Enabling US Foods’ bold growth ambitions through business-wide modernization and transformation.
The challenge: Overhauling digital and IT processes to modernize the business
US Foods is one of the largest food distributors in the United States — supplying approximately 300,000 restaurants and foodservice operators across the country — and has largely grown by acquiring regional providers. The company recently welcomed their first-ever chief information and digital officer (CIDO) on board, and to meet the challenges posed by their expanding operations, needed to change how IT operated.
US Foods’ aims were to grow market share, optimize gross margins and improve operational efficiencies to position themselves to thrive in the rapidly evolving food distribution landscape. The CIDO and the company’s leadership sought to modernize their technology, elevate their digital operations and fundamentally change the way IT operated — but they needed an innovative team to help them think differently and support them on their journey.
Our response: Embedding digital to spur growth
US Foods turned to KPMG in the US to help build a new digital foundation for the company, transform the IT function and create a plan to unlock new revenue.
The three initial focus areas included initiatives to modernize business systems across the front, middle and back office; accelerate agile ways of working by transforming the company’s IT department; and establish a digital foodservice vision and approach to change the US Foods’ business model and open new revenue prospects.
- Establishing new ways of working: KPMG in the US helped establish a new organizational structure and foster new ways of working — all while expanding leadership teams. The team also looked into a macro-organizational model that enhanced data capacity to drive market insights and boosted cyber capabilities to combat evolving threats.
- Technology modernization: A key aspect of the project was to develop a technology strategy to modernize its core front office, middle office and back office functionality and seamlessly integrate with other contemporary solutions.
- Aspiration digital strategy: KPMG in the US helped craft a digital roadmap and articulate a compelling digital vision, which will allow US Foods to challenge new market entrants. It’s also imperative to evolve in order to meet customer expectations in B2B interactions, fostering inclusive digital experiences and collaborations with stakeholders.
The outcome: Modernizing to streamline business-wide processes
Introducing a product operating model has helped mature ways of working across IT, as well as build and support IT portfolio and financial management capabilities. Prior to this work, the company’s IT employee engagement scores lagged those of other departments. But the initial anxieties surrounding the new CIDO’s changes were replaced with and excitement. As a result, IT employee engagement scores skyrocketed — leading the pack across all other departments in the company.
By beginning to build a new digital foundation, transform the IT function and implement a cohesive digital foodservice plan, KPMG in the US is helping US Foods get future ready. Overall, these changes are expected to improve US Foods’ ability to plan delivery routes and increase replenishment efficiency, build a repeatable annual project and financial planning process, and create new value-added services and capabilities.
KPMG has successfully steered us through a period of dynamic growth and leadership changes. By consistently delivering quality outcomes — even as project needs changed day to day — they have proven themselves to be a pivotal, open-minded ally, leveraging their expertise as effective change agents to help navigate our transformational shifts.
John (jt) Tonnison
Executive Vice President, Chief Information & Digital Officer
US Foods
