Data-Driven Insights Streamline Food Acquisition and Distribution

Foodbank Victoria approached several organisations to help with the implementation of their data and digital transformation project and chose Notitia, to enable the migration to Qlik Cloud Analytics and develop new functionalities.

Visibility into Community Food Needs

Foodbank Victoria, a statewide not-for-profit, sources and distributes food for those in need across the state. It works with some 500 charity partners and 1,000 schools to deliver more than 25 million meals annually, accounting for around 65% of food relief in Victoria.

The organisation faces considerable challenges: getting the right food, in the right quantities, whenever and wherever it’s needed – ensuring that perishable goods are not wasted. Much of the food it distributes is donated, meaning control over its availability – either by time or by type – is limited.

To further complicate the process, requirements vary greatly – from breakfasts for school children to food for the homeless, who often need pre-made meals that require no cooking or other preparation. As the most multicultural state in Australia, Victoria’s community is also ethnically highly diverse. Foodbank Victoria therefore needs to ensure that the food it provides meets a wide range of specific requirements.

“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

Foodbank Victoria had a high-level view of how much food was being delivered where, but little information on the type of food or the communities receiving it. And while the bulk of Foodbank Victoria’s deliveries come from donations, it supplements this by spending around A$5 million annually on food. It realised that better matching purchases to recipients’ needs would enable it to reduce this outlay.

Foodbank Victoria had access to large amounts of data from multiple sources, covering areas such as:

Population distribution and ethnic diversity of recipients.
Specific food needs of communities to ensure culturally appropriate supplies.
Key data on donor organisations including donation trends and timelines.

However, challenges included:

Limited internal resources to analyse and action the data.
Ongoing ERP system upgrades alongside migration to the cloud.
Adapting to hybrid work models implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementing Qlik Cloud Analytics

When Foodbank Victoria sought to modernise its data environment alongside ERP upgrades, Qlik Cloud Analytics emerged as the clear solution. Qlik Cloud Analytics seamlessly integrates with Foodbank Victoria’s data environment, significantly increasing functionality and enabling better insights.

Foodbank Victoria approached several organisations to help with the implementation and chose Notitia, to enable the migration to Qlik Cloud Analytics and develop new functionalities.

Notitia played a pivotal role in supporting Foodbank Victoria's transformation by ensuring a seamless migration to Qlik Cloud Analytics, enabling enhanced data accessibility and integration across their systems.
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Key projects facilitated through Qlik Cloud Analytics include:

Neighbourhood Assessments: Enables staff to assess and report on community food needs.
Feed it Forward: Gathers and analyses data from distribution partners to optimise operations.

Qlik Cloud Analytics now acquires data on incoming and outgoing food movements from its ERP system, as well as data from its financial and inventory platforms and external sources to help it determine community food requirements. The technology enables Foodbank Victoria to analyse and visualise data to support decision-making, and automation replaces manual report generation.

“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

Food Sourcing and Distribution Improved

Implementing Qlik Cloud Analytics has empowered Foodbank Victoria to combine internal and external data in real time. This is then combined with demographic and other external data to develop analysis and insights that increase the efficiency of its food sourcing and distribution activities.

The solutions are now used across all teams and staff levels at Foodbank Victoria, and the active user base of around 50 is growing continually as the IT team works to encourage take-up. More importantly, the solutions are delivering meaningful results: the ability to base decisions on real-time data has also enabled Foodbank Victoria to reduce its food spending from around $1.70 to $1.45 per kilogram.

“We spend about $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

Qlik Cloud Analytics also supports Foodbank Victoria’s partners, including:

The Victorian Department of Education: Uses Qlik for the School Breakfast Clubs Program
Charity Partners: Benefit from timely, actionable reports to improve food distribution.

Looking forward, Foodbank Victoria plans to expand Qlik’s use to optimise relationships with food donors, demonstrating the impact of their contributions and reducing churn.

“One internal user said Qlik was life-changing. They can access and visualise data to understand what’s happening instantly.” — Kennie Greagen

Solution Achievement / Impact

By gathering and analysing data on local demographics and key stages of food sourcing and distribution, Foodbank Victoria has been able to significantly increase its operational efficiency.

Additional benefits include:

Customised dashboards providing insights into inventory flow, food distribution patterns, and unmet needs.
Real-time insights enabling faster decisions and reducing wastage of perishable items.
Integration of public datasets, such as ABS and SEIFA, to align food supplies with local community needs.

“We can identify short-dated products and move them quickly, so waste has come down significantly. We also use Qlik dashboards to optimise our $5 million annual food spend.” — Kennie Greagen, Applied Research and Innovation Manager, Foodbank Victoria

The Qlik Cloud Analytics migration and interactive dashboards delivered several key outcomes for Foodbank Victoria:

Improved Decision-Making: Real-time insights empower faster, data-driven decisions.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlined processes have reduced manual reporting and improved response times.
Increased Social Return on Investment (SROI): Scenario analyses and postcode-level insights ensure maximum impact per dollar and kilogram of food distributed.
Strategic Planning: Dashboards enable future scenario modelling and identification of optimal warehouse locations, improving distribution efficiency.

About Notitia

Founded in 2019, Notitia is an Australian-owned consultancy specialising in data and digital transformation. Combining expertise in analytics, governance, and strategy, Notitia partners with clients to deliver outcomes that solve the right problems and make a tangible impact.

Boutique Expertise: Delivering expert-driven results with greater efficiency and agility.

Client-First Approach: Ensuring tailored, impactful solutions through direct access to directors.

Vision-Driven Mission: Striving to become Australian leaders in data and digital transformation.

“Our partnership with Foodbank Victoria showcases how tailored data solutions can drive impactful results. By leveraging Qlik Cloud Analytics, we’ve been able to empower their team with real-time insights and greater operational efficiency, aligning with their mission to combat food insecurity.”
— Alex Avery, Managing Director, Notitia