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Kuli Kuli Operations Plan Report Jaclyn Dab, Supriya Kannan, Justine Keller, Kevin Yang Fall 2017
Kuli Kuli Operations Plan Report
Jaclyn Dab, Supriya Kannan, Justine Keller, Kevin Yang
Fall 2017
Table of ContentsExecutive SummaryKuli Kuli Background MoringaKuli Kuli Company Mission Vision Value Proposition Benefitcorporation Kuli Kuli ProductsCompetition Competitive Analysis Competitive Advantages Competitive LandscapeCurrent Operations Organization ChartOperations StrategyBusiness Model CanvasSupply ChainCurrent Standards Spec Sheet Microbiological Nutritional Organic FarmingProject Challenge Current Supply Position Desired Supply PositionInitiatives Standards Initiative Standards Outcome Supply Chain and Operation Strategy Imitative Supply Chain and Operation Strategy OutcomeSuggested Standards Spec Sheet Microbiological Nutritional Organic FarmingSuggested Supply Chain and Operations Strategy Suggested Operations Strategy Value-Added Vendor Suggested Supply Chain Three Year Operations Plan Benefits Risks Revised Business ModelNext StepsContact InformationTeam
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Executive Summary
KuliKuliisthefirstAmericancompanytobringmoringatotheUSmarket.Moringaisatreewithhighlevelsofantioxidantsandotherbeneficialnutrients.Itwasrecentlynamedthesuperfoodof2018inasegmentonGoodMorningAmerica.
KuliKulisourcesmoringafromregionsinCentralAmerica,SoutheastAsia,andWestAfrica.Theyworkwithfarmerstohelpsourcefairly-traded,highqualitymoringatouseinavarietyofproducts,providingthemwithacompetitiveadvantage.Currently,KuliKulilacksadequatesupplyofmoringathatmeetstheirqualitystandards,sotheyarefacingabottleneckandcannotmeettheircustomerdemand.
KuliKuliseekstoadjusttheirstandardstoincreasethesupplyofmoringaandmeettheirdemand.Wehaveassessedtheexistingstandardsandhaveprovidedrecommendationsonhowtomodifythestandards.
WhileadjustingthestandardswillhelpKuliKulisolvetheirbottleneckintheshortrun,webelievethatthereisstillneedforalong-termsolution.Theyarestillsubjecttospotcontaminationandwerecom-mend that Kuli Kuli overhauls their supply chain to accommodate a value-added vendor to manage the qualityofthemoringa.ThisvendorwouldchangetheirsupplychaintomakesureitmeetsKuliKuli’sstandards,andcleanitpriortosendingittotheUS.ThiswillfreeupKuliKulitofocusontheimprovingthelivelihoodsoftheirfarmersandcommunities.WehaveoutlinedathreeyearplanforKuliKuli’stotransitionintoanewsupplychain.
Background
Kuli Kuli Background
KuliKulibeganafterFounderandCEOLisaCurtisworkedinthePeaceCorpsinNigerandshediscoveredmoringa,ahighnutritionalpowerpowderfromAfrica.Alongwithcoupleofco-founders,sheintroducedthegreenmoringapowdertoUSmarketthroughcrowd-fundingonIndiegogoandraising$53k.They’vegoneontoexpandtheirofferingstohandfulofproducts.
KuliKuliwasthefirstcompanytointroducemoringasuperfoodproductstotheUS.Initially,theyformedwomenfarmingcooperativesinWestAfricatogrowmoringaandimprovelocalnutrition.Theybeganwithwomenfarmingcooperatives,butarenowopentofarmersworld-wide.Byenablingmoringaproductionandpayinggenerouswages,KuliKuliaimstocreateasustainablesolutiontomalnutritionaroundtheworld.Theywanttopromotethelivelihoodofallemployeesandeducatecommunitiesaroundthebenefitsofmoringa.
InJanuary2017,thestartupannouncedithadraised$4.25millioninfundingfromKellogg’sventurefundEighteen94Capital,S2GVenturesandInvestEco,aswellasfromangelinvestors.Withthenewinvestment,thesmallteamofsevenisnowhiringdirectorsofsalesandmarketingtohelpgrowthecompany.
