Introduction
Freshwater is one of the most important raw materials that are used across many industries. In the United States, almost every industry consumes some amount of freshwater for their production purposes. Current research indicates that industrial freshwater consumption is a major drain on the world’s limited amount of freshwater supply. A global problem resides with most companies, including those in the United States, of continually having a consistent supply of safe-to-use freshwater. The beverage industry as well the meat production industry is considered water-intensive industries that use a large amount of freshwater in their production activities (Andrew, 2017). Within the beverage industry, freshwater is used as an important ingredient in soft drink production, canning, bottling, sterilization, and transportation of the company products and can consume up to 68 billion gallons of freshwater per day (Andrew, 2017). Studies indicate that 2,400 gallons of freshwater are needed to produce just one pound of beef, exemplifying the extent of freshwater the meat industry consumes (Gerbens-Leenes, 2013). The main challenge that these companies encounter is the lack of a consistent supply of safe to use water because of the high daily flow requirements across the different industries. The water footprint required across the industries creates a shortage that requires innovative methods for refining and reusing waste water to meet the production requirements demand.
. On average, the meat industry consumes close to 100 billion gallons of freshwater per day during their production purposes (Gerbens-Leenes, 2013).
. Current research indicates that the total water footprint (WF) of pork production is two times larger than the water footprint of pulses and four times larger than the water footprint of grains (Gerbens-Leenes, 2013).
. Against this backdrop, our team assessed a group of customers – namely companies within the beverage industry and companies within the meat production industry – and created two customer group profiles based on these set of companies given their demands for safe-to-use freshwater. In this assessment, the customer profile for each group of customers was analyzed.
Customer Profile Checklists
The Customer Profile Checklists in this context provide an overview of each group of companies within each industry that share the problem of continued accessibility to safe-to-use freshwater. It highlights some of the major attributes of each group of customers including their freshwater consumption per day, their freshwater needs, and actions they have taken to reduce the freshwater footprint. Using these profiles we can then assess if there are groups of companies within each industry that are more in need of a solution than others. Below is a list of questions we found relevant to each industry and were used to create customer profiles within each industry.
Customer Profile Checklist – Beverage Industry
Customer details Questions to ask
Annual Revenue – What is their annual revenue?
Number of employees – How many workers does the industry employ?
- What skills do they need?
Location – Where are the companies in this industry located? Companies located in the West or areas where freshwater is more limited are of higher concern.
Activities – What activities is the group of customers involved in?
Daily water usage – How is daily freshwater usage measured? - Who does the company report to?
- Who reports to the company?
Production techniques – What are the production techniques used by the group of customers?
Water recycling – Is freshwater used by the customers recycled?
Water footprint – How many gallons of freshwater is used per day?
Goals - What does it mean to be successful in the industry?
Challenges – What are their major challenges?
Customer Profile Checklist – Meat Industry
Customer details Questions to ask
Annual Revenue – What is their annual revenue?
Number of employees – How many workers does the industry employ?
- What skills do they need?
Location – Where are the companies in this industry located? Companies located in the West or areas where freshwater is more limited are of higher concern.
Activities – What activities is the group of customers involved in?
Daily water usage – How is daily water usage measured? - Who does the company report to?
- Who reports to the company?
Production techniques – What are the production techniques used by the group of customers?
water recycling – Is freshwater used by the customers recycled?
Water footprint – How many gallons of freshwater is used per day?
Goals - What does it mean to be successful in the industry?
Challenges – What are your major challenges?By analyzing annual revenue, we can see which companies have the resources to incorporate solutions into their production. If they do not have enough annual revenue they likely do not have the funds to implement solutions The number of employees tells us again of the company’s size and how many individuals within the company are responsible for their freshwater consumption. By looking at a per capita freshwater usage within a company we can analyze a company’s freshwater consumption statistically. The strength of the research and development within the organization can help drive the company to achieving stronger outcomes because they can drive innovation to find new methods of utilizing water or new sources to meet the demand needs efficiently. The location of a company is critically important, especially in terms of freshwater availability, as companies located in regions that are undergoing present freshwater scarcity are in higher need of a solution when compared to other companies in locations where freshwater is more readily available. Companies on the West side that have access to water bodies have to run refinement on the water to remove impurities and other minerals that could be salty to drink in the water to purify and use in the processes.The activity of a company categorizes a company based on their exact product. A beer brewery versus a soda factory may have different freshwater usage and use freshwater differently therefore companies can be grouped depending on what activity they focus on. Daily freshwater usage looks at how each company measures its water usage as this can vary by company. By analyzing how each company measures their freshwater usage we can ensure that each company is compared on similar scales. Production techniques of each company tells us how exactly freshwater is used and if there are areas of production that consume more freshwater. Looking at these areas and comparing them to other companies allows us to see if certain companies can implement solutions that other companies have already implemented. Companies that do not have any freshwater recycling programs can be another attribute of a customer group as companies who do not have any freshwater recycling programs need a solution for their wastewater.
A company’s freshwater footprint would look at a company’s daily freshwater usage. It is a critical statistic as companies who use more freshwater per day than others are in higher need of a solution. There is a need to make considerations for the purchasing power of the different companies since the companies have different purchasing power, and this could be a criteria for organizing the customer groups. The goals of each company also vary so it is important to look at what each company values and whether a solution fits into the needs of a specific company’s set of goals. Lastly, the challenges of each company must be considered. If a solution to a company’s freshwater use positively affects one of their challenges then providing a solution is worthwhile
Decision Objectives and Criteria
The decision criteria will be based on five different attributes for each group of customers. These attributes will relate directly to the customer profiles and whether a company meets the criteria where a solution is needed, not necessarily a byproduct.
