Franchise Update Magazine Issue III, 2015 | Page 24
BY EDDY GOLDBERG
TITA N S O F TE C H N O L O GY
INTEGRATION
AND COLLABORATION
Jersey Mike’s departments come together to “own it”
A
t Jersey Mike’s Subs, technology, marketing, operations, and
strategy are so intertwined, “We
joke back and forth about who’s in charge
of who, because there’s so much overlap,”
says Rich Hope, the company’s CMO.
“We have a super open-door policy with
marketing and IT, and try to get operations involved as well.”
“Each department has needs,” says
CIO Scott Scherer. “In this day and age
most of those needs involve technology.”
The company’s POS system, developed
by Scherer and his team, is at the core of
the inter-departmental collaboration that is
a big part of Jersey Mike’s culture—and its
rapid growth, as the company approaches
the 1,000-unit mark. Scherer describes the
brand’s award-winning technology as an
integrated software suite with the POS
system as the hub (see graphic). “Our
POS system provides a base technology
package,” he explains. “Then, depending
on which department has a technology
need, we’ll build it into the program as
part of the database.”
For example, marketing uses POS data
to prove the effectiveness of their efforts;
the executive team to look at growth indicators and plan strategy; the customer
service team to determine customer opinions and brand image; operations for food
and labor efficiency; and development to
show candidates how the brand’s technology will help them build their business.
“We distribute a KPI report every Monday morning to area directors to compare
with the previous week, previous year, the
rest of country, and year-to-date numbers
so they can see if they’re keeping up, fall-
Scott Scherer
ing behind, and make changes if necessary,” says Scherer. The executive-level
reports are the same as the franchisees
get, but consolidated at the group and
national levels.
In 2004, Scherer was an outside vendor working on the company’s accounting and mail systems. At the time, Jersey
Note: Text messaging has been added to the above.
22
Mike’s had about 230 stores—all with
standalone cash registers, the legacy of a
brand that started in 1956. Sales reports
still were being faxed to corporate, less
than a dozen years ago. The next year,
he was named CIO but still worked as a
consultant, with the goal of developing
a POS system to deploy in all the stores.
The brand started with a system from a
small company, but that eventually proved
unworkable and they began developing
their own code. At first, Scherer says, it
was more of an electronic cash register,
but working with operations, marketing, and other departments, he and his
team continually added features until it
became a total technology package that
today provides everyone in the company
a view of the business—whichever view
they need for their department.
Franchisees had been complaining
about all the different systems used in the
stores, but to further encourage them to
adopt the new system, corporate provided
an incentive: about $8,000 per store for
JERSEY MIKE’S WINS
CIO AWARD
This past June, CIO magazine named
Jersey Mike’s one of its 2015 CIO 100
companies. The award recognizes organizations that exemplify the highest level
of operational and strategic excellence in
information technology, said Maryfran
Johnson, editor-in-chief. “Our 2015
winners are an outstanding example of
the transformative power of IT to drive
everything from revenue growth to competitive advantage.”
Scherer said Jersey Mike’s won for
the creation of a single proprietary,
fully integrated technology platform
for complex franchise operations.
“Even though as a brand we’re nearly
60 years old, we pride ourselves on the
advantages of cutting-edge technology
to support our franchise owners.”
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