The Milwaukee-based Cousins Subs just signed a deal with North Carolina’s xpient Solutions LLC for software for approximately 160 locations and about 60 planned stores. Cousins Subs said the software improves speed of service at its stores.

Technology has pervaded the business world today and the franchise industry is no different. However, as more tech companies turn their sites on franchise customers the cost savings and efficiency brought by technology are really starting to drive the industry.

For example, Cousins Subs recently announced a deal in which it has turned to software company xpient Solutions LLC for products in its approximately 160 current locations, and about 60 more locations in the planning stages.

The Milwaukee-based Cousins Subs, which was founded in 1972, patterns its subs after the "hoagie," "grinder," "hero" and "sub" sandwiches popular in the East. Cousins Subs has three lines of sandwiches — "American Classics," "Italian Originals" and "Cousins Classics."

Cousins Subs is purchasing three xpient products, IRIS point-of-sale, Enterprise Data Manager, and eIntelligence.

According to John Tata, xpient vice president, IRIS is the standard kind of system that franchise chains use to improve the efficiency of operations.

IRIS allows users to create and maintain menus, handles discount scenarios, traces cash from order to deposit, tracks time and attendance, and provides automatic end-of-day processing.

"The product typically responds to virtually all of the needs of the quick service market," said Tata.

The company's Enterprise Data Manager allows users to make a single change to a central database and update all remote locations automatically for new inventory items, pricing changes, specials, employee information and tax tables. Accessed from any standard Web browser, eIntelligence captures and consolidates transactional store data and provides detail reporting.

Like the functions of such systems in other industries, xpient's products focus on things specific to franchising.

For example, storeowners can use the system to monitor the speed of service through a drive thru or automate the monitoring of a video camera security system based on pre-set problems.

Tata said what the company's systems really do is improve the flow of data from franchisee to franchisor and help franchisees with more than one store manage all the locations.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based xpient has been in the point-of-sale software business for over 25 years, and started focusing on the food service industry in the early 1990s.

The company has installed products at almost 20,0000 restaurants. Major customers include: Arby's, Burger King, Denny's, Hardee's, Panera Bread and Starbucks.

"Our customer base is made of some of the thought leaders in the business and we go to these people for their inputs," Tata said. "We provide systems that compliment what the driving forces of the market are going to be."

"When somebody like Denny's (buys our products) others will do it," he added. "When somebody sees an industry leader going a certain way that influence is worth its weight in gold."

Cousins Subs launched a pilot program to test xpient's products before rolling them out to all its stores.

"We made the decision to proceed with the rollout because feedback from the three pilot locations was very positive," John Ognenoff Cousins Subs director of information technology for Cousins Subs said in a statement. "Based on the pilot, we are expecting considerable improvements in speed of service and reductions in training costs."

Cyrious Software Inc. opened the door to the franchise industry with its work with sign chains. Founder Scott St. Cyr started the business in 1996 after putting together a system to address the difficulties he was having operating the vinyl, electric and digital sign companies he owned.

Cyrious Software's estimating software and business management system caught on quickly with other sign chains. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company works with most of the major brands in the sign industry including FastSigns, Signs Now, Sign-a-Rama, Signs by Tomorrow, SIGNWorld and Signwave.

According to Cyrious Software chief executive officer Charles Carter, the company's system helps franchisees run their business, helps the franchisor keep track of franchisees, transmits operational data between franchisees and franchisors and develops and Intranet for franchisee/franchisor communication.

The company is now branching out into the trophy franchise sector. Carter said that as he talks to different kinds of franchise chains what they are looking for is essentially the same: an integrated system and attention to specifics of the business.

"It really depends on the industry, each of them seem to have their key areas that they are wrestling with," he said. "You need to get with the franchisor, understand the business model, understand the system and give them what they need."

"The systems needs to look and feel like it was designed for their industry," he added.

Above all else, he said that both franchisees and franchisors are united in the desire for a system that helps them run the business more easily and effectively. "Number one is a franchise business management system, that is a huge ability — to enable them to support their operations."

Franchisor often pitch that prospective franchises don't need to know anything about a particularly industry in order to launch a franchise store because they have the structure in place for success. Tech companies make the same pitch with their systems.

Carter said that franchisees are not going to always be tech savvy and successful products ensure that they don't need to be. "They shouldn't be spending time on technology, it should be a business solution," he said.

As soon as franchisees open their doors, they need to be out on the street marketing and helping the customers, not dealing with technology and computer problems, he added.

Like xpient's Tata, Carter said reputation is crucial to attracting customers in the franchise industry. "The key is, when these guys get into a search, they are going to be a lot more comfortable with someone that has a track record," he said.

Johnson

Jeff Johnson of FranSurvey makes it his business to know what works and what doesn't in the franchise industry and he admits that technology is certainly on the forefront of everybody's mind.

"It is obviously coming more and more into play all the time — across the board," he said. "It is absolutely everywhere."

The Lincoln, Neb.-based FranSurvey is a research company that examines franchise brands and rates them based on confidential surveys with franchisees. FranSurvey has worked with brands such as Great Clips, Signs by Tomorrow, Taco Del Mar, Mr. Handyman, Z Pizza, Maid Brigade, DreamMaker Bath and Kitchen by Worldwide and Great Harvest Bread.

As far as tech products value, Johnson said it comes down to how helpful it is for the franchisee.

"Our main concern is how it impacts the franchisee, not only from a profit standpoint, but also effectiveness," he said. "There are an awful lot of smart tech systems out there that can help franchisees."

In his company's survey, Johnson said the effectiveness of technology comes up quickly, particularly if a system is too complicated or convoluted, which causes franchisees to criticize franchisors.

Franchisees have also voiced concerns that a franchisee management system causes a "big brother" affect in which the franchisor watches every move.

Franchisees have also voiced concerns that franchisors use tech products and software systems as a way to profit more from the franchisee/franchisor relationship. In other words, a franchisor buys a software product from a company for one price and then resells it to the franchisee for more.

Johnson said that, from the franchisee perspective, this situation is a definite no, no. They believe there should not be any additional revenue to the franchisor for technology products related to running a franchise business.

"That ain't right and franchisees figure that out pretty fast," he said. "I don't think the franchisor should take a bath in it, but we are all on the same team."

Franchising is a real "interdependent relationship" and it is crucial that both the franchisee and franchisor are "pulling on the same side of the table," he added.

Despite any possible pratfalls in this area, though, Johnson said that without question all the top franchise organizations are using technology to better their business and the business of their franchisees.

"Technology is huge and it can have a tremendous benefit," he said.