This year Cherry Capital Foods developed their first strategic plan, which they plan to follow through 2018. This plan lays the foundation for future rational growth. With input from everyone in the organization, and concentrated brain power from the department head team, we answered why we are here, what we’re doing, what we’re not going to do, where we are going, and how we are going to get there. Future success demands a combination of flexibility and focus. We remain fully committed to our growth orientation and our cultural emphasis on supporting the local food movement, and we must shift our strategy in order to achieve this result.
Last month, the Cherry Capital team launched into the actions laid out in the Strategic Plan. Our first project centers around the customer experience, targeting our optimal customer base and from there begin the reevaluation of our product mix to ensure it is serving both our customers and vendors. During both of these projects, we’ll focus on team member engagement across the company.
Ultimately, it is people who drive any business forward. The Cherry Capital team is full of intelligent people with a variety of skillsets whose knowledge has not been tapped often enough. We’ve set a high goal of 10 hours of training each quarter for everyone on the team, so we can continue to build our skills, and encourage everyone to learn from each other. Finally, we’ll have a focus (remember, we’re doing a lot of refocusing) on operational excellence, which will allow us to chart a path towards financial and operational success for the company.
Each month, we will hold an optional meeting for any Cherry Capital team member to attend who is interested in the progress on our initiatives and the overall plan. Last month we held a roundtable discussion after the plan was shared. These meetings will be similar but more structured, so please keep your eyes open for more information. The Strategic Planning team will hold weekly, monthly, and biannual reviews of the strategy, each with varying scopes. Keep in mind, a strategy defines our path moving forward, but it is a living document, as our markets are always changing. Your insights are always welcome.
- Colleen Valko, Strategy Manager