Who are our Stakeholders?

For our stakeholder map, we've decided to look at the grocery/fresh produce industry. We've identified six different groups of stakeholders that will be affected by Densec ID's dendrites: consumers, farms/produce brands, packaging/labeling, regulatory government agencies, data/IT companies, and retailers/grocery stores

Data/IT

One stakeholder group that will be impacted is the blockchain and data companies that Densec ID will have to work with to implement their dendrites. Given that blockchain capabilities are one of this technology's competitive advantages, it's crucial that these software companies are on board before Densec reaches out to other stakeholders that work more directly with fresh produce.

Packaging/Labelling

While it hasn't been decided where the dendrites will be located on the produce, one option is putting it on the label stickers that most produce that don't have packaging already come with. The use of dendrites would essentially create a new product that labeling companies could sell to their customers. The same concepts apply to packaging certain foods such as mushrooms, small tomatoes, etc. already come in. While these companies would be partially responsible to ensuring the data aspect of the dendrites works on their labels, they would not be the owners of the data; that comes from the farms/bid produce brands.

Farms/Big Produce Brands

These stakeholders are affected by dendrites because it is their information and data that will be accessible through scanning the dendrites. There is also a relationship between labeling/packaging companies and these farms and brands. Because of this, Densec ID will have to work with the farms and food brands, such as Dole Food Company, to form a partnership and onboard them to the new dendrite technology. From our research, we have learned that many produce companies use internal transportation methods to get their produce to the stores. Because of this, we have not identified any logistics-related stakeholders.

Regulatory Government Agencies

After the farms and produce brands, the next big stakeholder on the map is regulatory government agencies. These include organizations such as the FDA and U.S. Customs for imports and exports. The produce, and the dendrites, are unable to reach consumers in the market if they do not pass FDA standards. This means these agencies will be affected and will have to adapt to the new dendrite technology. After all, it is a potential chemical substance that is coming in close contact with fresh produce.

Retailers/Grocery Stores

Since retailers and other grocery stores will also be affected by the dendrite technology. These stakeholders are concerned about their ability to sell fresh produce. If end consumers do not buy produce due to the dendrites, it will hurt these companies. However, it is possible that this new technology can benefit these stakeholders through an increase in sales. It is also important to note, that these stakeholders will also be affected if dendrites are the new method of data tracking. This will affect inventory tracking and other business operations.

Consumers

Last on our map, are our consumer stakeholders. Our consumers can be broken down into further categories such as tech-savvy consumers, e-commerce shoppers (which rose in popularity due to COVID-19), and health and socially conscious consumers. These are the stakeholders that interact with dendrites at the end of their life cycles. Ideally, the consumers will gain valuable information from the dendrite by scanning it, and they will discard it before consuming/using the produce. Whether the dendrite is on the label of the produce or on the produce itself, these consumers will be the last stakeholders to interact meaningfully with the dendrites.