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28 FEDA News & Views President's Message continued Changing the Way You Cook since 1990 800.988.8103 360.650.1111 woodstone-corp.com STONE HEARTH & SPECIALTY Commercial Cooking Equipment Discover why OVER 13,000 OVENS, rotisseries, charbroilers, tandoors, and planchas have been SOLD IN 75+ COUNTRIES worldwide. Made in the USA. Information- Consumers are hungry for data. When a customer places an order in the consumer world, they receive immediate order confirmations, timely tracking information and status updates every step of the way. I recently purchased a new laptop and had visibility of the entire fulfillment pro- cess, beginning with its production in China to the arrival at my doorstep 48 hours later in Florida. Meanwhile, in our indus- try, there's many times when dealers don't even get vendor tracking numbers until after the item has already arrived at the customer's location. In regards to this particular issue, FEDA is already actively collaborating with partners in the industry to solve this problem. I urge dealers, manufacturers, reps and ser- vice agents to embrace this data interchange initiative, which will allow our industry to better serve our mutual customers. Lastly, I encourage you to take a look at your business and compare your operations to those in consumer-oriented mar- kets. There's definitely a divide between outdated practices vs. the modern-day expectations of customers. One step at a time, work to narrow the gap between the two and you'll begin to stand out from the crowd. Embracing technology takes time, money and talent, but with proper execution, it can be reengineered into a driver of increased revenue and customer loyalty. Growing Importance of Total Cost of Ownership Tied directly with energy efficiency, sustainability, product reliability and service, to mention a few, this subject is gain- ing a considerable amount of attention from a growing num- ber of global chains (foodservice and hotels as well as several institutional segments) as a means of decreasing overall costs and improving profitability. Multipurpose/Functional Equipment As kitchens become smaller and smaller (real-estate costs, equipment costs, quality and quantity of labor, etc.) the demand for multipurpose/ multifunctional equipment will continue to grow. However, such equipment needs to be easy to use and maintain. Improved Reliability of Equipment Downtime diminishes operators' sales and profitability. Keeping equipment at peek operating performance will be a challenge for foodservice equipment manufacturers and their end user/operators. The use of technology can enhance this dynamic and is a possible key differentiator. Customer Service as a Key Differentiator Innovation and service are the only two areas in which a company can truly have a sustainable advantage in today's marketplace. Global Trends continued Data Mining The gathering of relevant data; the analysis of that relevant data; and making that relevant data actionable will help com- panies provide superior customer service and drive true, sus- tainable innovation. And that's it: Doug's thoughts with respect to those global trends affecting our industry today and as we move forward. If you would like to discuss any of these trends further, or if you would like to add some to the list, please feel free to give me a call or send me an e-mail with your thoughts. I would appreciate any and all comments. About the Author Douglas K. Fryett is the president of the Fryett Consulting Group, a management consulting firm specializing in strategy development and execution, market research, and leadership development for companies from all segments in the foodservice industry. He also is the author of An Introduction to the Foodservice Industry as well as numer- ous articles published in various trade journals and maga- zines. To contact him, call 318-865-2611, or email him at dfryett@fryettcg.com.