Big data is a phrase that many organizations wrongly assume is outside their purview— relegated to the monolithic players like Amazon or Facebook—but the truth is, more and more small to medium-sized organizations are reaping the rewards of analytical thinking and self-service data insights.
Speaking particularly for QSR operators, they have abundant data, which can boost the business if streamlined in an appropriate way. Furthermore, most franchisees track disparate data sources and operate a host of software systems all at once — from back of house and point of sale to drive-thru timers and voice of customer surveys — making it virtually impossible for multi-unit operators to capture the data and analytics they need to run a world-class business.
Delaget is a company that provides solutions to restaurant operators to help them streamline their complex, cross-functional data stores. With the comprehensive data provided by the solutions, operators are able to gain a holistic view of their operation and quickly spot problem areas as well as revenue-building and employee coaching opportunities.
About the Company
Delaget was founded by one of the largest Taco Bell franchises in the United States. The company has grown to become a go-to partner for multi-unit operators striving to reclaim their margins and bring greater efficiency to their operations. Today, Delaget allows their customers to gain higher profits by offering a suite of solutions including an end-to-end data management platform (Delaget Data Management), reporting and business intelligence (Delaget Stats), loss prevention software (Delaget Guard), employee and restaurant performance metrics (Delaget Coach), and outsourced payroll and accounting services (Delaget Books).
Through the top-notch technology used and the simplicity of the solutions, Delaget has been successful in partnering with some of the biggest multi-national brands, including KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Hard Rock Café, IHOP, Panda Express, Hardee’s, Sonic, and Papa John’s.
Inception of Delaget
Back in 1990, Jeff and Lee Engler – owners of one of the largest Taco Bell franchises in the U.S. – saw an opportunity to improve their business by more effectively leveraging their data. They had volumes of data from their point of sale and back of house systems, but no way to get a big picture view of their day-to-day operations. They knew this insight would help them make better-informed decisions. To achieve this objective, they hired a team of developers and tasked them with building one of the industry’s first above-store reporting systems.
The Englers began licensing the technology to other franchises under the Delaget name. In 1999, Delaget was spun off as an independent restaurant software company with the mission of helping multi-unit restaurant operators acquire, process, and deliver actionable information. Since then, the reporting software called Delaget Stats, has become the premier restaurant reporting solution with more than 12,000 users across the spectrum of food categories, including Mexican, chicken, burger, pizza, Asian and seafood, and more.
Currently, the team of Delaget is led by CEO, Jason Tober. He has been leading high-growth, global technology businesses for more than 20 years. These businesses include Shavlik Technologies, Vmware, and most recently, JAMF Software, where he was responsible for worldwide sales and marketing. Jason has a knack for growing great teams, which he attributes to investing time in developing a culture focused on customer success.
Satisfying the Various Needs of the Clients
Delaget was founded on the mission to help restaurant operators find, understand, and act on the intelligence in their operation, without worrying about technology issues. The technology provider is delivering on this mission by focusing on three priorities:
- Delaget’s solutions consolidate and manage all of an operator’s data, integrating with any technology they have currently or in the future.
- The analytics solutions provided by the company advise customers with specific recommendations on how to improve their operations to maximize revenue and margins. This predictive intelligence makes acting on data a no-brainer at all levels of the organization.
- The company’s product features are designed and tuned specifically for the nuances of the quick service restaurant industry, with customized views for the store, above store, and corporate levels.
Unique Big Data Solutions
Delaget not only centralizes and manages an operator’s data, it also provides an abundance of data insights, reporting and analytics tools, and outsourcing solutions to help them optimize their operation. Through their solutions’ proactive alerts and insights, franchisees can make smarter and faster decisions without having to be a Big Data expert.
Using Delaget, operators can quickly take action across a trove of operational insights. In aggregate, these decisions produce hugely impactful results from speed of service, labor efficiency, and loss prevention, to regulatory compliance and risk mitigation.
Delaget users learn how different factors interplay and impact one another. For example, speed of service generally correlates with a customer’s overall satisfaction, but a slow drive-thru could be the result of understaffing, menu complexity, or the time it takes to prepare certain food items. Or, it could be a combination of all those factors together. Using Delaget solutions, operators can eliminate the guesswork.
Major factors behind Delaget’s Success
In this ever-changing market landscape, Delaget stands at the forefront in the competition. One of the major reasons behind the company’s success is their depth of expertise in the industry, which has resulted in solutions that are uniquely suited for QSR franchisees. This expertise continues to evolve along with the industry, as the team at Delaget stays closely-connected through their customers, industry partners, as well as their founders and Board of Directors.
Furthermore, customer engagement plays a significant role in the development of the company,
as Jason notes, “We believe in building relationships with our customers, instead of transactions” Each customer has a Delaget Customer Success Manager with experience in the QSR industry, who provides guidance and support from onboarding and training through ongoing account management. Most importantly, the success is predicated on the historic and enduring track record of the customers. “We’re helping QSR brands and franchisees achieve measurable results that are expediting their growth and simplifying their operations,” he adds.
Future Challenges of Delaget
Although Delaget has partnered with some of the world’s most successful franchisees, the big data solution provider is expecting a few challenges in the coming years. These challenges include evolving their products to meet changing consumer and industry needs as well as helping operators integrate with and gain insights into emerging technologies. From kiosks to mobile ordering, franchisees will continue to gather more and more data, escalating the need for simple tools that make sense of all that information.
Delaget’s Product Management and Engineering teams work continuously to understand and anticipate changing market needs and deliver intuitive solutions. “Through open dialogues with our customers and prospects, we can stay ahead of the curve and provide just-the-right solutions for this fast-paced industry,” shares Jason.
Tips to Aspiring Businessmen from Jason
Jason has a vast experience in the market and has been leading Delaget to the pinnacle. When asked about his suggestions for young entrepreneurs, he has some valuable tips.
Young professionals can excel in software and Big Data by focusing on fundamentals that are true in most industries:
- 1. What you don’t do is just as important as what you do: Many companies get caught up in attempting to be all things to all people or chasing after every idea, opportunity, or prospect that comes along. This is a recipe for mediocrity, at best. Don’t just keep adding to the list – make a conscious effort to keep a tight focus.
- Determine what actually matters to your market: Get to know your market intimately, and interview your customers, evaluators, and prospects to understand what’s urgent and pervasive. Do the research, and don’t rely on anecdotes. The insights you gain should influence every area of your business.
- Understand your own capabilities and capacities: Maximize your strengths, and be open and honest about your gaps. Candidness will gain you the trust and respect of your peers.
- Hire people more capable than you, who will gel as a team: You can’t be an expert in everything, so hire those people who fill gaps or challenge you. You’ll be able to delegate with confidence, develop more successful strategies, and learn from them.
- The odds of over-communicating are rare: Just because you believe a message is clear doesn’t mean everyone understands. Repetition through multiple channels (in person, email, PowerPoint, texting, etc.) will help make sure all listeners understand.
To learn more about Delaget, visit www.delaget.com
