Business Model Canvas - tpximpact/f4-fsa-field-ops-discoveries-overview GitHub Wiki

Using the Business Model Canvas

The past discoveries into the end-to-end provision of Field Ops inspections services has exposed an extensive and complex mix of challenges, opportunities, capabilities and constraints. The business model canvas is a tool to provide clarity and strategic focus about the service value stream, including:

  1. customers
  2. value proposition
  3. key activities

These are among the building blocks that make up the service proposition and are explored in more detail below. The single page view provides strategic focus on the critical elements of Field Ops Inspections:

  • priority outcomes that the service is expected to deliver.

  • key stakeholders and beneficiaries that are involved in receiving or delivering service value.

  • key levers that the organisation can influence to improve service delivery.

  • key assets and partnerships used to create value

The canvas is a

  • deliberately lightweight, high-level perspective. Once validated within the organisation it should be used to provide strategic direction to the Continuous Improvement programme.
  • living document that reflects the state and ambition of service delivery. As the Future Operating Model is ratified, the canvas should be revisited for elements that are no longer relevant or that will need to be adapted. This can help with gap analysis, impact assessment and future change planning.

Jump to Mission | Customer Segments | Value Proposition | Channels | Customer Relationships |Key Resources |Key Activities| Key Partnerships |Cost Structure |Revenue Streams

About Language and the Canvas

The business model canvas was originally designed for startups and commercial organisations, but has been widely adopted in other mission-driven sectors - either directly or with some adaptations.

This origin certainly influences the language used in the canvas, particularly when talking about building blocks such as customer segments and relationships, supply chain partnerships, resources and value propositions. This in no way diminishes the idea that the same building blocks are necessary and present in the design and provision of government services, and that the tool can be used to provide strategic clarity and focus for FSA and Field Ops.

More information on using the business model canvas can be found on strategyzer.com, the website of the tool’s designer.

FSA Field Ops Business Model Canvas

Mission

This canvas is centred on the role that Field Operations plays in delivering the FSA’s goal. It is framed around the following mission question, that is based on the FSA vision and mission.

How does the FSA assure food we can trust through Field Operations?

The mission of assuring “food we can trust” is not the sole responsibility of Field Operations, but the question that frames the canvas recognises that Field Ops have a unique and fundamental role in the organisation’s structure in observing, and recording Food Business Operator practice and outcomes, as well as enforcing sanctions, as part of the FSA’s responsibility as a national Competent Authority.

Building Blocks

Customer Segments

Food Business Operators

Food Business Operators (FBOs) are the priority customer segment for Inspections service delivery.

  • Field Ops has a direct relationship with businesses, and are typically physically located on premises to undertake official control activities.
  • Ops Transformation have a priority to increase shared accountability for delivering the food safety mission, which effectively means uplifting the role of the FBO

They are recognised as the single constant (not just as a target group) across all aspects of official controls, from approving establishments through to auditing, cost recovery and offboarding (including transfer of authority).

Any improvement initiative should be understood for what impact it may have on food business operators as a service user and customer of the FSA.

Other Customer Segments

Consumers

These are recognised as a customer segment of interest, but there is no real regular contact between Field Ops and consumers. While the mission talks broadly about using the FSA’s expertise and influence so that the “people“ can buy and eat food they trust, this is too broad a population to provide clarity or focus for Field Ops.

  • They are not an priority for strategic focus
  • But the FSA is minded that they are ultimately the arbiter of whether the value proposition is being delivered

Their voice and commercial stake directly impacts how Food Business Operators - the target segment - may respond to policy and procedural changes that the FSA imposes.

Other Government Departments

The FSA provide and deliver services on behalf of DEFRA and that local authorities use. Field Ops workforce are at the frontline of processing and capturing samples from and data about Food Business Operators, as well as operational data for cost recovery. While there may be service level agreements in place, to avoid confusion, it may be more useful to think of Other Government Departments as supply chain partners.

Internal Customers

Service thinking is an end-to-end endeavour. Customers are at the end of the value stream.

To that end, customers are never really internal.

The idea of internal customers emphasises internal endpoints and walls that reinforces organisational silos and differences, whereas this project seeks to emphasise the commonalities across the inspection domains and a service-wide perspective. The whole business working together and in alignment will enable transforming into a modern regulator.

Focussing on internal customers means you end up not focussing on your real customers, those for whom you are delivering or creating value and that are outside of your organisation.

Value Proposition

The value proposition underpins and bounds why the inspection service exists and what it seeks to deliver.

  • The value proposition is only meaningful in context of the customer segments that they are delivered to - in this case Food Business Operators.

The proposition sits within the mission of delivering “food we can trust” and can be captured in three key statements :

Enable consumer confidence in food businesses

Food businesses are looking for a badge of honour that stands them apart in the market. Consumers want independent assurance that their suppliers adhere to expected standards. The FSA are the competent authority that provides that assurance.

Enable supply chain transparency and accountability through traceability monitoring

For FBOs, this supports their inputs as well as their outcomes.

Safeguard animal welfare in the food production cycle

This is of direct interest to consumers, but also of producers and supply chain providers to Food Business Operators and their market (including retailers). Field Ops observe animal safety practice and observe, record and communicate condition information that is used across the supply chain for pricing as well as herd health management.

Channels

Field Ops primary means of interaction with food business operators is through direct, on-premise contact (by Inspection Team Leaders and auditors occasionally, but usually inspectors and vets).

Face-to-face (on-premise)

  • Potential to create and sustain a positive and responsive relationship.
  • Highly intensive, potentially emotional and slow paced.
  • Very dependent on local knowledge and personal relationships.
  • Further removed from the FSA because of the scale of service delivery partner contractors that are involved.
  • Potentially intrusive/disruptive where the FSA has an ongoing presence on premises

Premise-based tools (day book, statement of resources, condition records) are critical for sharing data between field operatives and businesses.

