Close your eyes. Imagine you’re a quick service restaurant owner. You have a lot on your plate. Perhaps you are remodeling or building. Focused on keeping customers happy by maintaining critical restaurant equipment to service their orders. Balancing costs with investing in the growth of your business. It’s a lot to juggle.

That is where National DCP’s Equipment Solutions Group (ESG) comes in to provide customers with the support they need. Leveraging strong buying power and positive supplier relationships, we assist customers in saving time and money by procuring essential equipment, furniture, signage, services, and building materials worldwide.

As industry-wide cost pressures, supply issues, and service concerns were beginning to mount, it prompted us to develop a new and improved solution. In the past, NDCP offered a dropship program that encountered logistical obstacles with staggered deliveries and equipment arriving at different times. Leveraging our strong buying power and supplier relationships, we sought to simplify the experience by offering a holistic solution. By consolidating all necessary items into a single delivery, including stainless and millwork, our customers benefit from increased efficiency, reduced complexities, lower costs, and a streamlined process.

To effectively introduce NDCP’s New Store & Remodel solution, we had to put it through a trial assessment. After all, you don’t buy a car without test driving it first.

The Pilot

Finding restaurants willing to participate in a test-run was essential in gaining valuable feedback. In January 2022, our equipment solutions  team officially launched a New Store & Remodel pilot, including two Dunkin’ stores (one in Boynton Beach, FL and one in West Palm Beach, FL) under the ownership of franchisee and Director Operations for his network of stores Himang Patel.

“We’ve always dealt with NDCP for all our other store needs, and it has been great,” said Patel. “So, it was just a natural fit to go with new builds and remodels. We appreciate the great one-stop shop approach.”

As with any trial run, this pilot faced its share of challenges. The initial delivery for the first store encountered a few issues, including missing items. However, NDCP swiftly rectified the situation, reconciling the missing items and ensuring prompt redelivery.

This experience served as a valuable lesson, emphasizing the importance of effective communication, quick response times, and a commitment to addressing concerns. By learning from these challenges, NDCP was able to improve the member experience and strengthen its customer-focused approach.

Building upon the lessons learned, NDCP’s second remodel demonstrated significant improvements. With enhanced communication, impeccable organization, and a fine-tuned execution plan, that project was flawlessly executed.

“The communication and organization improved tremendously for the second remodel, and it came to fruition without a single glitch,” Patel said.

This success further validated the effectiveness of NDCP’s collaborative approach.

The Power in Teamwork

The New Store & Remodel Solution owes its success to the exceptional collaboration between NDCP, Dunkin’ franchisees, and our shared leadership. This team effort provided crucial insights into the requirements for achieving the envisioned solution. Franchisees generously offered their stores for testing, granting NDCP invaluable opportunities to refine our approach.

By actively listening to franchisees and incorporating their feedback, NDCP strives to create tailored solutions that address customers’ unique needs and challenges. This approach reflects NDCP’s commitment to acting as a trusted “home team” that looks out for its members’ best interests.

How has your organization streamlined processes or added new services that transformed the operations of its clients?