Moringa
Moringaoleifera,alsoknownashorseradishtree,bentree,ordrumsticktree,isasmalltreefromIndia,Pakistan,andNepalandhashealthbenefitsaboveandbeyondothersimilarsuperfoods,suchaskale.Moringaiseatenasavegetableorisgroundintoagreenpowder,havinganappearancelikematcha.Itcontainsnineessentialaminoacids,27vitamins,46antioxidants,andmanyotherminerals.Moringahashighlevelsofprotein,calcium,iron,VitaminCandVitaminA.
Moringaisgrownonafastgrowingtreethatcangrowverylanky.Ithasbeenknowtogrow2.4minjustthreemonths.Itbenefitsfromregularpruningwhenyoungtostimulategrowth,keepitbushyandkeepalltheusablepartswithineasyreach,leavesandbeansforfreshconsumptionordrying,twigsforcuttings,collectionofseedetc.AllpartsoftheMoringatreehavepractical,beneficialuses.Themoringaoleiferaleaveshavebeenusedintraditionalmedicinepasseddownforcenturiesinmanycultures.InAyurvedicMedicine,Moringaissaidtocureorpreventabout300diseases.Themodernscientificcommunityhasbeguntovalidatemanyoftheseclaimswithover1300studies,articlesandpublicationsonMoringa.ThesestudieshavedocumentedthesuccessfuluseofmoringafornutritionalinterventionsinMalawi,Senegal,andIndia,notingitsabilitytobeharvestedyear-roundandforbeingthemostnutritiousfoodlocallyavailable.Asclimatechangemakesrainfallincreasinglyunpredictableforlow-incomefarmersinthedevelopingworld,moringawillbecomeimportantforcommunitiesaroundtheworldtakingcontroloftheirownnutrition.
Kuli Kuli Company
KuliKuliaimstoimprovenutritionandlivelihoodsworldwidethroughmoringa.
Mission
KuliKuliworkswithfair-tradefarmingcooperativesallovertheworldandtocreateaworldwhereeveryonehastheresourcesandknowledgetoaccessthenutritionalpowerofmoringa,whichisabletodriveeconomicgrowth,women’sempowermentandsustainableagriculturaldevelopment.
Vision
KuliKuliprovidesthehighestqualityandmostnutritiousmoringaavailable,aswellasprovidescustomerswithmanydifferentmoringaproducts,thatarenotsoldbycompetitors.KuliKulialsomaintainsacloserelationshipwiththeirfarmers.
Value Proposition
KuliKuliisabenefitcorporation.Asabenefitcorporation,theyarefor-profit,butalsotheyarelegallyboundtotheirsocialmission.Theyareaccountabletoallstakeholders,includingfarmers,aswellastotheirenvironmentalandsocialimpact.KuliKulihassustainabilityandfair-tradestandardsforalloftheirfarms.
Benefit Corporation
KuliKuli’sproductofferingsareallmoringa-based.KuliKuliproductsincludepowder,greens&proteinsmoothiemixes,energyshots,bars,andtea.Theirproductsarecarriedinmorethan6,000storesacrosstheU.S.,includingSafewayandWholeFoods.
Kuli Kuli Products
Competition Analysis
KuliKulifacescompetitionintheUS,Canada,andMexicoformoringapowder,butnotforotherproducts.KuliKulipridesitselfonprovidingthepurest,mostnutrient-densemoringaonthemarket.TheyhavethehighestqualitystandardsinnotonlytheUSMarket,butalsointernationally.
American Competitors KivaMoringaLeafPowder,OrganicIndia,Terrasoul,Maju,OrganicVeda,ZenPrinciple, ZijaMoringa,SunFoods,Aduna,Maran,MoringaforLife,KingMoringa
Mexicain Competitors Moringa Pura
Canadian Competitors Salomen Naturals, Eat Moringa, and Super Leaf
Competitive Advantage
Kuli Kuli has several competitive advantages: FirsttointroducemoringatoUSmarket Highestqualityandmostnutritiousmoringa Multiple product offerings Onlyproducerofplant-basedproteinspowder Onlyproducerofbarswithmoringa
Competitive Landscape
WeusedPorter’sFiveForcestoidentifyKuliKuli’sPositioninthemarketplace.
