Company Mission and Critique
Dunkin Brands Group Inc. is among the world’s top franchisors of the fast service restaurants that serve baked goods, cold and hot coffee, and hard serve ice cream. The Company’s brand groups include Baskin- Robbins, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Togo’s that are among the best loved names within the restaurant industry. Among the three brand groups, Dunkin’ Donuts is the biggest baked goods and coffee chain in the world, whereas Baskin Robbins is the leading ice cream franchise in the world. Togo’s is a fast growing and youngest of all the chains. It serves approximately164, 000 sandwiches each day. The Company’s portfolio possesses strong brand awareness in its key markets.
The three chains share a universal mission: to “thrill customers." The Company’s mission implies that the task of all the three chains is to thrill the customers through making and serving the most delicious and freshest products (Standard & Poor's, 2014). All the three chains recognized a chance to use Customer Relationship Management to assist fulfill their mission through improving relations with customers and franchisees. The Dunkin Brands Group Inc mission is complete since it assists all the chains in achieving the company objectives including improving the customers’ efficiency, as well as effectiveness.
Outside Stakeholder Group
The stakeholders claim about the deterioration of the environment. The company uses a scholarship program to benefit the underprivileged students that desire to make a positive impact to the environment. Therefore, through its corporate strategy, Dunkin Brands Group Inc awards 10 full-tuition scholarships to the students that are its major stakeholders. The ten students awarded the scholarships spend 4 years developing sustainable techniques suitable for the coffee farmers. Thus, the program becomes beneficial as it provides education to the students that would essentially not be capable to pay for their college as well as enhancing the environment with innovative farming methods. The other stakeholders in the scholarship program include the teachers and parents that are crucial intervening public for the scholarship program.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The company’s Corporate Social Responsibility report titled, “Focused on Sustainable Solutions,” provides a comprehensive review of its present CSR initiatives and key focus areas for the future such as merchandise sourcing, packaging, and lastly efficiency. The CSR report outlines the company’s continuing commitment to discover sustainable solutions, which meet its stakeholders’ needs. The stakeholders include guests and employees, franchisees, in addition to communities that the brand serves, and the globe. Dunkin Brands Group Inc’s CSR report highlights a number of important areas including nutrition, sustainable sourcing, packaging, franchisee support in the sustainability, and support for the local communities.
In the nutrition area, the company in 2012 hired two new members to the Nutrition Advisory Board. The board comprises the leading nutrition and health experts that offer perspective on trends, science, and legislation to improve the quality of nutrition in its menu items. To realize the mission, the company collaborates with its National Advisory Board in reviewing the menu portfolios so as to enhance the products nutritional profile. In terms of sustainable sourcing, the company cares about how the animals are raised as well as treated, and thus it identifies animal welfare as a center element of a sustainable supply chain. The previous CSR report identified an obligation to conduct feasibility study on sourcing gestation crate-free pork and cage-free eggs by the year 2013. In 2012, the company exceeded that goal through declaring that its Dunkin’ Donuts would transition 5% of the eggs in the breakfast sandwiches countrywide to the cage- free through the end of last year. In addition, Dunkin Brands Group Inc announced that it would get rid of the gestation crates from their pork supply chain.
In the packaging area, the company continues searching a packaging solution that is sustainable to replace Dunkin’ Donuts foam cup. The company remains dedicated to solving all the packaging issues. Franchisee support in the sustainability is the other crucial area that CSR report highlights. It is worth mentioning that Dunkin Brands Group Inc continues identifying as well as integrating building and energy solutions that are sustainable in terms of reducing the costs for the franchisees whilst benefiting the environment. The other imperative area that the company’s CSR report highlights is support for the local communities. It is important to note that Dunkin Brands Group Inc remains devoted to serving the local communities essential needs from support for kid’s health and providing food to the hungry to ensuring the safety and security of the communities.
