Panera Bread 2015 Annual Report Download - page 13

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dishes; and custom roasted coffees and cafe beverages, such as hot or cold espresso and cappuccino drinks and smoothies. We
regularly review and innovate our menu offerings to feature new taste profiles we believe our customers crave.
Operational Excellence
We believe that operational excellence is the most important element of Panera Warmth, a concept that reflects the totality of the
experience that our customers receive and can take home to share with friends and family, and without strong execution and
operational skills, it is difficult to build and maintain a long-lasting relationship with our customers. As a result, we are concentrating
efforts and resources on our Panera 2.0 initiative, a strategic initiative intended to enhance the experience for both our dine-in and
to-go guests. This enhanced guest experience is enabled by technology and operational improvements designed to keep up with
high transaction volumes and to deliver unrestrained production demand. Panera 2.0 is part of a broader set of initiatives designed
to make Panera a better competitive alternative and to enable expanded growth through not only Panera 2.0 but also through
innovation in operations, food, and marketing, utilization of delivery hubs, expanded small-order delivery and our investments in
technology to create the capabilities needed to support these initiatives.
To develop a strong connection with our customers, our bakery-cafes are staffed by skilled and engaging associates. Additionally,
we believe high-quality restaurant management is critical to our long-term success and, as such, we provide detailed operations
manuals and hands-on training to each of our associates. We train our associates both in small group and individual settings. Our
systems have been created to educate our associates so each one is well prepared to respond to a customer’s questions and create
a better dining experience. Furthermore, we believe our commitment to investing in staffing levels necessary to service growth
in revenues, along with maintaining competitive compensation for our associates, is fundamental to our future success.
We believe in providing bakery-cafe operators the opportunity to share in the success of the bakery-cafe. Through our Joint Venture
Program, selected general managers and multi-unit managers may participate in a bonus program, which is based upon a percentage
of the store profit of the bakery-cafes they operate, generally over a period of five years (subject to annual minimums and
maximums). We believe the program’s multi-year approach improves operator quality and management retention, and creates
team stability, which generally results in a higher level of consistency and customer service for a particular bakery-cafe. It also
leads to stronger associate engagement and customer loyalty. Currently, approximately 45 percent of our Company-owned bakery-
cafe operators participate in the Joint Venture Program. We believe this program is a fundamental underpinning of our low rate
of management turnover and operational improvements.
Management Information Systems
We believe technology is a differentiator in the restaurant business. We are committed to being a leader in technology that makes
a difference to our customers by providing a greater degree of access and convenience. As a result, we are concentrating efforts
and resources on our Panera 2.0 initiative, which is intended to enhance the experience for both our dine-in and to-go guests. The
enhanced guest experience is enabled by technology, including the convenience of digital ordering and Rapid Pick-Up, and
operational improvements. We expect to continue to make substantial investments in technology designed to provide greater
access for customers, increased operational capabilities including improved labor and inventory management tools, and
improvements in core enterprise systems. We also continue to modernize and make investments in our information technology
networks and infrastructure, specifically in our physical and technological security measures to anticipate cyber-attacks and prevent
breaches, and to provide improved control, security and scalability. Enhancing the security of our financial data, customer
information and other personal information remains a priority for us.
Each of our Company-owned bakery-cafes have programmed point-of-sale registers which collect transaction data used to generate
pertinent information, including, among other things, transaction counts, product mix, and average check. All Company-owned
bakery-cafe product prices are programmed into the point-of-sale registers from our support centers. We allow franchisees access
to certain of our proprietary bakery-cafe systems and systems support. Franchisees are responsible for providing the appropriate
menu prices, discount rates, and tax rates for system programming.
We use in-store enterprise application tools to assist in labor scheduling and food cost management, to provide corporate and retail
operations management with quick access to retail data, to allow on-line ordering with distributors, and to reduce managers’
administrative time. We are also investing in enhanced back-of-house forecasting and labor scheduling systems to improve the
effectiveness of these capabilities. We use retail data to generate daily and weekly consolidated reports regarding sales and other
key metrics, as well as detailed profit and loss statements for our Company-owned bakery-cafes. Additionally, we monitor the
transaction counts, product mix, average check, and other sales trends. We also use this retail data in our “exception-based
reporting” tools to safeguard our cash, protect our assets, and train our associates. Our fresh dough facilities have information
systems which accept electronic orders from our bakery-cafes and monitor delivery of the ordered product back to our bakery-
cafes. We also use proprietary on-line tools, such as eLearning, to provide on-line training for our retail and fresh dough facility
associates and on-line baking instructions for our bakers.