CROFTON, Md. — Wendy's International Inc. franchisee DavCo Restaurants Inc. is nearing completion on installation of a private network that will help the chain use technology to improve efficiency, profitability and guest experience.
The network is expected to be fully operational by the end of July.
Powered by Earthlink Inc. subsidiary New Edge Networks, DavCo's private wide-area network links more than 160 Wendy's restaurants in northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. DavCo restaurants previously were using a combination of dial-up telephone connections and individual high-speed connections that were not part of a managed network.
"The need for improved security and use of new technology in our stores prompted DavCo to switch to a private managed network," said Stacy A. Duncan, director of information technology for DavCo. "A private network allows DavCo to optimize operating efficiency for better serving our customers."
Last year, DavCo installed a new point-of-sale system and upgraded its computers to accommodate data polling, credit-card transactions and back-office data management. With the high-speed network, the Wendy's franchisee can do remote sales polling every 15 minutes to an enterprise Web site, allow store managers to submit food orders online and enable store managers to use a new Wendy's Web portal for food-cost management.
