Intranet Site Gives Operators Smooth Access to Headquarters

By Dina Berta

ORLANDO, Fla. - The day before co-sponsoring a recent 5-kilometer charity run, Planet Smoothie franchise operator Jason Mann learned that he needed to bring 300 coupons to the event.

Oh, and make sure the addresses of three Planet Smoothie stores were printed on the coupons. They would be included in packets for the runners as they registered, and extras would be passed out to spectators. The race started at 8 a.m.

Usually, getting a customized print order could take a week or more, but not for Mann. He simply booted up his PC, logged onto the Internet and then entered the Planet Smoothie Intranet site. There he found a camera-ready layout for a "buy one, get one free'' coupon. He typed in the addresses, added his logo, printed a copy, took it to a print shop and had 300 coupons in a couple of hours.

Easy access to marketing materials and print ads is just one of many ways Mann has been using the Intranet site since Atlanta-based Planet Smoothie rolled it out to its franchise operators in the fourth quarter last year.

The biggest benefit is the ability to communicate with people in the corporate office, other franchisees and vendors, he said.

"It's been a tremendous help to me,'' said Mann, who, with his wife, Connie, owns and operates two Planet Smoothie stores.

Intranet sites are closed corporate networks. Access is password protected and usually limited to company employees. Intranets have been gaining in popularity and use in recent years as such companies as Planet Smoothie look for efficient and effective ways to communicate with their operators, managers and franchisees. Once cumbersome and expensive, today's technology has made Intranets easier to set up and maintain.

"Instead of requiring a restaurant manager or franchisee to download a special application or install a program, these days the only requirement is access to the Internet and a browser,'' said Dan Martin, president and chief operating officer of IFX Online. San Diego-based IFX is the ASP provider that hosts the Planet Smoothie Intranet site.

With a foodservice background as a former franchise operator for Creative Croissants in San Diego, Martin founded IFX nearly five years ago with the needs of restaurant franchisees in mind. Of IFX's 96 clients, 27 are restaurant businesses. Companies can use their Intranets to support their franchises, Martin said.

"When I was a franchisee, I'd get upset over things like not having the most recent price list,'' he said. "I'd have two in my hand with no date on either one. With an Intranet, there is no doubt. The price list posted online is the most current one.''

Planet Smoothie, with 118 stores, including 85 franchised units spread across the country, began reviewing various Intranet programs last summer.

"We were looking for a tool that would enable us to have consistent communications with our franchise system,'' Planet Smoothie spokeswoman Cari Pirello said.

IFX Online developed a site with features designed to address the needs of franchise operators. While IFX hosts the site, Planet Smoothie is responsible for the content.

The Intranet site provides franchisees access to orientation and training materials, marketing programs and materials, order forms and direct links to key vendors. Company news and systemwide announcements, an archive of Planet Smoothie-related articles, a closed e-mail system, and a search engine also are available.

The site also has a forum, or chat room, where franchisees can discuss issues or problems and share ideas.

"They end up coaching each other,'' Pirello said. "When you are a new franchisee coming into the system, you have a lot to learn, more than you can learn in a training class. Here is a forum where your brother franchisees out there are telling you, 'I've done this; this was my experience; be sure to do this; don't do that.' ''

Pirello estimated 75 percent of the franchise operators now frequent the Planet Smoothie site. She added that some franchisees had a period of adjustment as they acclimated themselves to using computers and the Internet.

One way to encourage use was to make certain information available only on the Intranet site, she said.

Mann, the Orlando franchise operator, is on the site almost every day. When the company rolled it out, he immediately signed up for a digital subscriber line for faster access and quicker downloads.

Mann said better communication with the corporate offices of Planet Smoothie was what he has appreciated the most about the Intranet. He said that since he began using it to keep in touch with Planet Smoothie headquarters, he has noticed that he receives a quicker response to problems or questions.

"It's not just having the Intranet; it's having people use it,'' Mann said.