A little over a decade ago, Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games came out and rocked the world of many teenagers and young adults. The widely successful book would become an international franchise turned into films, further capturing the hearts and attention of many. For at the time, no one could truly understand what it was like living in a post-apocalyptic universe set in a grim dystopian future. Composed of districts with varying states of poverty, some on the brink of starvation, we see many of the characters we came to love battle each other for the chance to bring back food, supplies and riches for their respective district. Never in a million years would viewers and fans of this franchise ever imagine, they would find themselves in a similar situation.

Then March 2020 happened.

Coronavirus gave us our own Hunger Games.

Albeit, we do not get picked yearly to go fight to death for our districts. We don’t have districts. And although the three years of international political turmoil could easily give The Hunger Games Capitol a run for its money, those of us in the West still live under semi-normal democratic governments.

The truth to the matter is, we are living in a sort of post-apocalyptic world. A pandemic hit us hard. We ran out of necessities including the infamous toilet paper. Governments all over the world went through generational altering changes, and to top it all off? The Supply Chain broke.

The supply chain’s failure to thrive in the chaotic environment presented by the pandemic started a race many consumers may not know about but are very much affected by. The Supply Chain’s race to innovate.

Over the last three years, many new firms emerged during the pandemic and vied for a place in Gartner’s magic quadrant. To be the all-in-one solution that will take a long manual system into the future. Preventing us from having to pay the ever rising prices on food, energy and services.

The 21st century has witnessed a technological revolution that has transformed the way we interact with the world around us. We have the power to book a dentist appointment by simply scanning a QR code, write a cover letter with the help of ChatGPT, or even command Alexa to turn on the AC before we arrive home. However, the supply chain seems to be stuck in the past, lacking the necessary innovation to keep up with modern times. Real-time tracking is not as advanced as it should be, and cargo sensors are just scraping the surface of what is possible. Instead of relying on trends and raw data that require deciphering, supply chain leaders must embrace advanced technologies and employ them to create a seamless experience for consumers. Only then can we elevate the supply chain to meet the standards set by other industries.

Consumers have been the ones who got impacted the most in this outdated, ancient supply chain world. The shortages of ingredients increased prices for consumer goods, from fresh produce, canned goods to even animal food. Consumers had to resort to either paying higher prices for the same product or going without it. As a result, in 2023, all food prices are predicted to increase 7.1 percent, way above historical average rates.

The increasing prices of everyday goods are affecting people of various socio-economic classes in different ways. For some, it’s a small change in diet, for others, it’s a struggle to feed their family. Approximately 10% of households are facing difficulty in providing food for their families as of the publication of this article.

As the economy continues to fluctuate, even those who were previously insulated from financial crises are feeling the impact. The Hunger Games franchise serves as a stark reminder of the disparity between the powerful Capitol and the impoverished outer Districts. The same place where residents often struggled to find enough food. However, in our current time, even the Capitol would feel the effects of supply chain issues and a dwindling food budget. Meanwhile, those in the districts would face even grimmer circumstances. In the past, winning the Hunger Games meant an extra year’s worth of food for the entire district.

Now, with rising food prices and supply chain challenges, such a prize may only last six months at best. This issue is not limited to underprivileged communities; households across the nation are feeling the impact of rising food prices. For example, the cost of eggs alone has increased by 49.1% over the past twelve months. It is clear a solution must be created to address these challenges. For it will be a tool to ensure that all communities have access to affordable and nutritious food.

Everybody is being forced to have a conversation on how to adjust their shopping behavior to cope with the rising prices. Consumers have had to make sacrifices and adopt new strategies. Many have started using coupons, shifting to store brand items, and reducing their consumption of luxury items like meat and alcohol. Some have even turned to dollar stores, where they can purchase essential items at lower prices. Even Dollar Tree is feeling the financial pressure, rising their prices by 25% (Dollar Tree, or Dollar-twenty-five Tree?).

These changes come at a great cost.

The reduced consumption of meat, produce, and other healthy items has led to a decline in nutrition for many households. Additionally, the shift to store brand items and dollar stores has reduced the quality of goods available to consumers, leading to further compromises in their diets. This grocery disruption signs millions of households worldwide up for an involuntary “hunger” game where they struggle to stretch the current budget to survive.

Numerous factors within the supply chain, including raw material prices, labor costs, transportation expenses, and regulatory fees, explain these rises in the cost of goods. That’s why it’s necessary to acknowledge that every product has a story and journey, starting from the sourcing of raw materials, going through multiple stages of production and transportation, and finally reaching the end consumers. Supply Chain Industry leaders and product creators are attempting to take over, manage, and automate this product journey.

Garner’s magic quadrant for end-to-end supply chain visibility features notable main players, including Project44, Fourkites, Shippeo, Overhaul, or FarEye.