ThreatofNewEntry:MediumThreatMoringaisadifficultproducttoproduce.Notmanyoutsideofcountriesthatgrowmoringauseit.Whiletheplantgrowsinanumberofplaces,oneneedstheexpertisetoknowhowtoprocessmoringacorrectly.Ifprocessedincorrectly,moringacanmakepeoplesick.MoringaisnotwellknowninAmerica.AsmoringastartstogainmorepopularityinAmerica,thisthreatcouldrise.
Threat of Substitutes: Medium ThreatMoringaisauniqueproduct.Althoughthereareotherprojectsthathaveaddedhealthbenefits,itdoesnotprovideashighofanutrientbenefitasmoringa.Alternativesinthemarketinclude:kale,nutritionalbars,proteinpowders,acai,nutritionalSmoothies.
BargainingPowerofCustomers:LowThreatMoringaisauniqueproduct.Moringaisbecomingmorepopular,especiallyintheAmericas.Customershavefewoptionsforbuyingmoringabarsandproductsotherthanthemoringapowders.KuliKulihasthepowertosetstandards,becausetherearefewotherplacestogetthisproduct.CustomersclearlywantKuliKuliproducts,ifKuliKulicannotkeepupwithdemand,customersmightturntootheralternatives.RightnowKuliKulihasalotofpower,becausecustomerswanttheproductandarewillingtowaitforit.
BargainingPowerofSuppliers:HighThreatKuliKulihasfewoptionsforfarmers,giventheirhighqualitystandards.KuliKulidoesnothaveenoughhighqualitymoringatokeepupwithdemandandarethusveryreliantontheirfarmers.KuliKulicurrentlyworkscloselywithfarmerstoensurequalitycontrolofmoringa.ItisimportantforKuliKulitohaveasteadyincomingofmoringa,andthusareveryreliantontheirfarmers.
IndustryRivalry:LowThreatKuliKulihasonlyafewcompetitors.KuliKulioccupiesauniquepartofthemarket,sinceitproducesmoringaproductsthatothercompetitorsproduct.IndustryrivalrymostlyexistsonlyformoringapowderandKuliKulihasdifferentiateditselfashavingthehighestqualitymoringa.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
FewOptions
Industry RivalryFew
Bargaining Power of Buyers
UniqueProduct
Threat of New EntryUnawareness
Threat of SubstitutesHealthBenefits
Current Position
Current Operations Strategy
KuliKulibringsU.S.consumersthenutritionalpowerofmoringawhilesupportingwomenfarmersinthedevelopingworldtogrowmoremoringa,utilizeitsnutrientslocally,andearnalivelihood.Theyprovideeconomicopportunitiesforthefarmersbysellingthemoringa-basedproductsintheUS.KuliKuli carefully manages their supply chain and they source only a portion of each harvest for Western consumption.Withthesepractices,includingpayingfairwages,KuliKuliaimstoensurethatmoringacontinuestobenefitthosewhoneeditthemost.
KuliKulihasworkedwithWholeFoods,theClintonFoundationandtheHaitianSmallholderFarmersAlliance, to create a moringa enterprise to help reforest deforested parts of the country and provide moringafortheirenergyshots.TheyhavecreditedtheirpartnershipwithWholeFoodsandtheClintonFoundationforhelpingtocreateasociallyandethicallysustainablebusinessmodel.KuliKuliaimstoupholdstandardsofethics,sustainability,andhighqualitythroughouttheiroperationssystems.
LisaCurtis,FounderandCEOhassaidthatthecompanyhasdoubledinsizeeachyearand“wewanttocontinuethatgrowthtrajectorythroughafocusedandaggressivesalesstrategy;compellingmarketingthatcommunicateswhatmoringaisandwhyKuliKulimoringaisthehighestquality;andastellaroperationsteamthatkeepsusalwaysin-stock.”
