Archive for the 'Brian Hill' Category

Predictive Analytics to the Rescue

Published on May 20, 2010 in Brian Hill. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Brian Hill, Pitney Bowes Business Insight

I recently read an International Franchise Association article that outlined what franchisors should be doing to help their franchisees obtain funding for new capital projects in today’s risk adverse environment.

The suggestions were good and spoke to the fact that educating lenders about the brand and providing lenders with supporting documentation beyond the FDD is required today to help push things through a system that is still dealing with lots of uncertainty.

Another sound recommendation hinted at, but not expanded on, would be for the franchisor to provide the lender with some indication of the new store’s likelihood for success. An earning’s claim? No, we know these words are heresy, but predictive analytics can go a long way towards this objective without having to provide an actual projected revenue or earnings .

What are the dynamics of the trade area – are they favorable? How many of this brand’s best customers reside proximate to the new location. Where are the competitors and how do they help or hurt this location? What are the unique site characteristics of the physical store itself as well as the retail environment that will help this unit perform well? How does this unit compare to other units in the chain in similar markets sizes and conditions?

A well-thought out predictive analytics plan can help a franchisor more than just evaluating real estate for their own corporate stores, that very knowledge may be the difference between helping a franchisee get funding or not.  Lenders have also gotten wise to this and are now starting to do their own advance real estate research too. It’s a wonder this isn’t a lending industry standard already!

Mobile Food: A New Take on Cheap Eats

Published on March 12, 2010 in Brian Hill. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

by Brian Hill, Pitney Bowes Business Insight

There’s been some buzz in the news recently about traditional bricks-and-mortar food chains joining the ranks of the taco truck. Last summer, Portland, Oregon’s Burgerville debuted their “Nomad” mobile food truck at the popular Waterfront Park surely raising the eyebrows of the other traditional food cart vendors there.

In February of this year, The New York Times ran an article about San Francisco’s efforts to manage the burgeoning mobile restaurant scene as new players—licensed and unlicensed—have started to spring up. The allure of fewer employees, no rent, and little overhead seems to be feeding this growing trend. But when these mobile units deploy in traditional commercial and dining areas, nearby established traditional restaurants aren’t very happy. In the NY Time article, one restaurant operator says, “All of our permits and fees have gone up. We pay high rents, we pay high minimum wages. So anybody that parks a food van across the street from you and is competing with you has almost an unfair advantage.” But then, how likely is it that three business people will meet at a mobile restaurant to share lunch and review a contract? It will be interesting to see if more established fast food chains jump in the game to broaden their presence, rather than for the purely promotional efforts seen to date.

Along this thought, an unexpected tragedy spawned a new trend in New Orleans. After losing many of its restaurants to Hurricane Katrina, Domino’s Pizza’s largest franchisee, started opening up mobile pizza units at gas stations and parking lots throughout the city. This program helped foster the creation of a new, small 700 sq. ft. carry-out only store that is now being built in small towns throughout Louisiana and Mississippi–towns that traditionally were viewed as too small to support a standard delivery and carry-out Dominos store. But, no matter whether it’s in a van or in a building, the food’s got be good, or customers won’t come back<!–more–>

Holiday Trends Highlight Increased Role for Location Intelligence

Published on October 14, 2009 in Al Beery and Brian Hill. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Al Beery and Brian Hill, Pitney Bowes Business Insight

Over the next few months, consumers will head to the malls, superstores, and in increasing numbers, to their laptops—and retailers will be looking for any edge they can find to increase sales and margins during this holiday shopping season.

Given the sluggish economy, cost pressures and changing consumer behaviors, there has never been a better time to leverage Location Intelligence in your business. Retailers, manufacturers and shippers will find ways this year to move product to more people in smart, cost-effective ways by analyzing the relationship between distribution centers, retail sites, critical customer segments and household locations.

This is especially critical in light of expected shifts in customer behavior. The down economy means that many customers are buying less, they’re more price-conscious, and they are more selective about what they buy. Many customers are also buying more online—increasing the role of logistics and fleet management,

Using location intelligence to chart how these trends are impacting your business is often the key to greater profitability. Better Location Intelligence can help you to:

• Better project performance of existing retail sites
• Determine optimal locations for new retail sites
• More effectively allocate marketing dollars
• Chart more efficient delivery routes
• Reassess distribution-center locations in light of the increased proportion of direct-to-consumer shipping

In fact, companies that invest in top-quality location intelligence solutions often see positive ROI inside of six months. And many achieve a six-figure return on their investment within the year. Add in the intangibles—happier customers, happier delivery people, and happier customer-service personnel—these all result from greater efficiencies, better communications, and better information sharing throughout your organization.

More information on how Location Intelligence and other data-quality improvements can enhance day-to-day and long-term business performance are available in our White Paper Special Delivery: Just-in-Time Savings or by speaking with your local PBBI representative at 800.327.8627 or via email at pbbi.sales@pb.com.