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Doughnut chain sweats existing IT supplier relationship to support growth and diversification

Doughnut chain sweats existing IT supplier relationship to support growth and diversification

 

Krispy Kreme has worked with long-term IT provider PCMS to overhaul its IT in support of new food sales formats.

 

Its new Hotlight stores include a combination of counter sales, 'drive thru' and doughnut theatre, where customers can watch the doughnuts being made. The chain now has 10 such outlets with the latest in Leeds having opened in early July.

 

Moreover, in just seven years, the brand has expanded to 44 outlets and plans to have 100 stores by 2016.

 

To support this growth strategy Krispy Kreme has recently invested in an extensive upgrade of its IT infrastructure. This has included converting to a virtualised network, as well as upgrading its electronic point-of-sale (EPoS) system to the latest version of Vision BeanStore from PCMS.

 

Building on strong supplier relations

 

PCMS has provided Krispy Kreme’s IT infrastructure since the launch of its first outlet in Harrods in 2003. In using PCMS’ virtualised operation, Krispy Kreme has removed the need to have servers at each store, saving on hardware and maintenance costs. The retailer is also able to benefit from scalability, with instant access to additional storage space when required. This service makes expanding its network of stores easier and more cost-effective from an IT perspective, the IT supplier said.

 

This innovative way of using IT also aids Krispy Kreme’s business continuity planning. As PCMS monitors its virtualised network 24 hours a day, potential issues can be identified and solved before impacting on a store’s sales operations. All back up is completed automatically and virtually, while being held at one of PCMS’ secure data centres.

 

Supporting improved customer proposition

 

Meanwhile, the upgraded version of Vision BeanStore means that Krispy Kreme now has fully integrated chip and PIN transactional capability, enhanced financial reporting and a centralised promotions function that works across its various sales formats.

 

Rob Hunt, joint managing director at Krispy Kreme, said: “With our intensive growth plans for the next few years, it is essential that we have IT provision in place that has the flexibility to grow with the business. The virtualised shared server offer from PCMS fits this need perfectly. It saves investment in equipment and hosting capacity we don’t yet need, while providing the ability to access additional space as and when the business needs it. We also took the opportunity to upgrade our EPoS system and benefit from greater functionality and improved financial reporting from across our portfolio. With these upgrades, Krispy Kreme now benefits from a robust IT solution that meets the needs of the business today and well into the future.”