KuliKuliworkscloselywiththeirfarmerstoclaimthehighqualitymoringaintheirproducts.Theylottestthemoringatoensureitisuptotheirstandards.Theirsupplychainisbuiltontheirfarmerandsupplier relationship and to bolster the sustainability of their supply chain, they help their farmers and suppliersbenefitfrommoringa,whetherit’sthroughprovidingseeds,educationorcompensationformoringa.
Current Organization Chart
Kuli Kuli is a lean company comprised of seven main departments: Product Development, Operations, Marketing,HR,Finance,IT,andSales.WeworkedwithAnnMcCarthyandMandyFanninintheOperationsdepartment.
Business Model Canvas
WebuiltouttheBusinessModelCanvasforKuliKuliinordertoseethelargerpictureofhowKuliKulioperates.Wefocusedspecificallyonthecoststructureandkeypartners.Thecoststructureasitcurrentlystandshashighcostsoftestingandcleaning.AlsoKuliKulihighlyvaluestheirrelationshipwiththeirco-packersandwantstonurturethatkeypartner.
Supply Chain
Moringaisgrownintropicalareasalongtheequatoraroundtheworld.Itgrowsinbothsunnyandrainyconditionssoitdoesnothaveseasonality.Itisharvestedofftrees,de-stemmedandrinsedina3-stepprocessbeforetheleavesareair-dried.Onceitisdry,itgetsmilleddownto80meshsizepowderandsievedtoremovedebris.Thenthemoringaispackagedintobulkbags,whicharepackagedinboxesandshippedtotheUS.TheUSco-packerlocationisdependentonthefinalproduct,suchasabarorenergydrink.Oncethemoringaarrivestotheco-packer,theytakerandomsamplesfromdifferentbagsinthelotandsendittoathirdpartylabtotestthemicrobiologicalinformationandnutritioninformation.Intheselabstheytesttoseeifthemoringameetstheirqualityandnutritionstandards.Forthetestingresults,ifthemoringasampledidnotpass,thenitwouldbeshippedtotheIngredientsByNature(KuliKuli’stollprocessor)andwouldgetappropriatetreatments,whichtypicallyaresteamsterilization,re-millingandsieving.Thentheproductwillbeshippedtotheappropriateco-packers.Duringthisprocess, Kuli Kuli is charged for piece of machinery from the Ingredients By Nature in order to protect products’safetyandquality.
Microbiological Standards
KuliKulihasastrictsetofqualitystandards.WeidentifiedfourmicrobesonaveragethatwerenotpassingKuliKuli’sstandards.TheseMicrobesincludeyeast,mold,totalcoliforms,aerobicplatecount.
Nutritional Standards
KuliKuli’smoringacomesfromaroundtheworld,includingcountrieslikeHaitiandGhana,wheretheypayfarmersfairwagesandhelpeducatethecommunityaboutthenutritionalbenefitsofmoringa.It’snutrient-richleavesarealsogreatforfightingmalnutrition.Forexample,moringaishighinfiber,protein,vitaminA,calcium,iron,andprotectivephytochemicals.KuliKuliensuresthattheirproductsretainthenutritiousvalueofmoringa.
Organic Standards
KuliKulimustbecertifiedinordertogetUSDAapproval.Organiccertificationrequiresthattheirentire production process be inspected to verify that all ingredients and products meet the standards oforganic.Theorganicfarmlandalsomustpassinspectionandmeetcertainrequirementsregardingwater,soilchemicalcontent,andconservation.Organicfarmersusenaturalprocessesandmaterialswhendevelopingfarmingsystemsandtheymustdocumenttheirprocessandhaveinspectionsannually.Tobeorganic,themoringamustbegrownwithoutpesticides,syntheticfertilizers,sewagesludge,geneticmodification,orionizingradiation.Inaddition,productscanbelabeledas100%Organicwhen100%oftheingredientsareorganic.Itcansay“organic”whenatleast95%oftheingredientsareorganic.Both100%and95%organicproductsareallowedtousetheUSDAOrganicseal.Productsthatcontainatleast70%organicingredientscanbelabeledas“madewithorganicingredients”,butproductswithlessthan70%cannotbelabeledasorganic.Theycanlisttheorganicingredientsonthebackorsidepanels,butnotonthefrontofthepackaging.
