Analysis of Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods is one of the leading companies in the food industry in the United Kingdom. The paper demonstrates how the company can utilize the EFQM model to achieve excellence. Any organization needs to search for room for improvement. Additionally, it can identify strengths and capitalize on them.
Introducing new products through a method such as acquisition is a crucial step in driving business growth. The firm in discussion has various resources that many smaller firms do not typically own. This is an area where the organization has been seen to take advantage of in the past, as it has acquired other brands and produces different products in other countries. As this increases the variety of items they offer consumers, it guarantees easier expansion into external territories.
EFQM Business Excellence Model and Theory
Engaging Stakeholders
Sustainable relationships with both partners and suppliers can be built within a company when the management focuses on various strategies. Having a great supplier as part of the business improves efficiency and customer service. One approach management can take is to select individuals who align with the organization’s values and goals. If they consider customer service essential, choosing partners or suppliers who understand its importance is vital.
It is crucial for maintaining good customer relations that any product, material, or service supplied to clients has a warranty or return policy that aligns with the company’s (de Menezes et al., 2022). It is similar to personal associations, where it is challenging to maintain a connection with people who hold different core values (de Menezes et al., 2022). When selecting suppliers and partners, companies are advised to consider their ethics, reputation, and market positioning.
Another strategy to utilize is examining the needs of your partner or suppliers. Specific questions are essential, such as what might be important to them or whether they require the company to follow a particular procedure or complete paperwork in a specific manner. It is considered good practice for management to respect how their partners or suppliers conduct themselves, making it easier for them to adhere to timelines and processes (Facchini et al., 2018). It is recommended that they be able to receive what they require at the right time. For instance, the suppliers may need certificates, insurance, purchase order numbers, or business information.
Thirdly, the company needs to be a good customer to the suppliers. In this case, Associated British Foods can utilize its customers’ data to understand what they enjoy or appreciate, and then apply the same approach to its suppliers (Facchini et al., 2018). For instance, paying on time and keeping accurate records ensures the company does not waste suppliers’ time by requiring them to resend anything.
In the same manner that management goes the extra mile to check in with great customers, suppliers will act similarly to great clients. One can use monetary incentives to establish a long-term relationship with the suppliers by placing some deposits in the goodwill bank. Lastly, maintaining constant communication with partners and suppliers solidifies the existing relationship and turns it into a long-term and sustainable one.
Creating Sustainable Value
An exceptional organization identifies that creating sustainable value is essential for its long-term success and financial strength. There are various processes through which value can be delivered, including discovery, alignment, establishing priorities, implementation, and adaptation (Fonseca, 2022). In the discovery stage, it is crucial to ask questions, some of which may be confrontational. For example, a company can decide to seek answers to questions such as the story behind the business, the purpose, drive, and specific traits of the sector or country. The first phase offers the foundation for every subsequent stage.
In the alignment stage, it is essential to recognize and understand the characteristics of various stakeholders, including partners and suppliers, that contribute to the business’s success. A stakeholder is an individual, company, or organization with a vested interest in the business and can either impact or be influenced by the firm’s operations and performance (Manning et al., 2020). These can be both internal and external to the company. By seeking answers to critical questions, one identifies areas and opportunities where all the stakeholders can work in unison to create sustainable practices and aligned projects.
Establishing priorities can be more difficult than other processes or stages. One needs to analyze and prioritize the broad actions taken to ensure effective participation in sustainability. It is vital to consider the close interaction between sustainability and commercial strategy and objectives (Murthy et al., 2021).
The first focus needs to be on alternatives with a high win-win element. The management has the obligation to check the local and international frameworks, standards, and legislation. The actions should deliver a positive commercial effect for the company and the selected areas of sustainability (Murthy et al., 2021).
The three steps will offer any organization three sets of data, including the company’s purpose, corporate DNA, and processes that impact performance. Others include the association with all stakeholders and opportunities for successful collaboration, the formal playing field, and the context within which the firm can operate, allowing the execution of a strategy for commercial success in sustainability.
The fourth process is implementation, which requires companies or their management to be sensitive to the problems of their employees’ daily commercial operations. According to the data collected from the first three processes, employees must identify actions that can fast-track the company’s path to sustainability. It is recommended that one collaborates with the workforce to compile all relevant information into a comprehensive working document that outlines actions, objectives, responsibilities, and deadlines. Additionally, they can ensure that the implementation stage is conducted with less interference in the staff’s tasks. Otherwise, it could lower acceptance of the business’s good intentions.
The final process involves a phase of observation, learning, and adaptation. At this stage, the company should help employees consider sustainability from a different perspective. By assisting them in looking, learning, and adapting, they can embed a strategy in which the workforce will create its heritage about sustainability. All efforts must be directed sensitively to collaborate and achieve continuous success, with commerce and sustainability interconnected.
Driving Performance & Transformation
Now and in the future, an organization must simultaneously meet two essential requirements: performance and transformation, to become and remain successful. For instance, Associated British Foods can achieve this by developing new products for its customers and leveraging advances in technology to enhance its operations. Like many other food industry companies, Associated British Foods develops new products for customers in various ways. This could be achieved through internal research and process development, or through acquisition. In the first process, the organization studies an idea by conducting a detailed analysis and identifying the targeted market. The next step is creating a prototype of what the final piece is expected to look like.
