New Order Management Technology Ensures Future Prosperity
2022 was a banner year for Marco’s Pizza, which opened its 1,100th store and exceeded $1 billion in system-wide sales. The company also made the Top 10 Favorite QSR Brand list in the 2022 Market Force Information Study. Founded in 1978 in Toledo, Ohio, Marco’s Pizza restaurants are known for having dough made from scratch, freshly mixed herbs and spices for a sauce worth savoring, and three fresh signature cheeses resulting in a high-quality product.
The Marco’s Pizza brand has set even more ambitious goals for this year, including opening its 1,200th store and completing the rollout of a proprietary 100% cloud-based technology platform called Marco’s Order Management System, or MOMS. Company-owned stores began using the technology late in 2022, and franchise locations are rolling it out this year.
Growth Trend of Marco’s Pizza
Progress in store openings is well underway, with the company reporting that more than 200 Marco’s Pizza stores are in progress and 350-plus franchise agreements have been signed. But Marco’s Pizza executives indicate there’s much more potential out there with 4,200 potential restaurant sites available in the United States alone.
All of these growth statistics represent an ongoing upward trend for Marco’s Pizza franchise: In 2022, Marco’s opened 90-plus stores and awarded 140 franchises. And during the past six years, the brand doubled its store footprint. Marco’s Pizza currently has corporate- and franchisee-owned restaurants operating in 34 states, plus locations in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, as it eyes more international development in the years ahead.
A Look at MOMS Technology
Crucial to Marco’s strong performance in 2023 will be the completed rollout of MOMS, the brand’s cost-effective, no-middleman technology that handles point-of-sale (POS) payments, labor scheduling, inventory management and real-time reporting status. MOMS is simple to launch and efficient to manage, company officials say. Using it, corporate headquarters can digitally monitor the POS system and dashboards, so support is readily available for both customer-facing and back-of-house functions.
By housing its own data, the platform can interface with applications today and in the future. Someday orders may be placed by virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri as well as from remote kiosks, social media platforms, and automotive apps like Apple CarPlay. And GPS-pinpointed delivery may become commonplace in years to come.
Marco’s Leaders Predict a Bright Future
“We see immense value in the ROI,” says Rick Stanbridge, executive vice president and chief information officer for Marco’s Pizza. “We’ve added exceptional functionality to benefit our franchisees and customers as we prepare for the future.”
Tony Libardi, co-CEO and president of Marco’s Pizza, says the technology simultaneously pleases its customers, simplifies operations for franchisees and helps boost profits at every restaurant. “MOMS will help us become the No. 4 pizza brand,” Libardi says. “Through technology and product development, 2023 is poised to be a remarkable year. Our brand is committed to investing millions of dollars in technology and innovation that benefit our franchisees’ business operations and improves our customers’ experiences. There’s truly never been a more opportune time to join our brand.”
MOMS is only the beginning of Marco’s high-tech innovations, company leaders say. