Data-Driven Insights Streamline Food Acquisition and Distribution for Leading Australian Charity.
Foodbank Victoria is a statewide not-for-profit organisation that sources and distributes food to those in need across Victoria, Australia. Partnering with over 500 charities and 1,000 schools, Foodbank Victoria delivers more than 25 million meals annually—approximately 65% of food relief in the state.
With a mission to combat food insecurity, the organisation faces significant challenges, including ensuring culturally appropriate food supplies, minimising waste, and optimising food distribution logistics to serve diverse community needs.
Foodbank Victoria needed to modernise its data analytics environment to better address the challenges of food acquisition and distribution. By partnering with Notitia and implementing Qlik Cloud Analytics, the organisation achieved real-time insights, improved decision-making, and greater operational efficiency.
To fulfill its mission of feeding those in need, Foodbank Victoria must deliver the right food, in the right quantities, whenever and wherever it is required. However, the organisation’s reliance on donated food often limits its control over availability—both in terms of timing and type—complicating the logistics of food distribution.
Challenges included:
• Limited visibility into food needs at the community level.
• Siloed data systems making it difficult to align supplies with demand.
• Manual reporting processes consumed valuable time and resources.
• A new hybrid working model required modern technology to better support the workforce.
“We were aware that pockets of food need existed, but we had no way to see them apart from anecdotal evidence.”
Kennie Greagen, Applied Research and Innovation Manager, Foodbank Victoria
To address these challenges, Foodbank Victoria partnered with Notitia to implement Qlik Cloud Analytics (formally known as Qlik Sense SaaS), a modern cloud-based analytics platform. This migration allowed Foodbank Victoria to consolidate and analyse data from multiple sources, improving operational efficiency and enabling data-driven decision-making. Notitia provided the end-to-end support to migrate to Qlik Cloud Analytics and develop interactive dashboards.
Key initiatives included:
• ERP Integration
Seamless connection between Qlik Cloud Analytics and Foodbank Victoria’s ERP system.
• Custom Dashboards
Development of tailored dashboards to track food distribution patterns, inventory flow, and unmet needs.
• Public Data Integration
Leveraging datasets from ABS and SEIFA to align food supplies with local demographics and community needs.
• Automation
Replacing manual reporting with automated processes for faster insights.
“Other BI tools in the market could give us very basic dashboarding, but Qlik is far more powerful in the way we can build dashboards, and the functionality in Qlik gave us so much power.”
Kennie Greagen, Applied Research and Innovation Manager, Foodbank Victoria
The implementation of Qlik Cloud Analytics has transformed Foodbank Victoria’s ability to manage food sourcing and distribution.
Key outcomes include:
• Real-time insights
Faster decision-making to reduce wastage of perishable items.
• Cost savings
Reduced food spending, with the cost per kilogram dropping from A$1.70 to A$1.45.
• Operational efficiencyAutomated reporting has decreased manual processes, allowing staff to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Enhanced data literacy
Increased confidence among staff to utilise analytics for decision-making.
• Collaboration with partners
Timely, actionable reports have improved food distribution efficiency for charity partners and schools.
“We spend about A$5 million a year on food. Now, we are able to tailor that with detailed dashboards that allow us to see what the need is and what’s coming in through donations.”
Kennie Greagen, Applied Research and Innovation Manager, Foodbank Victoria
