Set $10$ strategic objective based on the SMART technique for different stakeholders groups$-$apply for the company CAMPBELL: HOW TO KEEP THE SOUP SIMMERING$*$

In $2022,$ entering his fourth year as Campbell Soup Company CEO, Mark Clouse was looking back on a tumultuous few years. The company's $150$th anniversary in $2019$ was a distant memory. The worst of the COVID$-19$ pandemic appeared to be in the rearview mirror easing from its height in $2020.$ Nothing in the company's history could have prepared it for the onset of the pandemic in March of $2020.$ Clouse and others in his industry were faced with the reality and challenges of a global pandemic causing a world shutdown and extensive supply chain disruptions. Essential businesses, including food manufacturers, bore the responsibility of continuing operations to keep food on retailers' shelves and ultimately on consumers' tables. The challenges of providing quality products amidst supply chain uncertainty were major. Equally, if not more, important was creating a safe and healthy work environment for those essential employees needed to keep operations running and customers' orders fulfilled. Campbell, with the steady leadership of Clouse, had successfully navigated the COVID$-19$ pandemic challenges.

However, more challenges and questions surfaced in $2021.$ Continuing supply chain disruptions, growing inflation and the escalating war in Ukraine generated uncertainty regarding product portfolio changes and geographic repositioning Campbell's had undertaken in $2019.$ Would these strategic moves be a strength or weakness in the coming years? Lingering societal anxiety brought on by the pandemic continued to impact the workforce and the purchasing behavior of consumers. As reported in the company's $2021$ Annual Report, Chair of the Board Keith McLoughlin acknowledged, $$As we move into the next phase of our strategic plan, our mission is to unlock Campbell's full growth potential while remaining nimble and cognizant of the challenges still posed by COVID$-19."$

A legacy of over $150$ years brought with it company memories of managing through many challenges as Campbell once again assessed and adjusted to shifting competitive and societal environments. The company was brimming with promise and seeing renewed interest in their iconic brands. Remaining confident in their strategy, Clouse commented on $2021$ results in the annual report, "Throughout the last year we connected people through the food they love$-$offering comfort, quality, convenience and value. In a volatile and unpredictable world, our brands continued to play a meaningful role in the way people eat." The question remained if this connection and love affair would continue to be meaningful in a world of rapidly changing tastes and diminishing brand loyalty.

Company Background

Known for its iconic red$-$and$-$white soup cans, the Campbell Soup Company was founded in $1869$ by Abram Anderson and Joseph Campbell as a canning and preserving business. One$-$hundred$-$fifty years later, Campbell offered a whole lot more than just soup in a can.

Campbell was controlled by the descendants of John T$.$ Dorrance, a chemist who invented condensed soup more than a century ago. Over the years, the Dorrance family faced agonizing decisions: Should they sell the Campbell Soup Company, which had been in the family's hands for three generations? Should they hire new management to revive lagging sales of its mainstay products chicken noodle and tomato soups and Pepperidge Farm cookies? Or should Campbell perhaps become an acquirer itself? Dorrance family members continued to hold approximately $40\%$ of the company$$s shares in $2021.$

Transformative Years: Building Brand and Culture

The company went public in $1954$ under the leadership of William Murphy, who began with the company in $1949$ and was CEO for almost $20$ years from $1953$ to $1972.$ Murphy and his successors Harold Shaub $(1972$ to $1980),$ R$.$ Gordon McGovern $(1980$ to $1990),$ and David Johnson $(1990$ to $2001)$ transformed Campbell into a leading food company over their long tenures bringing in strong brands such as Prego, Pepperidge Farm, Franco$-$American, V$8,$ Pace, Swanson, and Godiva Chocolates. These moves were designed to expand the availability of its products in existing markets and to capitalize on opportunities in emerging channels and markets around the globe. They also saw benefits to an overlap with its raw material purchasing operations, since peppers, onions, and tomatoes were already used in the company's soups, V$8$ juice, barbecue sauce, and pasta sauces. To help reduce some of the price volatility for ingredients, the company used various commodity risk management tools for a number of its ingredients and commodities such as natural gas, heating oil, wheat, soybean oil, cocoa, aluminum, and corn.$^3$ By the early $2000$s the company had some presence in approximately $9$ out of $10$ U$.$S$.$ households. However, in recent years, the company had faced a slowdown in its soup sales, as consumers were seeking more convenient meal options, such as ready$-$to$-$eat and ready$-$to$-$cook meals, as well as dining out. To comp