A leading quick-service restaurant chain engaged Artisan to create a mobile app to strengthen the relationship between restaurant managers and the distribution service.
A leading quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain determined the best approach for sustaining accelerated growth was to take complete ownership of its supply chain. Historically, the QSR relied on 3rd party distributors to keep up with high inventory demands in restaurants, but the outsourced model posed several problems:
The QSR knew it could solve many of the quality, efficiency, and scalability issues by creating its own controlled distribution operation. However, without correcting communication breakdowns and streamlining manual processes, restaurant managers would continue to spend unnecessary time managing the supply chain instead of actually serving their customers.
The QSR engaged Artisan to create a mobile app that would strengthen the relationship between restaurant managers and the new distribution service. The goal was to personalize the service to each location’s needs, establish a communication bridge between the restaurant and distributor, and simplify everyday tasks using a modern, digital tool.
Our team began with an Understand phase, a process where we learned from subject matter experts, hosted user focus groups, and physically worked in the QSR’s restaurants to gain a deep understanding of our users’ pain points. The Understand phase resulted in a conceptual design prototype that addressed the QSR’s principal gaps in communication.
Using the conceptual design prototype as a long-term vision, we worked with the QSR to define a minimally viable product (MVP) that could be launched quickly and become the basis for rapid incremental improvements driven by continuous user feedback. We continued to refine the concept during the Build phase of the MVP, keeping our users actively involved and at the center of the process. Ultimately, we launched the MVP ahead of an aggressive schedule, which included:
As a result of this initiative, the QSR experienced the following:
Following the success of this initiative, the QSR placed the mobile app at the center of its adaptive supply chain strategy, which will ultimately give restaurant managers a personalized “demand-centric” view of their back-office operation.
The same QSR has also engaged Artisan to create a mobile app to support delivery drivers in their new distribution.
Quote: "You have no idea how much we appreciate the mobile app. You really went the extra mile." -- Restaurant Operator
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