Farming Standards
KuliKulihasastrongrelationshipwiththeirfarmers,theycommunicatewithfarmersbyshowingatableofwhereinspecsheetoroutofspecsheet.Inaddition,thecommunicationdependsontherelationshipbetweenKuliKuliandfarmersbasedonlongtermorshortterm.Normally,farmersareinformedbyacalloranemailtounderstandtheinitialrequirementsformoringa.
KuliKulicurrentlyhastheirfarmersinformallyfairtradecertifiedduetodifferenceinfairtradeaudit.Actually,theformalcertificationhasbeenexploredwithbiggestsupplierstomovedowntheroad,butnowitisnotagoodfitbecauseofthecostofthecertification.
Initiatives
Project Challenge
Kuli Kuli needs our help because they do not have enough supply of moringa that meets their high qualitystandardstokeepupwiththeircustomerdemand.Thisiscausingabottleneckandtheyrisklosingcustomersanddistributorsbynotmeetingtheirdemand.KuliKulineedstoidentifystandardsthatcanbeadjustedtoupholdtheirqualitypromisewhilealsoallowingthemtofindmoremoringasupply.Moreover,theyneedtomodifytheirsupplychainandincorporateaValue-AddVendortoenforceKuliKuli’sstandardsandcleanthemoringa.ThiswillreduceKuliKuli’sexposuretotheriskofspot-contamination, provide access to a large volume of moringa that can serve them as they continue togrow,decreasethecostofmoringabytakingadvantageofeconomiesofscale,andfreethemuptofocusonthelivelihoodoftheirfarmers.
Current Supply Position
KuliKulihasresourceson-handforwhentheyreceivesupply,buttheydonothavesafetytimewhichriskslosingtheircustomersanddistributors.KuliKulidoesnothaveenoughmoringathatfitstheirhighstandards.Withoutenoughsupply,theyalsocan’thavesafetyinventorystockon-hand.
Desired Supply Position
KuliKuli’sdesiredpositionisbetweensafetycapacityandinventorywhichmeanstheywouldideallyhaveexcessresourcesonhandandsomeinventorystockedtomeetpeaksindemand.Theystillcannotaffordtomaketheircustomerswait.
Initiative One: Moringa Standards
Thefirstinitiative,atKuliKuli’srequest,wastoreviewtheircurrentstandardsandrecommendasetofrevisedstandards.Byrevisingtheirstandards,KuliKulishouldhaveenoughsupplyofacceptablemoringatomeettheirdemand,whilealsomaintainingtheirclaimofthepurest,mostnutrientrichmoringaonthemarket.Remedyingtheirbottleneck,thisinitiativewillenableKuliKulitoachievetheirdesiredhedgingpositioninthetrade-offtriangle,betweensafetyinventoryandsafetycapacity.Inaddition,itwillhelpthemreducewaittimesfortheircustomersbyhavingenoughmoringatogettheirproductstomarket.
However,afterbetterunderstandingKuliKuli’soperations,werealizedthatsimplyrevisingthestandardsleavesthemexposedtotheriskofspotcontamination.Inadditionwefoundthatiftheymodifiedtheirsupplychain,theywouldresolvetheriskofcontaminationanditwouldincreasetheiroperationalefficiency.Therefore,we’vecomeupwithasecondinitiativetomodifyKuliKuli’ssupplychain.
Initiative Two: Supply Chain & Operations Strategy
BasedonourdeeperunderstandingofKuliKuli’soperations,weformedasecondinitiativetodevelopamodifiedsupplychain.Thisinitiativeisaimedatremovingtheriskofspotcontaminationandachievinganumberofotherbenefits,includingalleviatingtheirbottleneckinthelong-run,reducingcosts,providingaccesstoagreatervolumeofmoringaasKuliKuligrows,andreturningthefocusoffarmerrelationstoimprovingtheirlivelihoodsandcommunities.