Objectives and criteria for assessing each profile
- Is the revenue large enough to provide a solution to the problem?
- Is their freshwater footprint usage large enough to cause alarm or cause excessive shortage to other customer groups?
- Does their production technique require a lot of freshwater?
- Do they have water reservoirs?
- Is their volume of fresh water use consistent?
The customer profile should be able to identify the customer, their needs, their challenges, and their preferences. We chose these objectives as they directly provide information that is critical in identifying the customers, their needs, and preferences. In other words, the objectives align with the overall goal of any company that is committed to serving its customers and society. Based on this evaluation, we are able to understand every company’s revenue stream, their level of freshwater footprint, their goals, whether they recycle used freshwater to help provide a solution to the current problem, and most importantly whether their revenue stream is large enough to help provide a lasting solution to the current fresh shortage problem. As noted above.
Appendix
Decision Matrix
Group of customers
Decision Criteria Beverage Industry Meat Industry
- Does a solution have the ability to provide or increase revenue for the company? ✓
$2.36 Trillion ✓
$1.2 Trillion - Is the revenue large enough to provide a solution to the problem? ✓Yes ✓ Average
- Is their freshwater footprint large enough to cause alarm? ✓68 billion gallons ✓100 billion gallons
- Does their production technique require a lot of freshwater? ✓Yes ✓Yes
- Do they have water reservoirs in the factory? ✓No ✓Yes
- Is the volume of freshwater use consistent? ✓No ✓Yes
Customer Profile Checklist – Beverage Industry
Customer details Questions to ask
Annual Revenue – What is their annual revenue? $2.36 trillion
Number of employees – How many workers does the industry employ?
- What skills do they need? 10,000+
Supply chain management
Location – Where are the companies in this industry located? Companies located in the West or areas where freshwater is more limited are of higher concern. They are located in areas where freshwater is available
Activities – What activities is the group of customers involved in? Sterilization and canning
Daily water usage – How is daily freshwater usage measured? - Who does the company report to?
- Who reports to the company? Through the number of bottles produced daily
Production techniques – What are the production techniques used by the group of customers?
Water recycling – Is freshwater used by the customers recycled? Yes
Water footprint – How many gallons of freshwater is used per day? 68 billion
Goals - What does it mean to be successful in the industry? To have a constant supply and constant access to raw materials
Challenges – What are their major challenges? Access to freshwater
Customer Profile Checklist – Meat Industry
Customer details Questions to ask
Annual Revenue – What is their annual revenue? $1.2 trillion
Number of employees – How many workers does the industry employ?
- What skills do they need? 5,000+
Supply chain management
Location – Where are the companies in this industry located? Companies located in the West or areas where freshwater is more limited are of higher concern. West
Activities – What activities is the group of customers involved in? Meat processing and packaging
Daily water usage – How is daily water usage measured? - Who does the company report to?
- Who reports to the company? Per pound of meat product
Production techniques – What are the production techniques used by the group of customers? Cleaning, processing
water recycling – Is freshwater used by the customers recycled? Yes
Water footprint – How many gallons of freshwater is used per day? 100 billion
Goals - What does it mean to be successful in the industry? Provide consistent supply
Challenges – What are your major challenges? Access to freshwater
Summary
As a team, our main objective was to create a persona that represents the ideal customer group based on customer behavioral choices, information sources, financial resources, and personal opinions. Because we understand each group of customers pursues different lines of business, we evaluate the ability of each customer to make a sustainable impact on the current problem. Based on our analysis, we ascertained that there is a group of companies within the beverage industry that would especially benefit from solutions to continued access to safe-to-use freshwater. Companies located in regions where freshwater access is more limited, such as areas in the West or desert regions would benefit more to solutions than companies where freshwater is more readily available. Furthermore, since there are companies within the beverage industry that do not recycle their wastewater solutions can be implemented for wastewater reuse. Companies with a higher freshwater consumption footprint would be targeted over companies with smaller freshwater footprints as reduction in their footprint would allow other companies, and more importantly society, greater access to freshwater. We therefore concluded that the customer group with the most to gain from solutions to safe-to-use freshwater access would be beverage companies located in areas where freshwater is more greatly limited, have a higher freshwater consumption footprint than smaller companies, and do not have any programs in place to recycle their wastewater. Revenue within the beverage industry also shows that beverage companies have greater resources to implement solutions when compared to the meat industry. This set of criteria makes up the customer group we would seek to provide a solution for, as a solution is more needed for this customer group as opposed to other customers within the meat and beverage industry. Lastly, if solutions to this customer group’s freshwater access can be created, more freshwater should then be available to society and individuals, adding value to both the companies, society, and individuals.
References
Andrew. (2017, December 1). Coca-cola’s water usage policy – sustainability & responsibility. Retrieved November 14, 2020, from Pumpingsolutions.co.uk website: https://www.pumpingsolutions.co.uk/blog/coca-colas-water-sustainability-responsibility/
Dolder, S., Hillman, A., Passinsky, V., & Wooster, K. (2012). Strategic Analysis of Water Use in the Beverage Industry.
Dopson, E. (2020). Customer Profiles: How to Target your Ideal Customer. Retrieved November 14, 2020, from Superoffice.com website: https://www.superoffice.com/blog/customer-profiles/
Gerbens-Leenes, P. W., Mekonnen, M. M., & Hoekstra, A. Y. (2013). The water footprint of poultry, pork and beef: A comparative study in different countries and production systems. Water Resources and Industry, 1, 25-36.
ONeill, D. (2013). Enough is enough: A path to true prosperity – our world. Retrieved November 14, 2020, from Unu.edu website: https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/enough-is-enough
Sample Solution
