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2009-07-02
Case Study: Unilever Food Solutions
Case Study: Unilever Food Solutions
Precise geographic data is required for Unilever’s fleet of deliverymen to better service the Chinese restaurant market. How can they gauge their level of market penetration in two constantly changing cities?
Unilever Food Solutions traces its lineage back to the early
1800's and has been supplying ingredients, food services and
cost saving recipes to restaurants ever since. Originating in
Germany, the company has since grown to operate on six
continents. UFS has been servicing restaurants in China since
2001.
Challenge
UFS currently services thousands of restaurants in Guangzhou
and Shanghai and is looking for expansion opportunities in this
rapidly changing market; however, they are unaware as to the
extent of their current market penetration. UFS needs an
accurate count of every restaurant within these two cities in
order to determine the market depth as well as identify
locations for potential expansion such to maximize distribution
efficiency. To gauge the economic position of new potential
customers, UFS has requested that cuisine and financial data
be collected from every surveyed restaurant.
With a combined population of over 25 million people and a
total municipal area of over 15,000 km2, there is little doubt as
to the monumental scale of their challenge.
Summary: Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) provides spices
and chicken broth by delivery to restaurants
throughout Shanghai and Guangzhou. Due to
immense market size and constrained
methods of distribution, UFS is unable to
accurately gauge market penetration.
Getting Down to Work
getchee managers met with UFS to discuss as to how to gauge
their current market position and identify target customers.
With UFS’ specifications in mind, getchee sent a team of over
400 surveyors to methodically walk the streets of Guangzhou &
Shanghai. Through weekly transmissions, the surveyor-collected
data was sent to getchee analysts who would then classify, sort,
UFS needs an accurate count of every
restaurant within these two cities in order to
determine the market depth
and analyze the immense data inflows. Simultaneously a team
of getchee management and analysts kept strict quality control
over the surveyors with daily meetings and discussions.
Additionally, getchee analysts trained the survey team for three
weeks and also periodically accompanied them on surveys as to
ensure strict guideline adherence.
With the powerful getchee online software platform, analysts
were able to easily eliminate double-counted restaurants and
identify areas missed by the surveying team. The getchee
program then visualized maps that both outlined the extent of UFS
coverage and the market gaps yet to be filled.
Result
getchee located an astounding 25,000 restaurants that fit UFS
specifications. However, getchee did not simply stop there. getchee then analyzed the data to find what type of cuisine and
restaurant size UFS deliverymen were missing. The analysis
showed that UFS was strongest in their coverage of Guangdong
cuisine in both Shanghai and Guangzhou. But more importantly,
getchee discovered large distribution gaps within the Huaiyang,
Chuan, Beifang, and hotpot style cuisine restaurants in both
cities. Additionally, getchee discovered low distribution efficiency
for restaurants of 100 or fewer seats.
getchee discovered large distribution gaps
within the Huaiyang, Chuan, Beifang, and
hotpot style cuisine restaurants
With a massive database of over 20,000 new potential clients
including maps to locate each, UFS is now able to more aggressively
and strategically expand in both Guangzhou & Shanghai.
Summary: getchee will perform an on-the-ground
universal field survey of the entire Guangzhou
and Shanghai restaurant markets to find gaps
in existing UFS coverage. With an awareness of
their currently serviced locations, getchee will
be able to identify expansion opportunities
based upon the dimensions of location,
cuisine style, and restaurant size.
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