Initiative One Outcome
KuliKuliwillhaveenoughsupplytomeettheirdemand,duetomoremoringapassingKuliKuli’sstandards.
Initiative Two Outcomes
KuliKuliwillhaveenoughsupplytomeetdemand,aswellasastablesupplychaintoobtainthatmoringa.Thisoperationsplanwillreducetheriskofcontaminationbeingmissed.Thiswilllowerthecostofmoringaaswellasreducelabtestingandcleaningcosts.Thisoperationsstrategywillreturnthefocusoffarmerrelationshipstotheirlivelihood.
Recommendations
MicrobiologicalWeIdentifiedfourmicrobesthatarecausingthelabresultstorejectthemoringa.TheseMicrobesincludeyeast,mold,totalcoliforms,aerobicplatecount.
Suggested Standards
Organic
SinceKuliKuliisalreadycomplyingwithUSDAOrganicStandards,wedonotsuggestmodifyingtheircurrent organic standards
Farming
ItissuggestedthatKuliKulimightcontributeontheformalfairtradecertificationwiththeirfarmersinordertobringmorebenefitstoeachother.Althoughthereisaconcernaboutthehighcostofcertificationinashortterm,itisconsideredthatKuliKulimightgainbenefitsonthesupplychainwhichwouldpositivelyimpactontheirstandardinalongterm.Fairtradecertificationhasapositiveeffectoncustomers,wheretheyunderstandthatcertificationandtrustit.Itprovidesreassurancethatethicalmeasuresandstandardsareputintoplaceandbeingfollowed.
Risk: Spot Contamination
Itisaliabilitytotestrandomlotsbecausecontaminationcanbeeasilymissed.MostherbalproductsintheUSandKenyaarenotstrictlyregulated,leavingroomforadditions,alterations,andcontaminationaspotentialproblems.Additionallythesoil,farmingtechniques,andprocessingoftheleavescanaffectitsqualityandnutrientcontent,Unfortunately,theleavesarestillpronetospoilageandcouldalsopotentiallycarryfoodpathogenssuchasE.coli,StaphylococcusaureusandSalmonellaspp.,theingestionofwhichmayresultingastroenteritis.
Risk Recommendation
Inordertoavoidtheaboverisk,spottestingthemoringalotalonewouldnotbesufficientsolutiontocontrol contamination because even though the spot samples been analyzed there is no guarantee thattheentirelotiscontaminationfree.Therefore,thereisaneedforaneffectiveandsafeprocessingtreatmenttechniquethatmaybeappliedtoleafyvegetablessuchasmoringaleaves,inordertoreducethemicrobialloadontheseleaves(FDA,2000)while,atthesametimeretainingthenutrientvalueanddesiredqualityandextendedshelfstabilityofthesevegetables.
Suggested Supply Chain & Operations Strategy
We suggest that Kuli Kuli modify their supply chain to include a Value-Added Vendor to clean and test themoringabeforeitreachestheUnitedStates.NotonlywillithelpKuliKulihaveenoughsupplyofqualitymoringaastheygrow,butalsoitfreesthemtofocusonfarmerrelationshipsratherthanenforcingstandards.
Value-Added Vendor
AValue-AddedVendor(VAD)isathird-partyvendorthatimprovesoperationssystembyprovidingaserviceforacompany.
Inthiscase,theValue-AddedVendorwouldtakeonthefollowingresponsibilities:
Sourcerawmoringafromfarmers.KuliKulicansourcefinishedmoringathatmeetstheirstandardsfromtheVAD.TheycansetuptheVADtosourcemoringafromthosefarmerswithwhomKuliKulihasstrongrelationships,aswellasotherswhotheyhavestrongrelationships.
CleanmoringapriorsendingittotheUnitedStates.TheVADwillcleanandtreatthemoringatoensureallofitmeetsKuliKuli’sstandards.
Testandmanagemoringatoensuresafetyandquality.TheVADteststhemoringaandmakessurethemicrobiologicalandnutritionalaspectscomplywithKuliKuli’sstandards.
