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At Donatos, we have been serving delicious pizzas covered Edge to Edge® with premium toppings to our customers for the past 60 years leading to phenomenal growth over the decades. Our pizza is now served in more than 450 locations across the US, with 52 locations being company-owned restaurants and the remaining operated by franchise partners or through our partnership with Red Robin. The reliability of our tried and tested supply chain model has been paramount to the foundation of today’s success as our franchise partners have experienced the positive impact of our business quality through our top-notch supply chain leadership and the valuable network of business relationships we’ve built over time. At Donatos, franchise partners know they can rely on our recipe for supply chain success.
Consistency Counts
There’s a lot that goes into managing a restaurant’s supply chain in a way that ensures the delivery of Our Promise - “to serve the best pizza and make your day a little better” - to customers and franchise partners. Mark Reed, Executive Director of Purchasing and Supply Chain for Donatos, reported that “our supply chain supports locations in 27 states. We have 22 distribution centers and proudly manage 260 different food and beverage items through our business partner network.” Mark has been with Donatos for 37 years, and, over time, has shaped and elevated our supply chain processes with his decades of strong expertise.
Today, those processes have been meticulously refined to meet the needs of others and the values we hold ourselves to. “Our goal is to provide uninterrupted goods and services for the entire system at a fair and economical price,” Mark said. “We’ve developed an efficient strategy that ensures our franchise partners will get the products they need when they need them, so there’s no waiting or guessing as to the reliability of our service. We always ensure that everything is in perfect order and that the products received are consistent time and time again.”
Through these efforts, Donatos is proud to execute these product standards for all locations, so franchise partners receive the same consistent quality of ingredients to make and serve our Edge to Edge® pizzas every day. Our priority has always been efficient service to franchise partners at each of their locations, and we continue to uphold this goal through strong relationships and constant communication through our operational structures.
Valuable Leadership
The Donatos supply chain touches every discipline within the company. It starts with marketing, where Chief Marketing Officer Jodie Conrad strengthens the executive team with oversight in marketing, menu innovation, catering, and customer service. Other key players include Cynthia Ottavio and Lenae Hott in developing and refining new products for continuous menu innovation, Chris Davis for regulatory compliance, and Brian Thompson and Tony Capuano overseeing company and franchise operations respectively. All of our valued team members share a common goal of serving the highest quality pizza, which ultimately ensures that both franchise partners and customers are satisfied with the consistency of product quality. Our Promise to “serve you the best pizza and make your day a little better” has been entrenched in our cultures since the beginning, enabling cohesive goal-setting and a solid foundation of teamwork.
At Donatos, we view innovation as a key driver for the supply chain in the pizza industry. We continue to develop and evolve in the areas of menu innovation, packaging innovation, and delivery. Digital transformation and increased visibility, stemming from manufacturing, logistics, and distribution, have enabled growth and development we’re proud of.
Relationships That Last
A stand-out element of the Donatos supply chain is our reliable network of business partners, meticulously cultivated over decades, leading to continued operational success and uninterrupted service for our franchise partners and customers. At Donatos, we do not act as a commodity buyer. Rather, we use a consistent team of core business partners, relying on trusted relationships with companies that have continued to support us over many years. Mark noted that the best improvement strategies Donatos has developed were born out of collaboration. “We found a lot of improvements that came about because of earnest discussions in the pursuit of growth. In the past, we’ve sat down for quarterly meetings with our brand partners to candidly discuss best practices for our supply chain, and found new ways to improve consistency and ramp up product quality. Through that, our manufacturing and regulatory compliance has built efficiency and grown in strength.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a massive impact on the majority of the world’s supply chain operations. Thanks to our operational strategies and reliable business partners, Donatos is proud to say that we never ran out of any of our core products. This success is only possible because of the work put into our supply chain structure, and the relationships that helped us get there.
Our supply chain team and its network worked tirelessly to meet the company's goals. This success exemplifies teamwork and the importance of having strong knowledge of supply chain, a shared desire for growth, and solid leadership abilities. Sharing best practices with partner brands, discussing construction materials needed for new restaurants, and inter-brand collaboration improved our processes, allowing everyone to achieve their goals. Transparency in communication with supply chain partners and strong relationships built over time have been paramount to this success, and it’s something we are extremely proud of.
Building a business is never an easy thing, and in the pizza industry, product quality and consistency mean everything for franchise partners and, in turn, their customers. Donatos meets its franchise partners’ needs through our reliable supply chain, refined over decades through strong leadership and a phenomenal network of valuable business relationships. At Donatos, we’re proud of our pizza and the people who make it happen. The supply chain team's success during the pandemic is another testament to the company's commitment to fulfilling franchise partner needs and offering a top-notch, quality product to all who visit Donatos.