The Value Of Analytics For Your Organic Food Delivery Business

For those of you that don’t understand the organic food delivery industry very well, I have to tell you that margins are small and tremendously difficult to manage. Produce cost rise and fall faster than the stock market, and if you’re not on top of your money then you’re leaving a lot out there to risk.

You need to know in minutes where you are so that adjustments can be made for the following week’s deliveries. Online Grocer Solutions can tell you sales numbers within seconds, broken down by the various promotion codes or various acquisition channels. Starting your organic food delivery service is not an easy task, so why make it more difficult by not having the right tools at your finger tips. How much value do you think there is in knowing you need exactly 87 organic fuji apples on Tuesday? That probably varies by person, but I’ll tell you one thing, when apples are $100 a case, you don’t want to guess how many you need.

What about the basics of knowing how many deliveries are forecasted for next week, or the week after that? I’ve seen businesses where they can’t answer basic questions like this. How can you possibly manage your business effectively without this information? How do you plan for deliveries? How do you plan to fill boxes? Do you simply order a pile of stuff and hope you get it right? If you order too much you’re throwing money in the garbage because of spoilage. If you don’t order enough you risk customer satisfaction (super critical in my opinion).

My point is this, there is always going to be some amount of guess work when you own and manage your own business, but why does everything need to be a guess? Quick answer, it doesn’t with OGS. In the words of the great Jerry Maguire…”Let me, help you”.

Talk to you soon…

Farewell to 2011

I have to say this was an exciting year for me, both professionally and personally. On the personal side, my family had our third child, but our first son on October 14^th. He shares this day with the likes of Usher and Dwight Eisenhower, so if history has any say on his future he could be the greatest dancing general in the history of mankind. Either way, we were ecstatic to welcome him to the family and pray the future is bright and full of opportunity for all our children.

Professionally, I now have the unfortunate understanding of the hurdles faced by business owners. Starting our business has been a gruelling task of dealing with vendors, keeping customers satisfied, modifying ideas, and streamlining processes. In the corporate world I never got in to the weeds of day to day operations, but with the start of our food delivery service I had no choice. We had a vision, and through all the peeks and valleys we faced, that hasn’t changed. With that in mind, I would say that 2011 was a success.

One of our key success factors to 2011 was definitely the application we built to manage our business and drive sales. It was a heavy investment but I could not find anything in the market that could do what I felt was necessary for us to be successful. It enabled us to understand what was working, and what was failing. It gave us the information we needed to react in hours or days, not weeks or months, and as you are all are aware, time is money. Therefore, compressing reaction times had incredible value.

Albert Einstein said “Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value” and I truly live by that. I believe that the value of OGS will drive us both to success, so please come back and read future posts on how OGS can help you drive your business.

Our Company

With over 11 years of strategic consulting experience at some of the largest companies in the world, we bring world class expertise to small businesses with small budgets. We specialize in process improvement and simplification, using various technologies with a heavy focus on customer service. After all, without customers a business has nothing.

Online Grocer Solutions began in late 2010 over coffee. Friends of mine wanted some advice on how they could operate an organic food delivery service with minimal workforce, without impacting customers or quality. The solution was simple, “You need to use technology to manage customers, drive sales, and facilitate process. Process will drive consistency, consistency brings efficiency, and efficiency builds capacity. Capacity is what you need to drive sales and build your business.”

This is big business thinking for sure, but why should only large corporations apply this type of rigor to the day to day operations? Small business is big business to small business owners. We’ve developed an application that allows small businesses to change and adapt quickly and by utilizing marketing tools and strategies that no other solution can provide.

With OGS, you’re not just buying software; You’re getting a partner that wants you to succeed and will be there to help you grow.