In the early 2010s ADM, a century-old agricultural products and services company, embarked on a big transformation. It streamlined and reorganized its divisions, refocused its teams on smart investments and innovation, and became more strategic and disciplined about capital, costs, and cash. But then the leadership team turned its attention to another important C: customers. The goal was to reorient the business toward value-added nutrition products and services, a more stable sector in which it could build a broader base for growth and impact.
Now the company is split into three segments: agricultural services and oilseeds; carbohydrate solutions; and nutrition. All three units sell not just raw or processed commodities but differentiated products. And ADM’s leaders have identified three long-term global macro trends—food security, sustainability, and health and well-being—around which the company is making capital-allocation, strategic, and operational decisions.
This transformation has been methodical and mission-driven. In 2019 ADM unveiled a new corporate purpose—“to unlock the power of nature to enrich the quality of life”—and over the past decade its heightened focus on innovating for the customer has brought it even closer to fulfilling that purpose. This story offers lessons for other companies that are trying to envision and execute similar change efforts.
