At the peak that the disease was threatening in 2020, U.S. Foods struggled as school and restaurant closures slowed the demand for distribution of foodservices. The situation improved following an increase in indoor meals and learning in-person however, a general lack of truck driver as well as warehouse personnel impeded the recovery of foodservice distributors following pandemic. This left the CEO Pietro Satriano to determine the best way to attract and retain key employees, even though the company expanded the wholesale grocery chain (CHEF’STORE) which U.S. Foods launched during the Pandemic Lockdown. Harvard Business School Professor David E. Bell analyzes the challenges of post-pandemic supply chain management that persist in impacting the distribution of food products in his study, “U.S. Foods: Driving Post-Pandemic Success?”

On the 14th of March in 2020, business was like usual in the more than 24,000 bars and restaurants across the five boroughs in New York City. Overflowing with hungry customers and a few patrons, there was no hint that within 24 hours, all restaurants in the most significant cities within the United States would be shuttered as the first in an unimaginable series of events that would take out 48 percent of the city’s food service jobs in the following month. Restaurants were only the beginning of the list. In April, meatpacking facilities across the nation will be closed of COVID outbreaks, causing disruptions within the supply chain for food. Through the summer and spring of 2020, supermarket shelves were depleted of the most straightforward essentials. Americans and people from all over the world were experiencing in real time how intricate the food service industry is in such a way that a minor disturbance in one part of the system can cause massive changes in another. The food service industry is slowly gaining foundation. However, significant issues continue to impede the way forward. On today’s Cold Call, we’ve enlisted Prof. David Bell to discuss his research project titled “U.S. Foods: Driving Post-Pandemic Success?” I’m your host, Brian Kenny, and you’re listening to Cold Call on the HBR Presents network. David Bell is an expert in the field of agribusiness as well as the food chain. He has been running the HBS Agribusiness seminar for executives for several years. David is a first-time participant in cold calls. David, thank you for joining me today.

Brian Kenny: I’d like you to begin with a brief description of the most critical issue in the case and also what your cold call will be once you’ve started the topic. I’m sure you have yet to teach it. It’s likely to air following your teaching. What are you thinking about to make a cold call?

David Bell:

The setting was set clearly; however, the primary problem, I believe is the need for more drivers. The lack of food is one of the significant issues for the food industry in general. However, it’s a problem for U.S. Foods, which delivers food to restaurants as well as other establishments that serve food items, such as Harvard Business School has a cafeteria, food has to be delivered from the manufacturer of the food products to the U.S. Foods distribution centers, and then on a truck from distribution centers to individual customers. One of the repercussions of COVID and other issues is the absence of drivers. What can you do when there aren’t any drivers? The cold call is not as dramatic as you’d like to hear on this podcast, but the point is, how is our food supply system expected to appear in 20 years? It’s an exciting topic since in the business of groceries which you and I shop, we visit supermarkets and buy our food. Typically we see the market, purchase our food items, and return them to our homes. We’ve witnessed a change over the last couple of years with the delivery of groceries at home, especially during COVID. The Bells indeed used a lot of Instacart. Could there be similar developments in the distribution of food? As I walked by, I thought about self-driving automobiles. Mr. Musk is making a fortune selling these vehicles. Could this be the solution to the problem of driver shortage? If it’s true the case, it’s still a possibility for the near future.

Brian Kenny:

Yeah. In so many other areas of our lives, we’ve witnessed how COVID has put a new spin on subjects that we believed would be the same.

The book is an excellent way of highlighting some of the issues. I did a bit in the introduction to your work in the field of agribusiness as well as the food chain. I’m curious about how you came out about this particular case, why you wrote it down, and how it relates to the sorts of issues you consider as an academic.