Testing is done by involving individuals from the targeted audience or regular customers. If the feedback is positive, they develop marketing strategies and plans for the item and launch it (Zapletalová, 2022). For the acquisition case, it is safe to state that the more prominent a firm is, the easier it becomes to access technology and other resources that smaller firms cannot. This is an advantage as it can integrate that into its product line. A business that takes an active approach to product development has more resources and is willing to take risks, as its efforts are not guaranteed to yield a return on investment. However, the profit margins possibly created by the new item can be significant (Zapletalová, 2022).
Informed by its experience expanding into the bakery ingredients market in the United Kingdom, Associated British Foods entered the United States market. It completed numerous acquisitions, including ABITEC Corporation and AC Humko.
The Associated British Foods is divided into various divisions: sugar, retail, agriculture, grocery, and ingredients. It strives to maintain a sustainable and robust leading position in the market. It aims to grow by offering exceptional customer service backed by a high level of investment in technology, research, innovation, and development (Zapletalová, 2022). One significant innovation the firm utilizes is offset printing, which enables more sustainable packaging production. To improve the situation, a large manufacturer has commissioned experts from its novel research institute to develop new packaging types for food.
Justification and RADAR Application of Supply Chain/Operations Strategy
I recommend that Associated British Foods adopt the agile supply chain strategy to ensure business excellence. This strategy mainly focuses on receptiveness and flexibility. It responds more quickly to changes in demand, industry, and consumer preferences (Alzoubi & Yanamandra, 2020). It is designed to handle market unpredictability through postponement. This refers to waiting to see what the buyers dictate before completing production (Alzoubi & Yanamandra, 2020).
In today’s high-speed and global market, most organizations are opting for the adaptability of an agile supply chain. In 2015, McKinsey and Company detailed that an agile chain was, by and large, more viable for the majority of top organizations (Oka et al., 2020). With this type of supply chain, a company waits to observe the demand before developing a final product. Therefore, it allows firms to respond directly to demand rather than making predictions.
Some market forecasting remains essential, as product parts are developed early to ensure the final procedure is quick and efficient. Agility balances updated information with short-term projections (Centobelli et al., 2020). Supply chains are typically used for products with short life cycles or those with customizable elements. For example, fashion changes fast in today’s social media culture (Centobelli et al., 2020). Thus, production needs to be organized to remain relevant to emerging trends. There needs to be flexibility and efficiency to get the product on the shelves and to reach consumers before another pattern arises.
Strong partnerships and supplier interaction ensure that the agile supply chain strategy is effective. If collaboration does not exist, products will not be produced as fast and efficiently as an agile chain aims. This type of supply chain typically incurs less warehousing expenditure (Ciccullo et al., 2018). At this point, the company is not in a position to hold significant inventory to meet the demand. Instead, demand arises, and supply is created to meet the demand (Ciccullo et al., 2018), unlike the lean strategy, which focuses on maintaining a minimal inventory level to sustain potential demand.
RADAR Framework
According to the RADAR framework, there are specific questions that can be used as checkpoints when recommending a particular strategy. For instance, the concept has established that rationality is essential. An idea can be valid based on sound reasoning or a thorough presentation of evidence. In the case of agile, as mentioned earlier, there is proof about its application in supply chain management. The next step is to verify the authority, which determines whether sources are available to authenticate the data on the new idea. The paper has demonstrated this to be the case, as evidenced by various sources.
Next is the point at which the date is assessed to determine whether the information is updated or outdated. Current statistics about an approach are important as they offer a guide to something tried recently. Other criteria include accuracy and relevance, whereby the available data is evaluated to determine if it is correct and relevant. With the measure determined by the RADAR framework, it is evident that the agile strategy recommendation qualifies for the business excellence of Associated British Foods.
References
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Centobelli, P., Cerchione, R., & Ertz, M. (2020). Agile supply chain management: where did it come from and where will it go in the era of digital transformation? Industrial Marketing Management, 90, 324-345. Web.
Ciccullo, F., Pero, M., Caridi, M., Gosling, J., & Purvis, L. (2018). Integrating the environmental and social sustainability pillars into the lean and agile supply chain management paradigms: A literature review and future research directions. Journal of cleaner production, 172, 2336-2350. Web.
de Menezes, L. M., Escrig-Tena, A. B., & Bou-Llusar, J. C. (2022). Sustainability and quality management: Has EFQM fostered a sustainability orientation that delivers to stakeholders? International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 42(13), 155-184. Web.
Facchini, E., Iacovidou, E., Gronow, J., & Voulvoulis, N. (2018). Food flows in the United Kingdom: The potential of surplus food redistribution to reduce waste. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 68(9), 887-899. Web.
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Murthy, M. N., Sangwan, K. S., & Narahari, N. S. (2021). Tracing evolution of EFQM and its relationship with Industry 4.0. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 1-40. Web.
Oka, C., Egels‐Zandén, N., & Alexander, R. (2020). Buyer engagement and labour conditions in global supply chains: The Bangladesh accord and beyond. Development and change, 51(5), 1306-1330. Web.
Zapletalová, Š. (2022). The business excellence models and business strategy. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 1-17. Web.