SARCO

South American Restaurants Corporation (SARCO) is a recognized restaurant chain that has been operating in Puerto Rico since 1978 as part of the Larrea Group, successfully managing four fast-food restaurant franchises on the island. Its commitment to quality and customer satisfaction has positioned it as a leader in the food industry.

SARCO proudly operates the Church's Chicken, Krispy Kreme, Baskin Robbins and Pollo Tropical brands, with a combined total of more than 160 stores throughout Puerto Rico. In particular, it has achieved a significant milestone as Church's Chicken® holds the leading position in the chicken restaurant segment exclusively in Puerto Rico.

Due to this success, the purchase demand for its high-quality products grew exponentially in recent years, so much so that the areas of recruitment, customer service, warehouse and technical services required significant improvement to optimize its operations and improve service. In London Consulting Group, SARCO found the perfect synergy to implement effective solutions achieving significant results, positively impacting the company's operations and overall performance.

CHALLENGES

TO OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE OVERCOMING CUSTOMER SERVICE TIME CHALLENGES

With the growing demand for SARCO's high-quality products, the company faced challenges related to customer service, particularly speed of service. As SARCO expanded its operations, it became increasingly crucial to address the efficiency of its customer interactions to maintain exceptional service standards. In addition, SARCO's rapid growth required a larger distribution center to accommodate its supplies effectively.

OBJETIVE

STREAMLINING CUSTOMER SERVICE AND OPERATIONS: SARCO'S ROAD TO EXCELLENCE

Based on an in-depth diagnosis of its operations, SARCO, together with the London Consulting Group team, embarked on a transformational journey to improve different areas of the organization to achieve the following objectives:

Improve in-store service efficiency by implementing strategic measures to reduce wait times and ensure fast and efficient service delivery.
Develop a state-of-the-art distribution center to streamline inventory management and enable efficient product distribution, improving overall logistics processes.
Streamline technical services response time by minimizing downtime, ensuring timely maintenance and support for operational needs.
Implementation of procedures and functions for the selection and recruitment of restaurant personnel, in addition to defining job descriptions and operating standards.

RECRUITMENT

The recruiting process went through a reengineering, incorporating a block-based approach that increased the number of interviews and balanced the workload among recruiters. A pool of candidates was generated to quickly address emerging needs. Additionally, key performance indicators (KPIs) were defined, designed, digitized and automated using Power BI as a tool, which enabled constant monitoring by the Recruiting Director.

OPERATIONS

To improve operations within the organization, a sales forecasting tool was developed using a linear regression statistical model, which facilitates the allocation of operating hours per restaurant. At the same time, productivity matrices were established based on the types of restaurants, which allowed us to accurately determine the number of employees per hour needed to serve customers. In addition, an internal software solution was implemented to efficiently generate employee schedules.

PURCHASING

Inventory parameters were meticulously defined for each item within the warehouse. A standardized and automated tool, powered by Power BI, was created for the agile generation of purchase orders, optimizing the purchasing process and ensuring timely procurement.

WAREHOUSE

A comprehensive analysis was performed to evaluate item turnover, leading to inventory classification through ABC Pareto analysis and the cost-consumption matrix. This made it possible to determine the optimum storage quantities per item and the strategic location of each item within the redesigned warehouse layout. The reception, dispatch and distribution processes were redesigned to increase efficiency and at the same time, we defined the organizational chart of the warehouse and distribution area with an optimal structure. In addition, KPIs were defined, designed, digitized and automated using Power BI, providing constant monitoring for the warehouse and distribution manager.

RESULTS

DRIVING SUCCESS BY TRANSFORMING EFFICIENCY AND OPERATIONS

Thanks to strong teamwork with London Consulting Group through comprehensive consulting, the SARCO team met the objectives set out in the project achieving key results in different areas such as:

These results demonstrate the organization's success in several areas, highlighting the positive impact on productivity, cost savings, customer service and overall operational effectiveness in the organization.

110% increase in the number of job applications processed monthly by recruiters, improving the recruitment process.
Annual savings of approximately $250 thousand dollars by reengineering the "Cash Management" process, reducing bank fees for deposits and withdrawals.
Increased operating hours fulfilment by 25% at Church's Chicken, 26% at Pollo Tropical, 23% at Baskin Robbins and 14% at Krispy Kreme.
Reduced time to serve a Drive-Thru order by 25% at Church's Chicken and 33% at Pollo Tropical, improving customer satisfaction and efficiency.
Reduced out-of-stock and under-stock items from 8% to 3% and reduced over-stock inventory items from 42% to 30%.
Significant improvement in technical services and its ratio of preventive to corrective services, with an increase of 36% pp.

TESTIMONIALS

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

"London Consulting Group has been a strategic ally in the execution of our initiatives to increase the productivity and efficiency of the different departments and to continue working together on new challenges and projects. For all of the above, we highly recommend London Consulting Group as a committed company, with an effective and highly professional work methodology."

-Pablo Rodriguez-Sola
Executive Vice President
South American Restaurants Corp

TRANSFORMING SARCO'S SUCCESS