Reducing waste in food manufacturing

Changing suppliers led to increased costs and decreased customer satisfaction

One of my first priorities was understanding the existing users/customers for the manufacturer. This included an online ethnography where I noted that there was sudden shift in customer satisfaction with one of their manufacturer's main products. Upon further investigation, the client informed me that that was the point at which they had changed suppliers from an overseas supplier to a local one. They revealed that the reason for the decision was the result of believing that customers valued local produce over foreign produce. However, the ethnography and revealed otherwise, showing a stark decrease in customer satisfaction. This highlighted a lack of understanding by the manufacturer of their customers and their values.

High cook times and temperatures led to dry products and customer complaints

Further examples of a dissonance between the client and their understanding of their customers came through in the cook times and temperatures they used for some of their products. They were cooking their products well above the legal requirements (orders of magnitude higher) due to fears of customers complaining about undercooked food when in reality, customers were complaining about dry products and choosing competitors over the client.

The most interesting learning from this project was definitely the difference between what customers actually wanted versus what the clients think they wanted. It was the first project I worked on in which it appeared that the gap in understanding was so significant. As a result, although this project was mostly just an assessment and not a direct implementation of any service design improvements, much of the time was spent speaking with clients and setting up potential activities that could allow them to gain a better understanding of their customers. On reflection, it made me further appreciate the necessity for thorough customer research before the implementation of any service design changes. Particularly, the client could have benefitied from user testing/tasting in to observe if the customers truly valued the new supplier. This is a lesson I will be sure to take through to my next project, identifying real customer pain points through direct interactions, interviews or ethnographies before any finalisation of designs.

‍