Big names like IBM, Amazon and Microsoft are also making the leap into supply chain management. Some of the main trends that are being seen across these companies are cloud supply chain solutions such as Project44 with Movement, delivering global, multimodal visibility in a single platform. Risk analytics, with Everstream Analytics predicting up to 40 risks factors that can disrupt the supply chain. The Internet of Things and FourKites leveraging IoT solutions to streamline processes through visibility offerings. As well as Artificial intelligence and machine learning as seen in Overhaul’s AI-driven risk management offering.

The competition to revolutionize the supply chain industry is fierce, with emerging players like Carrier’s Lynx disrupting the market. Lynx’s innovative digital platform represents Carrier’s latest response to the challenge of managing the cold chain, offering comprehensive solutions for end-to-end visibility, control, and intelligence. Using cutting-edge technologies like IoT, machine learning, and AI, these new products are transforming a once-manual system into an intelligent and digitized one. Despite not yet being featured in Gartner’s quadrant, newcomers like Lynx are already making a name for themselves in this battle.

The future of the supply chain is being created by tapping into the power of technology. But product after product, cloud after cloud, somehow the consumers are still suffering and it is becoming even more clear that companies need to tap into consumer needs first. Companies must prioritize understanding consumer needs and the impact of new innovations on jobs and costs. Will automation save the corporation money, or save the consumer money? Are jobs being elevated as a result of these new creations or will they disintegrate? Which begs the question, how much user testing and research are these companies conducting?

The question comes down to how can we really innovate with the consumer in mind?

HelloFresh operates a vertically integrated supply chain. It delivers its meal-kits to consumers primarily via third-party logistics and some portions via an in-house fleet. They source ingredients directly from an integrated network of more than 1,500 suppliers using a ‘just in time’ model. Ingredients are then packaged in manufacturing centers for scheduled delivery.

However, upon research findings, we came across many customers who deal with defrosted boxes. Food turned bad, improper ingredients, and packouts that stopped working early on during the box’s journey. Not only is the customer out of dinner, they have to now spend more money. A visibility product that tracks the time out of refrigeration (TooR) for the entirety of the box’s product would come in handy. It would even be better if not only did they share this information with HelloFresh, but sent a confirmation of good temperature management to the end consumer. The person receiving their box. Further enhancing the customer experience for HelloFresh’s customers.

To enhance customer trust and satisfaction, companies should adopt a transparent approach towards their consumers. The implementation of organic labeling has already allowed customers to distinguish high-quality products. A similar approach can be extended by labeling groceries with QR codes. Enabling consumers to access information regarding the journey of their food, from origin to transportation and final delivery. Additionally, transparency in pricing can be crucial in building customer loyalty. Even during price increases that companies may perceive as risky. Transparency and customer needs are key to building loyalty.

Innovations like these are starting to be part of the overall change in our supply chain. For example, C2Sense uses nanotechnology to develop miniaturized mobile sensing solutions that convert traditional cameras in consumers’ smartphones into sophisticated time-gated fluorescence spectrometers. SquarEat is making food into squares in an effort to increase manufacturing efficiency, reduce packaging costs and extend shelf life. Or Apeel’s technology which uses hyperspectral images that can see inside the fruit and calculate the exact time it will be ripe. This is meant to help reduce post-harvest loss and extend the shelf-life of products.

Apeel also uses a coating technology to act like a second peel to protect food, extending its life on the supply chain. Perhaps if customers could scan a QR code and see all these new innovative technologies that went into making sure their food was top notch, they might be more inclined to pay a steeper price.

Supply chain leaders have been striving for end-to-end visibility in fixing the supply chain. But it’s important for them to remember that the end consumers aren’t just the last warehouse or the grocery store. To truly innovate, they must adopt design thinking solutions that take into account the needs and experiences of both the consumer and the manual laborer. This requires innovating with empathy to create a product that fosters loyalty and a sense of empowerment in the consumer. Rather than promoting a product that simply claims to be the “smartest and strongest,” companies should aim to create products that make consumers feel intelligent, capable, and secure in their health and finances. Despite operating in a capitalistic industry, companies must prioritize the needs of consumers by putting them at the forefront of the creation process and validating solutions throughout every step of development.

If you’re looking to create a product that truly resonates with your customers and meets their needs, it’s crucial to focus on the end consumers and manual laborers. Design thinking and empathetic innovation can help you achieve this, ultimately leading to increased customer loyalty. At Digital Surgeons, we specialize in helping companies gain a deep understanding of their target audience and develop solutions that address their pain points. Don’t let a lack of customer focus lead to a real-world hunger game scenario in the industry. Contact us today to learn how we can help you create a product that truly connects with your audience.