Restaurant chains, often with sizeable franchisee bases, are reducing expenditures tied to printing and shipping menus and marketing materials by leveraging the Internet and Web-applications-based printing management systems.
In addition to enhancing efficiency and cutting costs, the printing management systems can help chains present a more consistent brand image, according to some users, including 1,306-unit IHOP of Glendale, Calif., and 132-unit Peter Piper Pizza of Scottsdale, Ariz.
Results such as those achieved by IHOP and Peter Piper help explain the growing interest among foodservice operators in the replacement of paper-based collateral ordering methods with online applications, vendors say. Two systems of this ilk, both offered by printing companies, are eTools from MyPrint of Irvine, Calif., and DokShop from Prisma Graphic of Phoenix.
The eTools system “continually saves IHOP thousands of dollars in overnight shipping expenditures alone,” said Patrick Lenow, director of public relations and communications for franchisor IHOP Corp. “Just as importantly, it allows our franchised stores [which constitute 99 percent of the chain] to function as a cohesive group of restaurants, not a group of units with some disjointed marketing effort.”
Peter Piper Pizza has seen positive results from the DokShop system.
“Before we put DokShop into place, we were manually tracking orders for marketing materials on spreadsheets and spending an incredible amount of time sending proofs back and forth,” said Neely Burkhardt, senior marketing manager for operator and franchisor Peter Piper Inc. “We now have that down to a few minutes, and more importantly, my department can spend time on more critical, all-encompassing marketing projects.”
Web-based printing management systems allow operators to establish secure Web portals where franchisees or supervisors at individual stores or groups of stores within a chain can view and order marketing collateral. Such systems also feature tools and templates for customizing materials to suit particular needs, as well as for transmitting orders directly to printers. Depending on a specific application’s functionality, some options, like eTools, provide individuals at the corporate level access to reports of how certain printed materials are being ordered and shipped, thereby enabling them to address inefficiencies in a more proactive manner.
Many if not most of DokShop’s primary features are similar to those of eTools. Among DokShop’s distinguishing features is a utility that exports to Microsoft Excel reports documenting order details and materials usage patterns. Once in Excel’s spreadsheet format, that information is more easily integrated into restaurant company enterprise accounting systems, Prisma Graphic sources said.
While Lenow of IHOP would not specify how much the chain paid for eTools, MyPrint chief executive Kent Barkouras pegged the cost to implement the technology at $5,000 to $20,000, depending on such factors as number of users and complexity of the website. Maintenance charges vary in accordance with whether a chain opts to use MyPrint to handle its printing and maintain an inventory of some or all materials, as IHOP does.
Among the 12 foodservice organizations using eTools are Focus Brands of Atlanta, operator and franchisor of the Carvel Ice Cream, Schlotzsky’s Deli and Cinnabon concepts. Other users are California Pizza Kitchen, based in Los Angeles; Chevys Fresh Mex, based in Long Beach, Calif.; Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Spirits, based in Greenwood Village, Colo.; and Yard House, based in Irvine.
Prisma sources said companies or chains using DokShop pay an initial setup fee that typically ranges from $1,500 to $15,000, depending on the desired features, number of products involved and number of users. Once a company’s online site is set up, there are no regular monthly service fees, though there are fees for additions, deletions or other changes to content, Prisma said.
DokShop counts among its restaurant clients La Salsa Fresh based in Carpinteria, Calif.; Marie Callender’s Restaurant & Bakery, based in Aliso Viejo, Calif.; and Pasta Pomodoro, based in San Francisco. Other DokShop users include multiunit Hooters franchisee HootWinc LLC, based in Oceanside, Calif.; RA Sushi, based in Scottsdale; and Tavistock Restaurants, based in Emeryville, Calif.
IHOP moved to eTools early last year to allow franchisees to satisfy their own marketing needs, such as customized menus to reflect regional preferences. The strategy also was seen as a way to better project a uniform brand image and improve the efficiency of creating, managing and delivering printed materials.
Similar goals and benefits have been reported by DokShop users.
Using vendor-supplied tools, IHOP’s marketing department creates collateral online. Franchisees can sign on to the MyPrint website to see a catalog of coupons, door hangers, newspaper advertisements and similar pieces they may customize by following a series of on-screen prompts. Franchisees also may use templates to create marketing materials for specific situations, such as promotions launched in response to competitors’ actions.
National point-of-purchase materials and menus are part of the catalog as well. A menu customization function guides franchisees through the process of adding or deleting items, such as limited-time offers and new prices. Alerts appear should a user assign a price that seems out of line, such as $750 for an entrée, instead of $7.50.
Once their orders are complete, franchisees can transmit them to MyPrint or, if they prefer, download finished PDFs to give to a local printer. In either case, each unit pays for its own materials. A reporting function allows both franchisees and IHOP regional offices to track order quantities and status. MyPrint recently added a reporting function: It affords IHOP officials insight into how far in advance franchisees are ordering different materials, how the materials are being used and whether expedited or regular shipping was selected for a given order.
“It assists us in knowing what’s popular in the franchise community,” Lenow said.
The eTools system has reduced order turnaround time from an average of two to three weeks for menus and two weeks for customized marketing materials to a respective 72 hours and five to seven working days.
“With the paperless system, there is no more faxing or overnighting of proofs back and forth,” Lenow said. “And franchisees need no longer wait for their IHOP franchise business consultant to assist them with orders.”
Though IHOP officials declined to specify the total savings afforded by the printing support technology, they indicated that the chain’s franchisees, on average, have saved 15 percent to 20 percent on menu printing.