Operations Strategy
Supply Chain
Withthenewsupplychain,themoringawillbesourcedfromthetropicalregions,andthensenttothevalue-addedvendorinEurope.There,it’streatedandtestedbasedonKuliKuli’sstandards.Onceit’sacceptable,it’llbesenttotheco-packersintheUnitedStatesandmadeintoKuliKuli’sproducts.TheproductsarethenpackagedandshippedtotheirwarehouseinOakland,CA.
Throughthenewsupplychain,KuliKulinolongerneedstospendthetimeandenergytestingandcleaningthemoringa.
Year One: Add New Vendor
Farmers
Exporters
Value-Added Vendor
Kuli Kuli
20% 80%
Year Two: Focus on Farmers
Farmers
Exporters
Value-Added Vendor
Kuli Kuli
Focus on Farmer
Relationship
Farmers
Exporters
Value-Added Vendor
Kuli Kuli
20%80%
Cleaning Process
Year Three: Transition Supply
Three Year Operations Plan
Thefirstyearshouldbefocusedonthetransitionintothisnewsupplychain.SteponeistoobtainonetotwoValue-AddedVendors.Withinthefirstyear,thegoalistorun20%ofKuliKuli’ssupplythroughthisValue-AddedVendortocleanandtestthemoringa.ThisisawaytotesttheserelationshipswiththeVendorsbeforeswitchingoverallsupplyatonce.ThisallowsforrelationshipbuildingandsettingthetoneforKuliKulitoworkwiththesenewvendors.ThisnewVendormayhavefarmers,andthisrelationshipiscrucialtonotonlyconnectwiththevendor,butalsoconnectwithfarmers.Inorderforthese vendors to be an asset to Kuli Kuli, standards and values need to be established and understood bythesevendors.
Year Two: Farmer Focus
Yeartwoisaboutconvertingthebusinessmodeltofocusonfarmerprojects.Thisentailsimprovingthefarmerslivesthroughlocalinitiativesandre-establishingtherelationshipwithKuliKulifarmers.ThisisthetimetoassurefarmersthatKuliKuliwillmaintainacloserelationshipwithfarmers.Timewillnolongerbespenttalkingaboutthemicrobeswithfarmers.Nowtherelationshipcanfocusonwaystoimprovefarmerslivesandmaintainingstrongconnectionswithfarmers.
Year One: Add New Vendor
Year Three: Transition Supply
Yearthreeisthepointwhereeverythingtransitionsover.Thisyear,80%ofmoringashouldbegoingthroughtheValue-AddedVendor.ThegoalistotransitiontohaveallmoringacleanedandtreatedbeforeitreachesKuliKuli,butacompanyshouldhaveallrawmaterialsrunningthroughonlyonevendor.Therewillbetransitiontimetotransferoverthesupplychainthroughthevendors.
Benefits
Vendorsarethemostimportantentrypointintothemoringaoleiferamarket.Vendorshaveestablishedseveraltraderelationshipwithfarmersandprocessor,whohasthatsubjectmatterknowledgeinthatfunctionalarea.Theyfocusonlocalsourcing,analysisandqualitycontrol,rectification,blending,productdocumentationandsalestoprocessorsandend-productmanufacturers.KuliKulicandictatetheirtermsandpricetotheVendortoestablishandfollowwithfarmers,suchthatKuliKulicanestablishtheirvaluabletimeinternally.
Reduce Cost of Testing and Cleaning:WorkingwithaValue-AddedVendorenablesKuliKulitoachievecompetitivepricingontheirtestingandcleaning.Inaddition,withaVAD,theynolongerhavetospendtheirtimedoingthetesting,cleaning,andshipping.
Strengthen Farmer RelationshipsRatherthanoverseeingfarmers’qualityandmicrobialandnutritionalissues,theVADcantakecareofthatpartandKuliKuli’sattentioncanreturntothefarmerslivelihoodsandcommunities.Theycanhelpthefarmersplanttreesandteachthemaboutthebenefitsofmoringa.Inaddition,byincentivizinggrowingmoringa,KuliKulicanhelppreventfurtherdeforestationinregionslikeHaiti.
