Introduction
In May 2022, Capco partnered with 1001 Organic, a social spice enterprise, on a pro bono initiative that was facilitated by Capco’s Impact Consulting Group (ICG) and Bankers without Borders (BwB)
As a growing start-up company based in East Africa, 1001 Organic faces an increasing complexity of internal processes which consumes its capacity and affects its growth rate. To enhance the overall customer experience, boost efficiency, avoid the loss of sales leads, eliminate human errors and have a better overview of product flow, 1001 Organic was looking for a partner that could develop tools for the following challenges:
• Sales related paperwork: Standardized and automated processes for quotations, invoices, packing lists, delivery notes, receipts and other recurring export applications for available products and grades
• Inventory Management: Improve inventory management systems for a more accurate and efficient supply & demand planning as well as month closing
What we did
• Developed Process Flows for operational processes, including ordering, invoice generation, export form production and inventory management, to understand the challenges and identify potential improvement
• Identified open source and easy to use technology that could be used with 1001 Organic current technology stack
• Developed a VBA and MS Access tool, which is able to :
o centralize all orders and customer data
o tracking past orders and inventory
o generate invoices, export form, packaging list and customer form
o provide month-end insight on inventory dashboard
• Train the 1001 Organic team and stress-test the new tool
How we did it
• Working as a Team: Capco brainstorm with 1001 Organic to better understand the challenges and propose best approach
• Global Team: Leverage specialist skills from different Capco geographies. Our team consist of members from India, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong
• Open Communication: Bi-weekly meetings with 1001 Organic to present deliverables, receive feedbacks and re-align on objectives and timelines; Regular weekly internal team meeting to track progress and identify any blocks
• Development and Testing approach: Regular demo sessions with 1001 Organic to show progress, identify bugs and opportunities for improvement
Results
Our Capco Team consisted of Jessie Chu, Manikandan K, Nitesh Jha, Feixin See, Timothy Tan, Ajeet Chahal, Bill Tong and Roberto Figari. Their work was well received as noted by 1001 Organic’s CEO Raphael Flury:
“It was a true pleasure to work with such an experienced, professional, and passionate team. The project was well managed, all consultants immediately identified with our corporation and challenges, went the extra mile and were proactively and successfully working on solutions. This was without a doubt a best-in-class consultancy beyond boundaries.”
Impact Consulting Group
We are passionate about educational and financial inclusion for all, particularly for those in disadvantaged or vulnerable communities. Our dedication to equal opportunity drives us to promote literacy across the globe. Capco’s Impact Consulting initiative gives development sector organizations access to our people and expertise on a pro-bono basis, and fosters collaboration and partnerships between public, private, and non-profit sectors.
Impact Consulting partners with non-profit organizations and provides pro-bono, skills-based assistance. By identifying and recruiting Capco employees from across the globe, Impact Consulting helps organizations overcome challenges and achieve desired outcomes in IT, marketing, legal, finance, and other business operations. It enables our people to add direct value to non-profit organizations and gives them exposure to how businesses outside traditional financial services operate.
About Bankers without Borders (BwB)
Bankers without Borders (BwB) is Grameen Foundation’s volunteer initiative. Established in 2008, it is an industry leader in using skilled volunteers to accelerate the scale, sustainability, and impact of poverty-focused social enterprises.
About 1001 Organic
1001 Organic (Zanj Spice Limited) is a Zanzibar-based social enterprise focusing on the advocacy and sustainable cultivation of organic premium spices. The company was established in 2012 (relaunched in 2017) as a private development initiative with a business-oriented approach and applies economic strategies to improve the social, ecological, and financial livelihood of small-scale farmer cooperatives. Its “beyond organic” approach assures the protection of the natural forests of Zanzibar & Tanzania and benefits local smallholders with a significantly higher revenue and a better living standard. The key strategy to preserve the flora and fauna is a fairly remunerated, transparent, sustainable and gentle spice production, considering all local stakeholders involved.
Over the past five years, the company managed to become Zanzibar’s leading spice producer serving sophisticated local and international markets.