Challenge

Ordering supplies for Coupa Cafe’s 9 locations was an extremely challenging task. Orders were placed via phone call, fax or email or during site visits by distributor sales reps. It was impossible to track who was ordering, what was being ordered, where it was ordered from and what was delivered. It was very archaic, difficult to manage and was resulting in unnecessary opportunity costs.

Strategy

To enhance the efficiency of their ordering process, Coupa Cafe needed a simple but extremely advanced and efficient, all-in-one-place ordering system that would allow them to seamlessly manage the ordering needs of all 9 locations. 

Results

Cut+Dry delivered exactly what Coupa Cafe needed - all  orders in one place, orders placed digitally with all their vendors and recorded for reference instantly. Now they know exactly when, what and how much they were ordering with a click of a button. Coupa Cafe has grown in size to 9 locations since joining Cut+Dry and all the ordering for the locations is done via Cut+Dry.

Coupa Cafe is a 20-year, family-owned restaurant located in Palo Alto, California. Coupa Cafe has 9 locations around Stanford University, Palo Alto, Los Altos and Raymond City community as well as a catering team. The cafes operate 7 days a week. Their branch in Ramona is a famous haunt of the San Francisco startup community. 

While in business for 20 years, Coupa Cafe struggled to manage its ordering process. With nine locations and multiple methods of ordering (phone, fax, email, and direct orders with sales reps on-site), it was impossible to track who was ordering what, from where, how much was ordered, and how much was delivered. It was a nightmare for them to manage and a constant source of stress for employees. 

Employees would spend a lot of time managing this disorderly ordering process rather than doing things that Coupa Cafe could really benefit from - like managing customers, keeping the cafes spotless and showcasing and upselling cafe items to customers. 

Before Cut+Dry, our staff were spending 4-6 hours a week on ordering - via text, email and phone because our staff place orders daily. For produce, for example, we receive orders daily. Now they spend about 1-2 hours a week instead on the ordering process. It's saving us a lot of time.

JP Coupal, Owner, Coupa Cafe.

Coupa Cafe was desperately in need of a simple, yet advanced method of managing their ordering that would make the process more efficient and reduce the burden on employees. 

Make ordering smooth

Before Cut+Dry, Coupa Cafe didn’t even know what orders had been placed, and what products had been ordered because all of this information was lost in phone calls, emails and faxes. This was because the ordering was being done by different people using different methods. Different vendors wanted to receive orders in different ways. It was too much to coordinate manually. This made the ordering process very stressful because it was difficult to keep track of. 

In one instance, I remember we were catering for a Stanford University commencement event, and we had placed an order with one of our vendors - or we thought we had, but we weren’t sure. It was done via phone call. It was a Saturday, and the event was on Sunday, but we couldn’t get through to our distributor sales rep. We also didn’t want to shoot over another order because it was quite a large order, and if it ended up being a double order, that’s a major financial burden to bear. We didn’t have the information, and it was very stressful. It turned out we had in fact placed the order, but it would have saved us a lot of stress and trouble if we could have accessed that information right away.

JP Coupal, Owner, Coupa Cafe.

One factor that really stood out to Coupa Cafe about Cut+Dry was just how mobile-friendly, easy and intuitive it is to use. This was an important feature because it meant that staff could very easily be trained to use it regardless of their level of education and experience. The measure of success is how quickly they can get into the app, do the needful and get out of it. The quicker it is, the more efficient the ordering process is. 

It’s like using Facebook or Instagram, it's so intuitive and easy to use. I’ve seen my front-of-house and cooking staff, they would just onto their phones and do it. Even without an internet connection you can see your order guide, look at the products, see how much they want and add to your order, save it as a draft. Then another team member can go in and add to it if necessary. People can collaborate on the ordering process. And this collaboration was intuitive, I didn’t have to train them on it.

JP Coupal, Owner, Coupa Cafe.

I place about 1-2 orders a day on Cut+Dry. It's easy to use and because I can save orders as drafts, my co-workers can also go in, check it and add to it if necessary. Cut+Dry was my first time using an app of this nature, it was so easy to learn and start using. Before Cut+Dry we used to make phone calls, and we had to wait on the phone for a long time. It was a waste of time.

Beverline, Employee, Coupa Cafe Ramona. 

For Coupa Cafe, the ease-of-use stems from Cut+Dry’s order guide feature which allows operators to curate their ordering guides for each distributor. This means you have access to the products you order frequently without having to comb through a distributor's catalog. 

Second, the products are all accompanied by crisp and clear images which makes the ordering process visually more appealing and intuitive.

Easier order fulfillment

On the distributor’s end, they know exactly what was ordered too; there is an accurate record of it that can be referred to. So the amount of mistakes that are made on the order fulfillment is less. When orders are received, Coupa Cafe staff can ‘check-in’ the order which allows the staff to check off the products received and report to the distributor if there are any missing items or if there is an issue with an item that was received. 

Say, for example, we receive a can of food that is dented. The driver is gone but what are we going to do? Well, with Cut+Dry, our staff just take a picture of it and report it to the distributor through the app. We, the management, are copied on this email and so we can follow up with the distributor and make sure that we get a replacement or credit for the damaged product. We can do this for 9 different locations without breaking a sweat. Earlier it would have been impossible.

JP Coupal, Owner, Coupa Cafe.

Coupa Cafe also uses the Cut+Dry Track feature which gives real-time, live updates of the order when it leaves the distributor’s warehouse. This is another feature which makes it easier for their employees because they know when a delivery is coming in and can make necessary adjustments in case of inventory shortages. Earlier it would be a guessing game. 

Cut+Dry gives us an ETA for when our delivery is going to come in. If your milk order is supposed to be here at 9 am, but it hasn’t arrived yet, and the app is showing you an ETA of 9.15 am - then you're not stressed and worried - because you know the milk is coming. This takes the pressure off employees to really focus on customers and service. 

JP Coupal, Owner, Coupa Cafe.

Pay distributors seamlessly

Before Cut+Dry, Coupa Cafe was paying its distributors twice a month via cheque. Every invoice had to be entered manually and a cheque generated for that. With 9 locations, this was extremely tedious. 

With Cut+Dry, Coupa Cafe can make payments to all its distributors digitally. All orders placed and purchase orders generated are available automatically on the platform, so Coupa Cafe’s Accounts team can easily reconcile the orders and payments. The team can select and batch together invoices based on the dates they want to pay it by. 

Not only is it easier for the cafe’s team, but it's also updated on the distributor end so they know exactly which invoices have been settled and which are outstanding. Both parties are saving time and costs with Cut+Dry payments. 

What’s neat about Cut+Dry really covers the entire procurement process from start to finish - everything surrounding the purchase of goods for the restaurant. You can build an order guide, place an order, check in the order upon delivery, report any issues if there are any, make sure you get your credits, pay your distributor. It's fully reconciled. If you’re not using Cut+Dry, you are absolutely wasting money. 

JP Coupal, Owner, Coupa Cafe.

Coupa Cafe has grown in size since joining Cut+Dry, and setting up the ordering process for new locations is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Locations and employees can be added, and they get an email. Then, they can log on and start placing orders. It makes growing your restaurant business a lot easier. 

Key takeaways

• Not only does Cut+Dry make it easier to place orders, but it also makes it easier to fulfill, receive, report issues, reconcile and pay for orders - from start to finish. 
• Since it's easy to use, mobile friendly and can be used without an internet connection it allows for easy adoption among employees. There’s no pushback from employees because it's as simple as using social media. 
• It makes growing your restaurant easier because you can easily set up new locations and employees and start ordering right away.