How might we reimagine Altius's food collection and distribution infrastructure?
2 proposed solutions, including a prototype stemmed from ecosystem and resource analysis
Our first-choice solution got funding to be implemented all across Spain, with the potential to be implemented in Latin America in the future
Role
Business and innovation consultant: Current landscape, flows, wireframes, mockups, and prototypes. Current situation analysis and ecosystem mapping
Team of 4 with backgrounds in finance, technology, product management, and real estate
3 months
Fundación Altius (FA) is a NGO that focuses on helping under-served communities (majority being immigrant populations from Latin America, Africa, and Asia). They focus on resources for employment and providing food.
At the core of their food-related programs is the food recycling system that collects, stores, and distributes food to individuals and families. Currently, they feed over 600 families
We decided to focus on their food recycling program, since the other two programs rely on food from the food recycling program
FA collects food from food banks, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, etc.
Immediate Problem
Their main donor is El Corte Inglés, the largest department store group in Europe (third largest worldwide). El Corte Inglés is also Spain's only remaining department store chain Funding for the transportation (driver salary, insurance and gas) of the food comes from subventions and subsidies, either from the government or private sponsors
Gathered from a series of interviews, secondary research, and contextual analysis
Scaling
As the number of partners grow, the organization is struggling collect the increasing amount of food
Needs capacity to grow partnerships, capital, resources, and volume
Logistics
Altius and retailers need to coordinate on both load capacity and times for pickup
Needs a way to schedule, locate, route, weight, and transport food
Inventory Management
Once the items have been transported, they must be recorded and stored appropriately
Needs to track expiration dates per regulations and manage storage space
An app that would connect food collection partners and volunteers directly so that they can communicate. FA can track all parties and have a record of food collections and deliveries. This would utilize existing resources within the constraints of cost and capital
This app, paired with a written report and financial analysis, got funding to be implemented all across Spain, with the potential to be implemented and expanded in Latin America in the future.
If funding goals can not be achieved, there is another route they may choose
We recommended:
An online platform (app or web) paired with an inventory management system would help scale operations while simultaneously increasing capacity to feed more families
Together they would be user-friendly, dynamic, and effective
Next steps: Food quantity prediction algorithm to improve operational efficiency, a way to collect money to maximize the project's positive output, and a bonus program for volunteers to get deals from retail partners to provide incentive, minimize possible fraudulent actions, and attract more customers to partner organizations
