Powerhouse POS Workstations Help an Ohio Wendy’s Franchisee Streamline Operations
Challenges
Wendy’s Franchisee Chris Lane was unable to attain sufficient data, manual reporting was necessary, and systems were not integrated with his original JS7500 POS workstations. He was looking for a next gen software solution and needed a software agnostic hardware platform that would last for years to come.
Solutions
Mr. Lane installed Panasonic Connect’s answer to a modern, conversational, touch screen POS system, the JS950. It was easy to maintain and due to the open architecture, it gave him the opportunity to deploy his new POS Software to collect valuable data, while seamlessly integrating with any HRIS systems. He later upgraded to the JS960 and JS970 terminals in 2015, which provided even more flexibility, and durability. In
addition, he has added four new Stingray4 JS980s to his newest location.
Results
After upgrading his software and installing the JS950 workstations in 2009, there has been an overall 52% business growth. Since transitioning to JS960 and JS970 in 2015, they have grown their business by 27%.
In 2015, Mr. Lane upgraded most of his terminals to JS970s. These workstations have had a tremendous impact on his team, with almost no down time. In fact, he’s only had to repair or replace four terminals of the 28 purchased, averaging a 99% uptime. The touchscreens remain calibrated, which helps his team fulfill food orders, quickly and easily, and they also feature a powerful Intel processor. The rugged structure ensures reliable, non-stop operations. In addition, the four JS980s that he purchased for his newest restaurant allow even more component flexibility.
In 2009, Chris Lane, VP of Operations of BASEC Management, a Wendy’s franchisee, and his wife, Emily, purchased several restaurants from her parents. As a five-year Chair of Wendy’s Technology Advisory Council (WTAC) and Secretary/Treasurer of Wendy’s Franchise Association (WFA) for three years, Mr. Lane has been determined to offer only the best Wendy’s experience to his customers and employees.
From the beginning, The Lanes established that their core goals were to continue the family’s legacy of serving the community and building generational opportunities. They knew that in order to be successful and expand to additional units, they had to provide outstanding food quality, exceptional customer service and facilitate streamlined operations among their teams. When he began the initial restaurant operations, Mr. Lane was pleased with Panasonic Connect’s rugged durability in its JS7500 POS workstations. While this hardware was a workhorse of its time, reporting was manual, and everything had to be put into a spreadsheet due to the embedded software architecture. Mr. Lane knew that a software upgrade was necessary in order to expand the business.
The right solution was to move up to Panasonic Connect’s software agnostic hardware platform in the Stingray JS950, just as rugged as the original JS7500 units being replaced, and the positive impact on operations was almost immediate. Mr. Lane recalls, “We began the journey to a modern, conversational, touch-screen POS system. The thing that appealed to me the most was that the JS950 was very easy for field teams to maintain, even if they were not technicians. This also brought us a new set of reporting and integration into the other systems we used for managing the business due to the ability to upgrade to our next gen software platform, while continuing our partnership with Panasonic Connect.”
ROBUST, RELIABLE AND TIMELESS WORKSTATIONS
Today, Mr. Lane owns and operates eight Wendy’s franchises throughout Ohio. He recognizes that behind every Panasonic Connect POS workstation, is a decades-long legacy of creating rugged, reliable hardware that stands the test of time. Technology is evolving every day, and Panasonic Connect’s POS “workhorses,” as he describes them, are here for the long haul, strong enough to support any software, saying “In my eight restaurants, I have replaced fewer than five point-of-sale devices since 2015 when I purchased them. That drives tremendous value in continued up-time to process orders, lack of strain on my restaurant teams, and the ability to confidently manage the restaurant technology environment with fewer changes.”
Currently, all Wendy’s corporate locations use Panasonic Connect’s high-performance, software agnostic hardware at all of their restaurants which allows them to easily work with any type of software without any compatibility issues. They are on a single platform for their POS software, so updates are released at one time to all locations, for optimal marketing and operations opportunities.
High-speed processors power customer transactions and help support a fast, seamless customer experience. And, modern, conversational ordering software allows his team members to quickly and easily navigate through the customer ordering process and gives them the ability to modify special orders, and easy-to-read screens stay calibrated, so there’s no downtime.
BUILDING A LEGACY BY HELPING OTHERS BUILD THEIRS
Chris Lane’s hope is to continue relying on the Panasonic platform as Wendy’s primary device for POS terminals for many years, regardless of whatever software he chooses. His commitment to excellence extends far beyond superior food quality and the best customer service. Equally important to Chris and his wife, Emily, is giving back to their local community. Their efforts have helped drive positive change among countless organizations and charities by contributing their time, efforts and donations.
