Barely two months after its launch in France at the Forum des Halles in Paris, Krispy Kreme has taken the next step in its expansion with the launch of its delivery service. The 5-year target is 550 points of access via a multi- and omni-channel strategy: delivery, opening kiosks and stores in railway stations and other public places, and refrigerated cabinets in supermarkets. Alexandre Maizoué, Krispy Kreme's Managing Director, shares with us the company's 3 core businesses and the operational challenges it faces to achieve them.
Alexandre Maizoué
Managing Director
After a successful launch in Paris - 510,000 donuts sold in 25 days - Krispy Kreme is looking to consolidate its position in the French market by adopting a diversified approach to distribution and investing in innovative partnerships. Alexandre Maizoué looks back at his multi-channel and omni-channel strategy to make Krispy Kreme a household name in France, and the operational challenges it poses.
"At Krispy Kreme, we have 3 core businesses: production, logistics (between our manufacturing facilities and our distribution outlets) and, consequently, distribution, whether from our flagship (experiential venue) or in small outlets (kiosks in CC or travel retail, at the foot of buildings) or even according to the DFD "Delivered fresh daily" model to all types of partners, as well as the installation of cabinets in supermarkets. Operational agility is at the heart of the company's business model, with continuous open production and flexible logistics to meet different delivery requirements.
We have ambitious deployment targets, with plans to open 90 access points (including cabinets in supermarkets) by the end of 2024, covering a variety of formats. The spectrum is very broad, ranging from flagship stores such as those at Les Halles, to future travel-retail outlets and kiosks in shopping malls. The field of possibilities is quite wide, and our aim is to be as close as possible to our customers and to spread Krispy Kreme's values of sharing and generosity. In the second half of the year, we'll be targeting the mass retail market, with a number of partnerships already in the pipeline.
The delivery service we've just launched from stores partners meets growing customer demand, and we're starting by covering all of Paris première couronne, with 5 delivery counters strategically located in Paris 9ᵉ, La Défense, Boulogne Billancourt, Ivry and Montreuil, with several more to come in the coming weeks.
The next step is the factory in Créteil at Printemps, a remote production facility that will enable us to cover the whole of eastern Paris and the Île-de-France region. In 2024, we'll also be opening around twenty access points in the main shopping centers of eastern Paris, Val d'Europe, Belle-Épines, Créteil Soleil... as well as in Paris, Gare de Lyon, and a number of projects underway at the foot of Parisian buildings.
Excellence in production is key at Krispy Kreme, we're open H24, in 3x8, we have to keep producing at night to offer fresh products every morning, the shelf life of a product is 24 hours. It's a real headache, with complicated technical challenges to overcome. We need to have a good grasp, through the sales mix, of what to produce and for which channel. With the diversity of our distribution channels, this is a truly complex exercise.
We need reliable daily updates on our production data, and combine them with sales figures to adjust our operations accordingly. It's a delicate process that requires precise management of quantities and revenues, taking into account both what is produced and what is sold. Using AI to forecast sales enables us to have a very granular production plan, as Inpulse meshes each stage of production. The challenge lies in this rigorous coordination at every stage. Inpulse is at the heart of our ecosystem, with all our strategic partners and technological solutions connected to the tool. This gives us a real notion of real time, which is extremely valuable to us.
I also chose Inpulse, because it's a comprehensive e-procurement management solution**. We've automated the whole process, so we're much more confident about planning production and managing our business. Our two strong points are, firstly, the artificial intelligence that enables us to be precise and, secondly, the ergonomics - easy handling is essential for our teams. I would also add that the strength of the solution is that you want to do better than the machine, it's fun, you let yourself be surprised. As soon as you put your trust in Inpulse's AI, you save a considerable amount of time and rapidly improve performance.
This automation makes us more agile, enabling us to improve our performance and be more productive. "
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* The flagship is also known as a flasghip store. It is an experiential place that represents the brand and conveys a company's reputation.
** e-procurement is based on the dematerialization of commercial transactions between companies and their suppliers, using digital solutions. The main aim is to improve management and optimize purchasing processes.
I also chose Inpulse, because it's a global e-Procurement management solution. We've automated the whole process. As soon as we put our trust in Inpulse's AI, we save a considerable amount of time and rapidly improve performance.
Alexandre Maizoué
Managing Director