He insists he has tomato sauce flowing in his veins. He makes dough all over the world. And he's a big cheese: meet Al Ryan, the affable vice-president, field operations, at Domino's Pizza International Inc. Recently in India to celebrate the launch of Domino's Pizza India Ltd's 25th store in the country--in just two years--Ryan raves: "That's fantastic growth. But then globally, it's our proven success formula: consistency and a key delivery system."Proof of the pie? In 1960, the two Monoghan brother's pooled together $900 to start a small pizza store in Michigan, USA, called DomiNick's--they wanted to earn just enough to pay their college fees. Within a year, Tom Monoghan had bought out his brother--and set Domino's, a home-delivery pizza chain, rolling across the United States and then the world.
It's still rolling. In the last 37 years, Domino's covers 6,025 outlets worldwide through a franchise representation in more than 64 markets. Moreover, for 37 years--and generations before core competencebecame a gleam in every manager's eye--the brand's singular focus has been on home delivery, a limited menu and guaranteed delivery time. Now, Al Ryan dips into Domino's recipe book, to divulge the essential ingredients for success:
Pare to the core: At Domino's the core competence is defined as minutely as its oregano is chopped. It's a `home delivery specialist' whose corporate promise is: "A hot and fresh pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less." Tying in with that focussed definition of competence is Domino's corporate positioning statement: "Nobody delivers better."
Today every system, plan, projection and strategic initiative of the company is seen through this funnel vision. One sample? When the first Domino's store in India opened in Delhi's Greater Kailash market, it was inundated with order and customers. Good news, right?
Wrong. A senior Domino's International official overseeing the start-up, recommended immediate shut down of the new store: he was alarmed that the sheer volume ofcarry out orders would throw Domino's delivery schedules off. And that 30-minute promise must never be broken.
Carve up innovations: At Domino's the basic promise remains the same--`hot and fresh pizza delivered in 30 minutes'. But around that, Domino's has pioneered a whole series of innovations which help deliver its promise better to the customer--the corrugated pizza boxes, pizza screens, dough trays, insulted bags, and even conveyor ovens--and which have now become industry standards.
Says Ryan: "We constantly try to innovate in such a way that we add value to what we have at our core." Currently working on technology to deliver a hotter pizza, Domino's has recently patented a new product innovation: a hot bag, with an in-built element, which keeps the pizza oven-hot till the time of delivery.
Season for taste: "At Domino's" says Ryan, "we think global, bake local." So while the basic dough, sauce and cheese remain consistent across the globe, Domino's encourages localvariations in pizza toppings. At Domino's India, the hot-and-spicy chicken topping for example, will only be introduced in north India.
Internationally too, Domino's has taken its menu beyond pizza, to salads and pastas. But guess what? You have to order a pizza in order to get the other items delivered. Says Ryan, "We call it `controlled variety'. You provide variety but you make sure it complements your core product."
Better and more helpings: Growth at Domino's is somewhat like hand tossing a pizza. You start at a point in the centre--in this case corporate headquarters at Ann Arbour, Michigan--and then quickly knead your way to the edge of the globe.
However, by 1992, high-growth indigestion had set in and Domino's founder, Tom Monoghan, stepped in to develop a new strategy. Externally, the company got a new logo, uniforms, and signage. Internally, it got tighter management system and a new growth philosophy: better and more.
Says Ryan: "Tom's approach now is: better operations andmore stores. Which means, look at growth but also improve your business in such a way that you are capable of handling all that you have." With better systems in place, more is happening: Domino's India plans to grow to 50 stores by 2000 and 100 stores by 2002--including stores in Sri Lanka and Nepal by early 1999. Domino's international is aiming at 1,000 new stores in the next five years and plans to operate in 80 markets by 2000.
Share good recipes: Domino's secret for successfully going global, according to Ryan is: "Sticking to a consistent message of delivery and service across the globe. And of course, consistency in global image branding." To do that Domino's has built formal channels for routing best practices from one country to another, one franchisee to another and finally, from one store to another.
Once a year, Domino's holds a worldwide conference and a regional rally to which franchisees congregate and share best practices. At last year's conference for example, Domino's Indialearnt from Domino's Australia: invest in a better phone system so that no customer call is missed at peak hours.
On the flip side, recently, Domino's Chandigarh store manager won worldwide recognition for an innovative marketing idea: Pizza Days. On special days like Valentine's or Independence Day, Domino's India stores create local excitement by offering gifts, free toppings and special offers. "It hypes up the whole market and that day the sales are mind-boggling," says Ryan. "Now the Singapore franchisee has asked India for details."
Then, there is the piping hot Pepperoni Press, which goes to every store across the world once a month--and which highlights success stories. Every two months, International Dateline, a colour magazine trots round the globe. Says Ryan: "Management must facilitate learning."
To that end, coming on-line soon is Domino's Intranet which will allow franchisees to access any information from anywhere across the world in real time. After all, as Tom Monoghan would say, ifit's Domino's, even data has to be delivered hot and within 30 minutes.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
Printer-friendly page
