FoodXervices Inc: Recasting the image of a traditional SME through digital transformation

• Main Author: PAN, Gary
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
• Subjects: Leading Change; Resistance to Change; Analytics; Data-driven Decision Making; Growth Strategy; Technology Training; Developing Employees; Accounting
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/415; https://smu.sharepoint.com/sites/admin/CMP/cases/SMU-22-BATCH %5BPDF-Pic%5D/SMU-22-0001 %5BFoodXervices Inc%5D/SMU-22-0001 %5BFoodXervices Inc%5D.pdf?CT=1649643308445&OR=ItemsView
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Set in September 2021, the case traces the digital transformation of FoodXervices Inc, a Singapore SME operating in the food distribution industry. The case essays the challenges faced by Nichol as a leader helming the digital transformation and how the transformation helped the company redefine its value proposition to the stakeholders. To customers, it pivoted from being a distributor to a solution provider; to the labour market, it had become a foodtech company attracting savvy university graduates as employees; to the F&B community, it had become an incubator fostering innovations. However, Nichol wanted more value to justify the company’s investment in digital technology and futuristic application. In addition, she wanted the technology to improve the business metrics by improving sales and margins. By analysing the case, students would learn to 1) overcome the typical challenges faced by SMEs in digital transformation, 2) draft and implement a digital transformation roadmap for SMEs with a clear understanding of how it differs from that of large corporations, 3) foster a data-driven culture to improve business metrics, 4) adopt digital analytics to derive value from digital transformation, and 5) seek alternative sources of growth and innovation through digital transformation.