Tafel Deutschland e.V.
Pro Bono Consulting on Digitalization
The more than 940 non-profit food banks in Germany collect surplus food and distribute it to people in need. Food distribution is the core business of the food banks and is organized differently in each region. By offering savings on groceries, the food banks give those in need a modest amount of financial leeway. At the same time, they create a space for people to meet and thus provide a framework for building a social network - one that gives those affected by poverty a sense of stability and can help them improve their situation.
Tafel Deutschland is the umbrella organization for German food banks. The non-profit association represents the interests of its members in politics, business, and society, and provides practical support for local food bank work. Every year, around 18 million tons of food end up in the trash in Germany. At the same time, many people in our society lack the money to regularly purchase sufficient food. Here, the food banks, with their approximately 60,000 volunteers and around 2,000 distribution points throughout Germany, form the most important bridge. They rescue food, for example from supermarkets, that would otherwise end up in the trash, and distribute it to those in need.
As food donations decline overall while the number of people in need continues to rise, food banks are facing additional challenges. Based on this problem, the project „Tafel macht Zukunft – gemeinsam digital“ (Food Banks Shape the Future – Together Digitally), funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, was launched, which AdEx Partners actively supported pro bono.
The use of digital technologies was intended to achieve the following project goals:
- Digitally support and facilitate work processes at food banks and food-donating companies during food collection
- Increase in the amount of food saved
- Improved planning and communication between food banks and with food-donating companies
- Collection and analysis of donation-related data
- Time and cost savings through optimized route planning
- Further development of the distribution of (large) donations among food banks
- The platform has various features and supports the food banks in their daily activities.
The eco platform was developed in workshops initially organized and moderated by AdEx Partners with all stakeholders based on the design thinking approach. Since then, the project has continued to evolve, and the AdEx Partners team has provided Tafel Deutschland e.V. with advice in the following areas:
- Project Management & Governance: We provided general project management and coordinated the virtual collaboration team. This included ongoing project governance, quality assurance, and risk management to ensure that everything ran smoothly.
- Change Management: Our change management strategy included developing a communication strategy, increasing acceptance of digitalization, and rolling out the solution to other food bank locations.
- Stakeholder Management: We took care of vendor selection and management as part of the RfP process. This included organizing and conducting workshops with all project participants, as well as providing strategic consulting and ongoing stakeholder mapping.
- Technical Implementation: In terms of technical implementation, we created MVPs, offered agile coaching, and supported development, feedback, piloting, and implementation. We also took care of the acquisition and management of hardware equipment purchases.
Jochen Brühl, Chairman of the Board, Tafel Deutschland e.V.: „Tafel is expert in food rescue, AdEx Partners in digitalization. That is why we are very grateful that AdEx Partners is accompanying and supporting us pro bono in digitizing food rescue and making food banks fit for the future.“
