Glazed with sweet success

User stories from the knowledge front

Doughnut creator Krispy Kreme is using KM technology to help keep its business operations running in pace with the rising popularity of it product.

The $400 million company is using CPM (Corporate Performance Management) software from Comshare to integrate various systems into a common database, and to provide users with a single entry point to the data. The application combines planning, budgeting, consolidation, forecasting, reporting and analysis functions for the company.

Krispy Kreme CIO Frank Hood explains, "Formerly we used a combination of financial reporting and consolidation software and spreadsheets. Those systems and processes left little time for analysis of the information, was not tightly integrated to many of our data stores, and was just too cumbersome and fragmented for us to ever realize the benefits of a true performance management system.

"This solution, combined with Krispy Kreme's best practices, will provide a portaled view into the company's Microsoft SQL and DB2 data warehouses, enabling managers to get key information. We believe the increase in integration, combined with gains in analytical reporting efficiency, will translate into improvements in operational and management effectiveness."

Paul Harrison, VP of financial planning and analysis for Krispy Kreme, adds, "The solution allows us to integrate financial and non-financial measures that drive Krispy Kreme's success. By using MPC to integrate this information, we will significantly enhance decision-making capabilities."

Including its signature Hot Original Glazed doughnut, Krispy Kreme makes 7.5 million doughnuts each day—more than 2.7 billion a year.