Letters and email

Formal communication, including official records of compliance outcomes and enforcement, are delivered by letter or email. An unstructured and dispersed archive of correspondence exists between an FBO and the different teams and individuals (within and outside of Field Ops) that it has contact with.

FSA website

  • The FSA website is the main repository for information and guidance for businesses and consumer. GOV.UK signposts towards here.

  • The website also includes research and trial reports.

Customer Relationships

Field Ops personnel wear many different hats that result in a complex and often guarded relationship between the FSA and food businesses. As the face of the FSA with a direct connection with businesses, they are critical in setting the tone of the relationship.

Competent Authority

  • The FSA has a formal relationship with FBOs to monitor approved activities. It needs to be impartial, independent and trusted.
  • The relationship is not optional. It is governed by many pieces of legislation.
  • The FBO may be dealing with multiple Competent Authorities if they conduct multiple approved activities. The FSA may have 'peer' relationships with other Competent Authorities. Together, these Competent Authorities manage the food safety assurance experience of FBOs.
  • The relationship of Competent Authority is necessary but not often welcome for FBOs.
  • FBOs may be charged for Competent Authority activities.

Advisor

  • FBOs want to leverage the expertise of FSA vets and inspectors to help them shape their operations to deliver food that builds consumer confidence.

  • The FSA can advise about the standards that need to be met, but not really about the operational mechanisms that FBOs could adopt. This creates some tension for the FSA about how far it can fulfil this relationship.

  • This is an informal relationship that the FSA has with FBOs.

  • Meat inspection is more formal than wine inspection, which errs towards guidance and advice.

  • The Advisor relationship is overshadowed by Competent Authority and Enforcer relationship, which can undermine the potential for positive collaboration.

Enforcer

  • Field Ops are the frontline enforcers or guardians of food standards. These are set externally by legislation and policymakers.

Key Resources

Qualified workforce

  • Vets, inspectors and auditors who carry out inspection activities.
  • Includes a significant outsourced population, supplied by Service Delivery Partner. A lot of the skills and knowledge sit outside the FSA.
  • Need to be seen by FBOs as reliable experts in their field.
  • Onboarding and training is not always effective to maintain consistent standards.
  • Operational structure and geographical boundaries are not well aligned across inspection domains.

Food Business Profiles and History

  • This is necessary for segmentation and planning, including inspection preparation.

  • Some form of profile is maintained by each inspection domain for relevant FBOs. There is little consistency across Field Ops of the FBO. Core data for meat plants is captured in the Establishments & People system.

  • Associated information would include Statements of Resource, audit and other inspection reports, as well as enforcement history.

  • Profiles are maintained separately by the Service Delivery Partner, partly because of the lack of information sharing with the FSA.

Food Chain Information

  • Critical for traceability and provenance (across all food domains).
  • Data capture is not well standardised.
  • Relies on industry compliance and tooling.

Animal Condition Information

  • Critical for animal welfare monitoring, and used in conjunction with traceability intelligence.

Official Guidance

  • Key guidance include Meat Industry Guide, Manual for Official Controls and the related forms and supporting notes. No significant issues for finding the right information.

  • The FSA has full content ownership, but for individual official documents, internal ownership is not always clear. This affects maintenance and consistency of tone.

Key Activities

The end-to-end range of inspection service activities is captured in the service overview and lifecycle. The key activities that directly contribute to the delivery of the value proposition are to

  • Provide guidance to FBOs about meeting food safety standards and requirements
  • Approve (and decommission) businesses for food production activities
  • Maintain register of food business operators
    • Combines information about legal entities, approved activities and premises.
    • Impacts the inspection programme - including who needs to be inspected and when. This has a knock-on for resourcing and scheduling.
    • An accurate register is a foundation for business transparency and consumer trust.
    • It becomes the basis of the relationship with FBOs.
  • Observe welfare and safety standards are being met during the food production process
  • Record safety observations
  • Capture food safety data

Field Ops does carry out other jobs that as part of their administration and management / governance of the service, and other departments (such as IT) carry out essential activities that enable service provision.

Key Partnerships

The Service Delivery Partner is a critical partner in providing over half of the resourcing needs for the delivery of official controls. On the ground they are key relationship holders on behalf of the FSA with many FBOs. They have an enormous amount of local insight and technical knowledge that underpins the ‘competent’ of Competent Authority.

Food Business Operators themselves are critical partners of the FSA in delivering “food we can trust”. Their responsibilities have been enshrined in legislation since 2006 and the FSA is actively seeking to rebalance accountability that may shift the burden of assurance towards businesses. Field Ops primary relationship is with FBOs, not only to gain access to premises where official controls need to be carried out, but also to receive critical condition information that is often processed through FBO computer systems before finding its way to

Field Ops are supported and enabled by other FSA departments to frame policy and fulfil their on-the-ground roles, including Operational Assurance, Finance, Veterinary Science / Research and Digital.

Outside of the FSA, Field Ops have a variable relationship with other supply chain partners, including

  • Other government departments
  • Local authorities
  • Assurance schemes
  • Partnership working group
  • Industry groups
  • Trade bodies
  • Livestock information service

Cost Structure

Staff and contractor resourcing is the largest single cost driver for Field Ops Inspections. A third party service delivery partner provides over half of Field Operations front line.

Revenue Streams

The FSA is not a commercial organisation but it does generate income to offset the cost of delivering official controls, separate to central government spend allocation.

  • There is legal provision for the FSA to charge for inspection activities.

  • In 2019 the FSA switched to chargeable approval advisory visits.

Operating processes and systems have been put in place to raise, account for and recover these costs, which create additional complexity around key value stream activities.