Major food services company

How we helped

• Digital Innovation
• Consumer Products
• Retail

One of the largest providers of food and food-related products and services in North America was under intense pressure to improve shareholder returns. The company had strong market penetration of small and medium-sized independent stores, and an advantageous product assortment. But survey feedback showed that customers found the digital portals fragmented and outdated. New "born-digital" entrants to the industry threatened to siphon off business.

The AlixPartners team quickly diagnosed the customer pain points and opportunities via detailed customer research. Within three months, we designed a completely new end-state customer experience, which we validated with customers via usability testing with clickable prototypes. We developed a full roadmap to deliver a best-in-class experience, including business enablers such as relevant product recommendations, transparent claims processing, and a real-time order tracker.
 
AlixPartners and the client then shifted into implementation mode, and within four months the first release was ready for launch, including all core functions. The first release included generative-AI-enabled enhanced product images and descriptions, since incomplete product information was a noted pain point based upon the customer research.
 
Within six months of the launch of the first release, weekly order value had grown by over 25% from prior year actuals, with a projected $2.5 billion projected platform value by end of year three based upon increased capabilities, as well as expansion to additional customer segments.