Subway’s New Tech Chief Eyes Cellular Shopper Practical experience

Mr. Herlihy stated his priorities include analyzing how tech can be employed to better take care of the flow of electronic ordering at its franchised restaurants—from the use of the Subway app to 3rd-social gathering supply companies—the use of which all have exploded about the past calendar year.

“If you’re standing in line, and you have been there 10 minutes,” he stated, “and then instantly a electronic get arrives in—and you see the sandwich artist switch absent and start out operating on that and slotting that in front of orders that are becoming put in person—that’s not a very good encounter.”

Subway claimed its electronic revenue, which include orders produced via its app, jumped to 12.2% of full product sales at the finish of 2020 from 3.6% at the stop of 2019. Now, the determine is about 15%, the corporation mentioned.

The enterprise stated it has practically 37,000 franchised dining places all over the world, which includes 22,000 in the U.S.

Other places to eat also experience an uptick in digital orders, which have coalesced with in-particular person orders at areas that weren’t initially developed to cope with the two, explained Max Hammond, senior director and investigate analyst concentrating on rapid service places to eat at IT investigate and consulting company

Gartner Inc.

Mr. Herlihy stated he plans on collaborating with his friends who run operations, retail outlet format, menus and other features of the small business to examine ways tech can improve assistance instances and consumer fulfillment.

Personalization will be vital for speedy service eating places this kind of as Subway, said Brendan Witcher, a principal analyst concentrating on digital tactic at

Forrester Exploration Inc.

This is due to the fact the cell buying working experience throughout the sector tends to be very poor, with overwhelming menu selections as effectively as promotions that aren’t universally approved at each place.

The difficulties can be exacerbated for businesses with massive figures of franchisees, who might have unique know-how programs or even menu objects depending on the franchisee. “I would evaluate the Subway design closer to a 7-Eleven than I would evaluate them to a

Starbucks,

” which he described as obtaining an on the net ordering product that is very simple and practical.

Mr. Herlihy previously was chief info officer at

Bloomin’ Brand names Inc.,

the guardian firm of restaurant chains these types of as Outback Steakhouse. He formerly put in a lot more than two a long time in electronic and e-commerce leadership positions at companies which includes Avon Products Inc. and the Wrigley Co.

He replaces Mike Macrie, Subway’s former CIO, who joined the organization in 2019 and still left in March 2021 to go after other pursuits, Mr. Macrie posted on LinkedIn. Mr. Macrie didn’t immediately return requests for remark.

Compose to Jared Council at [email protected]