Situation

The Northwest Food Processors Association (NWFPA) and the State of Washington saw a need to make industry training resources more accessible. Could the World Wide Web help bring together users and purveyors of training? How would web-based training marketplace function? What resources would need to be dedicated to the project? 

Solution

Steaming Kettle turned the high-level vision into and action plan and performed in-depth research on web-based training marketplaces. After identifying viable models both inside and outside the food processing industry, Steaming Kettle evaluated training marketplace web sites and conducted in-depth interviews with their technical and marketing staffs. Human and technical costs were estimated, and various models for recouping operating costs were explored. Strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of several scenarios were investigated.
 

Result 

Steaming Kettle helped build the foundation for a world-class collaboration between food processors, education providers and governments. Delivering both a written and oral report to the Washington State Food Processors Skill Panel, Steaming Kettle made ten concrete recommendations for best practices for the web site design, its underlying technology, and its business operations. Steaming Kettle also highlighted eight benefits and eight risks in proceeding with the collaboration.