Food Donation Corporation: Business Consultancy Report Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Food Donation Corporation (FDC), an innovative for-profit organization acting as an intermediary between food donors and charities. The report identifies key problems, including challenges in sourcing food, fluctuating resource flows, ensuring food quality, and matching charity requirements. It also examines issues related to foreign market expansion and the impact of government regulations on profitability. The analysis utilizes theories such as liberalism in globalization and Porter's competitive advantages to evaluate the issues. The report concludes by highlighting the role of a business consultant in identifying viable revenue streams and strategic approaches to address the identified challenges. The report also discusses career opportunities in the field of business consultancy related to food donation and waste reduction.

Running head: BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
Business consultancy
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
Introduction
Innovation and sustainability are the two major ways of gaining competitive advantages
in the current business scenario. This is due to the reason that in the current business scenario,
each of the business segments is highly competitive and saturated in nature. In this case, it is
important for the business entities to take the innovative approach in getting the maximum
benefits from the existing industry trends. In addition, it is also important to gain the business
sustainability to have the long term business viability. On the other hand, it should also be noted
that identification of the business issues is also an important factor to consider for the
organizations in order to stay immune in the industry (Sahut and Peris-Ortiz 2014). Food
Donation Corporation is an innovative and one of the kinds for profit organization operating in
Knoxville since 2014. They are acting as the intermediary between the food donors and the
charities. Thus, profit maximization as well as meeting the hunger issue in the society is helping
Food Donation Corporation to stay relevant in the market. Even though they are earning profit
from their business operation, still they are being assumed as a social organization due to their
social business approach (Boons and Ludeke-Freund 2013).
This paper will discuss about major problems identified from the given case study
regarding Food Donation Corporation. In addition, different theories will be used to identify and
analyze the key issues for them. Lastly, the role of the business consultant in this case will also
be discussed.
Identification of the problems
One of the major problems being identified for Food Donation Corporation is in terms of
their business approach. This is due to the reason that business model of them involves sourcing

2BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
the surplus foods from different restaurants to make them available to the charities. However, the
major challenge in sourcing the foods are that majority of the commercial establishments is
skeptical in using their resources for charities and social work. Thus, without having the
seamless flow of the resources, Food Donation Corporation has to convince each of these
restaurants for allotting their surplus to the charities (Gunders and Bloom 2017). In addition, it is
also identified that the flow of the resources is not homogenous and similar at all the time for
Food Donation Corporation. This is due to the reason that sourcing of the food items is
dependent on the amount to be wasted in the restaurants. Hence, it is not fixed and fluctuating in
day to day basis. Moreover, majority of the restaurants operate in such as way that the wastes
will be minimal. Thus, it is difficult and challenging for Food Donation Corporation to source
the desired amount of food resources. It is also difficult for them to ensure the quality of the food
items due to the fact that quality control is not in the hand of Food Donation Corporation. This
can be concluded that the business model of Food Donation Corporation is heavily dependent on
the external partners (Gazley and Abner 2014).
It is also getting difficult for Food Donation Corporation to have the access to right sets
of charities. This is due to the fact that different charities are having different sets of
requirements and that may be other than the food items. Hence, Food Donation Corporation has
to work on matching the requirement of the charities to that of the surplus of the restaurants.
Another major problem for Food Donation Corporation is regarding their foreign market
operation (Lipinski et al. 2013). As of now, they are operating in the United States only.
However, considering the huge opportunities in the market of the United Kingdom, they have
decided to enter the market. In this case, the major problem for them is to review the market
condition. This is due to the reason that they have to establish their business model from zero in

3BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
the United Kingdom and review the availability of their desired ranges of restaurants and
charities. This is also very much being determined by the cultural factors because cultural
aspects of the society will influence the social acceptance towards the concept of food donations.
On the other hand, it will require a good amount of capital in entering in the United Kingdom
because even though they will get the tax benefits for their business models but investment is
required in establishing their operation in the country (De Boeck et al. 2017).
They will also face problems in regards to their international business. This is due to the
reason that even if they are having their presence in different countries across the world, business
should be driven by respective subsidiaries as it is not possible to trade the surplus food items
between countries or regions. Thus, the business opportunities for Food Donation Corporation
will be limited even if they are having extensive presence across the world. This problem of
them is based on their business model and can be considered as business level or corporate level
problem. The profitability of Food Donation Corporation is highly dependent on the tax
exemptions of the government for social causes. Thus, changes in the regulations and taxation
rates will affect their profitability (Thyberg and Tonjes 2016). For instance, if the tax advantages
get reduced for food donation concepts, then the business potentiality for Food Donation
Corporation will also get reduced as less number of restaurants will be interested in food
donations. There are number of incidents being identified where it is seen that different retail
chains and restaurants are having their own integration with charities for donations of the surplus
foods. These restaurants will not get attracted with the business model of Food Donation
Corporation. Thus, it can be concluded that with the increase in this trend, Food Donation
Corporation will find it difficult to tap the newer sources (Dou et al. 2016).

4BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
Analysis of the issues
In the above section, there are number of problems are being identified for Food
Donation Corporation. However, it is also important to analyze and evaluate these issues on the
basis of different theories. This will help in having an understanding regarding the extent of
impact to these issues to the business in the long term. According to the theory of liberalism in
globalization, modernization will get succeeded with having the common human desires for
economic welfare (Finnis 2017). In addition, with the availability of the common sets of
technologies and political scenario, global expansion will be more effective. However, in the
case of Food Donation Corporation, extensive expansion is not possible due to the reason that
they are not having common human desires and political factors. Social preferences towards the
concept of food donations are not at the same level across all the countries and thus it will be
difficult for Food Donation Corporation to expand their business in different regions. Moreover,
the provision of homogenous political factors across the host countries is also not applicable for
Food Donation Corporation due to the reason that different countries are having different sets of
regulations towards the concept of food donations (Sleat 2016). Thus, according to the theory of
liberalism, Food Donation Corporation is facing problems in terms of expanding their business
beyond their home country.
In order to be viable in the current competitive business scenario, it is important for the
business organizations to stay competitive over others. According to the porter model of
competitive advantages, three strategies namely cost leadership; differentiation and focus is the
key in gaining competitive advantages in the market. However, in the case of Food Donation
Corporation, cost leadership is not applicable due to the reason that they are operating in the
social welfare sector and profitability of them is dependent on the tax incentives from

5BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
government. Thus, Food Donation Corporation is not having the competitive advantages in terms
of cost leadership.
In terms of differentiation, Food Donation Corporation is having the advantage of
innovative approach of doing business by donating food to the charities. However, this
advantage of them is having limited impact due to the reason that this business model will not be
effective in all the political scenarios across the world. For instance, they will face challenge in
following this business model in the communist countries such as China, where all the social
welfare activities are being governed by the authorities (Zehir, Can and Karaboga 2015). Thus, it
can be concluded that Food Donation Corporation is having limited advantages in terms of
differentiation in their business operation. In terms of the market focus, Food Donation
Corporation cannot have specific focus on a particular audience. This is due to the reason that
charities working across different groups are having the need for food donations. Hence, it is
difficult for Food Donation Corporation to identify the certain target groups for allocating the
food from a particular source. It is also very much difficult for the Food Donation Corporation to
identify the specific needs of a particular social group and allocate food items accordingly as the
entire business model of them is subject to availability.
It is identified that Market intermediary model is the most suitable model being followed
by the Food Donation Corporation. Under this model, they are helping the charities in getting the
access to the different donors and thus acting as the intermediary in between. However,
according to this business model, Food Donation Corporation should gain their profits from the
charities, which is not the case. Instead they are depending on the tax incentives to be gained
from the government by working for social causes. Thus, it can be concluded that the business

6BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
model of Food Donation Corporation is not viable enough for the long term with no proper and
sustainable source of revenue stated.
Role of a business consultant
In view to the given scenario, the major objective of the business consultants will be to
identify a viable revenue stream for the Food Donation Corporation. This is due to the reason
that as per the case study, Food Donation Corporation is having huge business opportunities left
in their home country itself. Thus, the only major challenge they are facing is having a seamless
revenue stream. Thus, it is responsibility of the business consultant to determine different
potential business models for Food Donation Corporation and recommend an effective revenue
stream, which will increase their long term business viability. In addition, business consultants
should also aware about the potential changes in the external factors design their business
strategies and approaches accordingly. They should play the role of driving Food Donation
Corporation through the organizational challenges and making it more profitable.
Conclusion
This can be concluded that there are number of issues being faced by the Food Donation
Corporation in their business operation. Some of these challenges are being identified in this
paper and the major challenge for them is lack of proper revenue stream. This paper identified
and evaluated number of issues for Food Donation Corporation with the help of different theories
and models. In addition, the role of the business consultants in view to these challenges is also
identified in this paper.

7BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
PART: 2
In view to the business scenario of the Food Donation Corporation, it can be concluded
that there are number of career opportunities can get emerged in the next few years (McAlpine,
Amundsen and Turner 2014). With the increase in the trend for donating food across the world,
demand for the business consultants in reviewing the business viabilities will get increased
(Banai and Tulimieri 2013). In the case of the Food Donation Corporation, they have planned for
foreign expansion and thus will require number of designations with different skills in different
subsidiaries. Career opportunities for the legal experts will also increase as legal aspects are
relevant with the business of Food Donation Corporation (Spiess et al. 2014). Sales executives
will also witness increase in demand as they will be required for sourcing out the leads across the
regions. The entire business model will depend on the effectiveness of the sales executives in
searching out for new opportunities (Olivier, Hunt and Ridde 2016). Food Donation Corporation
in particular will have more need for the sales executives in tapping the huge untapped
opportunities still remains in the United States (Batti 2013). Thus, it can be concluded that there
are different career opportunities are going with emerge within this industry and particularly
within Food Donation Corporation.

8BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
Reference
Banai, M. and Tulimieri, P., 2013. Knowledge, skills and personality of the effective business
consultant. Journal of Management Development, 32(8), pp.886-900.
Batti, R.C., 2013. Human resource management challenges facing local
NGOs. Technology, 2(4).
Boons, F. and Lüdeke-Freund, F., 2013. Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of-
the-art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner production, 45, pp.9-19.
De Boeck, E., Jacxsens, L., Goubert, H. and Uyttendaele, M., 2017. Ensuring food safety in food
donations: Case study of the Belgian donation/acceptation chain. Food research
international, 100, pp.137-149.
Dou, Z., Ferguson, J.D., Galligan, D.T., Kelly, A.M., Finn, S.M. and Giegengack, R., 2016.
Assessing US food wastage and opportunities for reduction. Global Food Security, 8, pp.19-26.
Finnis, J., 2017. Liberalism and Natural Law Theory. In Thomas Aquinas (pp. 139-156).
Routledge.
Gazley, B. and Abner, G., 2014. Evaluating a product donation program: Challenges for
charitable capacity. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 24(3), pp.337-355.
Gunders, D. and Bloom, J., 2017. Wasted: How America is losing up to 40 percent of its food
from farm to fork to landfill. New York: Natural Resources Defense Council.
Lipinski, B., Hanson, C., Lomax, J., Kitinoja, L., Waite, R. and Searchinger, T., 2013. Reducing
food loss and waste. World Resources Institute Working Paper, pp.1-40.

9BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
McAlpine, L., Amundsen, C. and Turner, G., 2014. Identity‐trajectory: Reframing early career
academic experience. British Educational Research Journal, 40(6), pp.952-969.
Olivier, C., Hunt, M.R. and Ridde, V., 2016. NGO–researcher partnerships in global health
research: benefits, challenges, and approaches that promote success. Development in
Practice, 26(4), pp.444-455.
Sahut, J.M. and Peris-Ortiz, M., 2014. Small business, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Small
Business Economics, 42(4), pp.663-668.
Sleat, M., 2016. Realism, liberalism and non-ideal theory or, are there two ways to do realistic
political theory?. Political Studies, 64(1), pp.27-41.
Spiess, J., T'Joens, Y., Dragnea, R., Spencer, P. and Philippart, L., 2014. Using big data to
improve customer experience and business performance. Bell labs technical journal, 18(4), pp.3-
17.
Thyberg, K.L. and Tonjes, D.J., 2016. Drivers of food waste and their implications for
sustainable policy development. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 106, pp.110-123.
Zehir, C., Can, E. and Karaboga, T., 2015. Linking entrepreneurial orientation to firm
performance: the role of differentiation strategy and innovation performance. Procedia-Social
and Behavioral Sciences, 210, pp.358-367.

10BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
Exhibit
Fig: 1 (region wise classification of food waste)

11BUSINESS CONSULTANCY
Figure:2 (food wastage in the US)