Welcome to Farm to Fork: The Innovators. I’m excited to introduce you to another trailblazer in the world of food—Andy Raabe, CFO Partner at Seaton Hill Partners. With over four decades of involvement in the food supply chain myself, I love sharing the stories of those who are transforming how we produce and serve food. Andy brings a wealth of expertise from his time leading finance and supply chain at established brands like Potbelly and pioneering smaller fast-casual concepts. In our discussion, he reveals how integrating finance with supply chain decisions can streamline operations, improve vendor relationships, and boost profitability for emerging and established brands alike.

Together, we dive into critical topics like how to build supply chains from scratch, best practices for fostering collaboration between finance and supply chain teams, and the tremendous value vendors can bring when they become strategic partners. Andy also walks us through the unique perspective a CFO can bring to operational challenges, offering tools and strategies for effective forecasting, budgeting, and tackling supply disruptions. I hope you’ll find our chat both enlightening and practical as we explore the path from farm to fork—and all the innovation that happens in between.

Connect with David Maloni:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmaloni/

Connect with David:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-raabe/
https://www.seatonhill.com/

Timestamps

0:00 – Episode Overview
0:25 – Introducing Guest: Andy’s CFO & Supply Chain Expertise
0:52 – Andy’s Background: From Engineering to Finance
1:15 – Joining Potbelly & Building a Finance Function
3:41 – Transition into Supply Chain & Fixing Core Processes
7:22 – Low-Hanging Fruit: Price Verification & Inventory Control
10:57 – Gaining Leadership Experience in Supply Chain
14:08 – Returning to Finance & Public Company Lessons
20:46 – Becoming CFO at Wow Bao: Startup & Growth
25:00 – Solving the “Chicken-and-Egg” Challenge for Emerging Brands
29:14 – LTO Forecasting & Overcoming the Honeymoon Effect
34:39 – Supplier Councils: Cost Savings & Innovation
40:07 – Best Practices: Aligning Finance & Supply Chain
44:25 – Fractional CFO Model at Seton Hill Partners
46:44 – Closing Remarks & Final Takeaways

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