. It must become a commitment. And for that, it needs a committed and convinced C-level to lead this change.
The retail industry: a complete paradox
It is an era of challenge for food retailers, where consumers are more than ever engaged in ecological battles but are limited by an even tighter budget: it’s the price at any price.
At the same time, retailers are looking for new leverage of profits to be competitive while they lose money every day by not dealing with their short-dated products. What a paradox!
On one-hand, an awakening of ecological consciousness from consumers and the need to lower prices for low-income households. On the other hand, stores are still throwing away massive quantities of products that would still be good to consume without any threat to health, and many of them appear to be humanly and technically incapable of coping with the management of out-of-date products.
Finally, they end up throwing away as much as they earn!
Philippe Brochard, former CEO of Auchan France, perfectly illustrates the challenge for retailers:
“They have to reconcile the power to act and the purchasing power.
Do we still have the choice and the time not to accept a transition, an evolution in our consumption pattern?”
To make this fight a commitment, C-level have to play a major role
Driving change needs a leader. Tackling food waste isn’t “just a solution” decision makers set up in shelves. It is a real implementation of change they decide to lead. It is a transformation of stores for which they get ready. Through their fight against food waste, they can reinvent their retail model. And only a C-level, accompanied by an Executive Committee as convinced as he is, can lead its whole firm to success.
Resistance to change may be present. Adoption can be affected by a lack of communication. Employees can react differently to change projects. So, to transform their stores with confidence, C-levels have to breathe this wind of change into their company and convey their determination in this project at every level, to inspire all their teams and get them on board.
An authority figure is required to manage this transformation project throughout the company. While the management team’s relays are essential to carry the new vision forward, it’s up to the Executive Committee to be the leaders, to be willing to question what already exists and to demonstrate its commitment.
To drive change, C-level need to act new processes and move to a new firm culture
Being a committed retailer goes by new processes, integrated at all levels of the organization and ensuring harmonization, consistency, operational efficiency and a greater involvement of people. Processes and technology are the catalysts for change used by companies that play a major role in the food value chain.
But again, it must start from the top to convince people that this path is the better way to work now.
What new processes from a leader bring?
- Consistency: with clear strategies and processes to answer new challenges in the retail sector.
- Harmonization: thanks to automation and common organization.
- Meaning: by allowing all employees to get involved and deal with a very important subject of which they can be proud.
- Time saving: by implementing AI technology to reinvent the employees routine, who can focus on other tasks.
- Operational efficiency: as innovation helps teams to fight against food waste and bring sense to their work.
- Involvement: by making performance available for everyone with upgraded processes.
Digitizing the fight against food waste also means creating a new corporate culture. While reinventing employees routine, the management is proposing a global redefinition of the anti-waste gesture to its teams. This is a transformation for sustainable growth that C-level must lead.
Refining anti-waste gesture is about capturing value, ensuring it becomes a positive and integral part of employees routines. By fostering a culture of responsibility, retail management can embrace new and effective ways of working that tackle food waste head-on.
To sum-up, the C-level is the key to a successful anti-waste strategye
Taking the decision to change is a complex road, full of challenges for the retail executives: already too many projects to lead, people resistant to change, no project of this scale undertaken before…
But to close the food waste gap, it is imperative that this wind of change comes from the top management. It is a C-level subject as the impacts of such a transformation affect every part of the organization (vision, finance, people, working methods…)
Why?
- It concerns the firms’ culture
How will people commit to new intern values? - It embarks all decision makers
How can they all be convinced to target a common objective? - It is a data revolution
How will teams deal with much finer analysis of all the factors contributing to food waste and its consequences? - It impacts the heart of the business
How will the income statement be positively impacted thanks to the digitalization of anti-waste? - It means new processes are implemented
To optimize automation and harmonization, how can they be integrated by all teams? - It puts employees in first line
How to ensure the embedding of a new professional gesture of anti-waste?
C-levels retailers, ready to discuss it more with Smartway? Contact one of our experts!