External Environment
Since the business does not function in a vacuum, Dunkin Brands Group Inc acts and reacts to what takes place outside the company or in particular the external influences and this affects its main internal roles as well as its objectives and strategies. The remote environmental factors that affect the company in order of their importance include the degree of competition, social factors, economic factors, and ethical factors. The company competes mostly in its QSR segment of restaurant industry and face competition from various convenience stores, restaurants, and other outlets, which provide the customers with baked goods, coffee, ice cream, and sandwiches on a local, regional, national, and international level. Dunkin Brands Group Inc bases its competition on restaurant concept, product quality, convenience, service, price, and value perception, among other things (Dunkin’ Brands, 2011). The company’s competition continues intensifying since its competitors raise the depth as well as breadth of product offerings, specifically in the open new units, and breakfast day- part. In countering the competition, Dunkin Brands Group Inc uses some competitive force shaping strategies. One of the strategies applied by the company is a DD Perks reward program that raises its customers’ loyalty, and thus gives it a competitive edge.
The company’s brands possess well-established status for delivering high quality food and beverage products at the best value through convenient settings with friendly and fast service. Currently, all the brands of the company are leaders in their QSR categories with supported brand awareness of over 94 percent for Dunkin’ Donuts and 92 percent for Baskin-Robbins within the United States market. Besides the company’s leading market position in the U.S, it has for a number of times been recognized as number one in terms of customers’ loyalty.
Global Environment
The company has extended its market beyond the United States. Dunkin Brands Group Inc’s management believes that there exists a good chance for the corporation to grow its points of distribution for its all brands in the international markets. For the last decade, Dunkin Brands Group Inc expansion strategy has led in lover 3,500 new international openings. The company’s strategic orientation in the international market is based on its utilization of opportunities to grow its brand internationally, support its franchisees’ profitability, and expand its leadership in the baked goods, ice cream, and coffee categories. Dunkin Brands Group Inc’s competitive strategies within the international market include continuous enhancements in the operations of restaurants in the world markets and increasing its penetration in the present international markets (Mastraengelo, 2012). In addition, the company continues expanding into new markets through using a disciplined approach. Nonetheless, these competitive strategies have not yet brought the intended outcomes.
Internal Analysis
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths: The Company enjoys a good reputation in terms of the high quality food and beverages products. Dunkin’ is renowned for its efficiency in service delivery particularly in serving industrious breakfast commuters.
Weaknesses: Dunkin balance sheet is relatively indebted. Its debt to capital ratio is approximated at 67 percent, and this restricts the company’s financial flexibility.
Opportunity: Dunkin Brands Group Inc has the opportunity of expanding it is geographical coverage to other newly emerging markets since presently its loyalty and brand recognition is concentrated in the American Northeast (Riggs, 2000).
Threats: Dunkin products faces great competition especially on quality, service, price and convenience this is mainly because the entry into the industry is relatively low.
Value chain analysis
Dunkin’ brand group has a centralized production that primarily target to sustain growth efforts and to offer consistent quality product. It also franchises the centralized manufacturing locations.
The key Dunkin’s core competencies lies in its ability and capability to understand their clients’ needs and wants, constantly maintaining high quality products and quick service, as well as lowering prices than its competitors (Hsu, 2013).
Despite the numerous strategies that the company has at its disposal, it only focuses only on a few of them. It mainly concentrates on quality, efficiency and meeting their customers’ needs. The company’s competitive tangible assets involve improving and expanding its stores.
The life cycle of the Dunkin product is at its maturity phase especially their specialty in the coffee industry. In fact, the company is concern with maintaining the sustainability of their product in order to continue making profits.
References
Packaged Facts (Firm). (2011). Coffee and ready-to-drink coffee in the U.S: The market and opportunities in retail and foodservice. Rockville, Md: Packaged Facts.
Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. (2011). 10-K Annual Report 2011. Retrieved from SEC EDGAR website http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtmlhttp://www.ico.org/prices/p2.htm
Riggs, T. (2000). Encyclopedia of major marketing campaigns. Detroit: Gale Group.
Dunkin’ donuts. (2011). Retrieved from www.dunkindonuts.com.
Mastraengelo, A. (2012, May 16) Dunkin’ brands announces dividend increase in 2013 first quarter. PRNewswire.
Hsu, T. (2013, January 17) Donut Hole to be filled; east coast staple Dunkin’s plans to return to California with 150 outlets by 2015 and eventually as many as 1,000 statewide. Los Angeles Times, pp. 1B
Standard & Poor's. (2014, July 23). Dunkin’ Brands Inc. Company Profile. Retrieved July 23, 2014 from Standard & Poor’s database.
