By Mark Baum, Senior Vice President, Industry Relations, and Chief Collaboration Officer, Food Marketing Institute
For the fourth year, FMI and Oliver Wyman have teamed up to provide thought leadership on the most pressing issues facing the food retail industry. The annual edition of Boardroom takes readers directly into the C-Suite of food retail companies and investigates issues that are top-of-mind while offering insightful ideas to FMI members and those interested in the food industry, from senior executives to new hires, on how to stay at the forefront of demanding issues.
This new edition of Boardroom, our most robust and thought provoking yet, captures what food retailers must do to survive today’s challenges and plan for those of tomorrow. In 2018, FMI worked with members to develop and introduce its emerging issues initiative to support their long-term planning. We brought together a cohesive set of insights on the obstacles retailers will have to overcome in the next few years, making it easier for retailers and their trading partners to plan for their collective and successful future. Many of these emerging issues have been embedded into this year’s Boardroom. Here’s a look at what we’re covering in 2019:
- We start with a forward-looking section on The Future of Retail, delving into how consumer preferences will further disrupt the retail industry and the opportunities that exist with this shift towards an age of information.
- Emerging New Consumerism discusses how consumer tastes will continue to evolve and what it will take for FMI’s membership to meet those demands.
- Artificial intelligence and Workforce explore how retailers can make use of their most important assets to deliver on those demands.
- The New Marketplace reviews the requirements of changing consumer demands, as retailers must adapt the physical store to better suit customers who will increasingly avail themselves of the plethora of channels for food purchases.
- Finally, Food Production investigates what these changes, coupled with the increased globalization and localization of the supply chain, mean for how the industry provides high quality and safe products in a sustainable way.
Below, you will find summary blurbs of each article in this year’s Boardroom, which debuts at the Midwinter Executive Conference and will be available online afterwards. Sign up to receive a periodic digest about the Boardroom chapters right to your inbox:
|
Section |
Content feature |
Summary |
|
Future of Retail |
The Future of Retail |
Consumer preferences are already leading to new ways of retailing. Where is this all heading and what should retailers and consumer goods manufacturers do about it? |
|
Embracing the Information Age |
Boardroom travels to the future. The most successful food retailer in the year 2028 discusses the strategic moves in 2018 that set them up for success. |
|
|
Emerging New Consumerism: Aligning on Value |
How to Turn a Job into a Product |
A new framing of product innovation asks retailers and manufacturers to think not just like designers but ‘job’ applicants looking to perform a service for their customers. |
|
Power of Health & Well-being in Food Retail |
Consumers are changing both their definition of eating healthy and the role they expect the retail and consumer goods industry to play. |
|
|
The More Complex Chicken & Egg Questions |
FMI’s recent research sheds light on just how much consumers really value cage free eggs and slow-growth broiler chickens. |
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Artificial Intelligence & Technology: Integration by Design |
AI Integration - A Better Approach |
Robotics, AI, and Machine Learning offer companies the promise of new capabilities if properly integrated with workforce strategy. |
|
Partnerships Key to Success in the Online Age |
China offers a preview of where e-commerce is heading as partnerships between physical stores and online platforms create omnichannel customer ecosystems. |
|
|
Workforce: Planning for Tomorrow, Today |
Better but Fewer Jobs |
Task automation and robotics will lead to a reduction in jobs in the retail and consumer goods sector, but the remaining jobs will be better in quality and productivity. |
|
Modern Learning in Retail |
Rapid digitalization is forcing retailers to revamp their learning and development programs to meet the challenge of equipping their workforce with the appropriate skills for the digital era. |
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New Marketplace: Changes In-Store |
The Decline of Center Store: Fight or Flight? |
Consumer demands continue to shift away from center store – particularly brick and mortar players. Should the industry yield to the trend or double down on reinvigorating packaged goods? |
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The Future Supermarket |
The supermarket of the future will incorporate technology to inspire customers and give them new reasons to visit brick and mortar stores. |
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Food Production: Monitor, Protect and Lead |
Food Safety Foresights |
Food safety expert Dr. Hilary Thesmar discusses the latest developments in food safety. |
|
Sustainable Retail in Grocery |
Sustainability will become a key competitive advantage for firms that can translate it from corporate messaging into day-to-day decisions. |
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