Increase Volume of Supply:WorkingwithaVAD,whosourcesmoringaforothersaswell,givesKuliKuliaccesstoalargervolumeofmoringa.TheycanestablishacloserelationshipwiththeVADandaligntheirgoalssothatasKuliKuligrows,they’reabletoreceiveincreasedvolumeofmoringaandwonthavetofaceabottleneck.
Nutrients Not AffectedAlthoughdifferentprocessingandtreatmentmethodscaninfluenceonnutritionaldeterioration,ourunderstandingisthatthecleaningprocessesdoesn’tdrasticallyimpactthenutritionalvalueofthemoringa.
Risks
On boarding Time:OneoftherisksisthetimeittakestoonboardthenewVAD,familiarizethemwithKuliKuli’sstandards,andconnectthemtoKuliKuli’sfarmers.
RedefiningFarmerRelationship:KuliKuliwilltransitionfrommonitoringmoringaqualitytofocusingonimprovingthelivelihoodoftheirfarmers.Thisshiftinroleswillrequiresomeadjusting.Also,includingaVAD,meanstheywouldlikelygotoadditionalfarmers,whichcouldpotentiallyimpacttheirrelationshipwiththecurrentfarmers.
Business Model
ByincorporatingtherevisedstandardsandVADintoamodifiedsupplychain,KuliKuli’sbusinessmodelchangesintwokeyareas,aswell.Theirkeypartnershipbecomesnotonlyfarmers,butalsotheValue-AddedVendor.Also,theircoststructurechangesbecausetheynolongerhavetopayforlabtesting,cleaning,andthetimeittakestorepackageandshipbacktherejectedmoringa.Instead,theycanfocusonsourcingqualitymoringaandworkingwithfarmerstoimprovetheirlivelihood.
Next Steps
WehaveworkedtoprovidethisreportasadirectionalguidelineforKuliKulitoaltertheirstandardsandimprovetheiroperationsstrategy,giventherisks.
Team
Jaclyn DabisaCreativeDesignThinkerwhoexcelsatseeingpatternsandsynthesizingdatatoidentifytheintersectionbetweencustomerandbusinessneedstoinformvaluecreatingstrategyandinnovation.Shebringsover10yearsofexperiencepracticingarchitectureand,mostrecently,sheworkedatAutodeskdevelopingandmanagingproductmarketingstrategiesthatleveragegame-basedmarketing tactics and personalization to both strengthen trial user engagement and increase the conversionrateoftrialuserstopaidsubscribers.SheiscurrentlypursuingherMBAdegreeinDesignStrategyattheCaliforniaCollegeoftheArts.Contact:[email protected].
Supriya Kannan has a background in fashion merchandising and apparel manufacturing, business intelligence/datawarehouse.SuccessfullykickstartedadigitalmediacompanyCulturemachineUSA(current-culturemachines.com),currentlyworkingasaSeniorProductProjectManageratKaiserPermanente.Shefocusesonproductprojectdevelopment,releasemanagementofnewproductandservice.Supriyahasapassionforbusiness,entrepreneurbyheartandeyeforfuturetrends.SheiscurrentlypursuingherMBAinDesignStrategyattheCaliforniaCollegeoftheArts.Contact:[email protected].
Justine Keller hasabackgroundinDataVisualization,dataanalysis,graphicdesignandnot-for-profits.Shefocusesondatastorytellingandvisuallycommunicatingtheconnectionswithinsystems.Justinehasapassionforbringingimpactandunderstandingtocomplexproblems.SheiscurrentlypursuingherMBAdegreeinDesignStrategyattheCaliforniaCollegeoftheArts.Contact:[email protected].
Kevin Yang has a background in Product Design and Manufacturing, modeling and prototyping in the industrialrealm.Hefocusesonconceptdevelopmentphasesofnewproductandserviceinnovation.Kevin has a passion for bringing innovation to business models and he is interested in industrial design thathasthepotentialtocreatepositiveimpactonpeople’slives.HeiscurrentlypursuinghisMBAinDesignStrategyattheCaliforniaCollegeoftheArts.Contact:[email protected].
