Wireless technology enhanced Starbucks' business
process simplification effort. Starbucks district
managers use the in-store wireless networks to run
store operations and to connect to the company's
private corporate network and systems. Starbucks
district managers were equipped with Wi-Fi enabled
laptops for this purpose. Before the in-store wireless
networks were implemented, a district manager
who oversaw around 10 stores had to visit each
store, review its operations, develop a list of items
on which to follow up, and then drive to a Starbucks
regional office to file reports and send e-mail.
Instead of running the business from cubicles in
regional headquarters, Starbucks district managers
can do most of their work sitting at a table in one of
the stores they oversee. The time saved from going
back and forth to regional offices can be used to
observe how employees are serving customers and improve their training. Implementing Wi-Fi technology
enabled Starbucks to increase the in-store
presence of district managers by 25 percent without
adding any extra managers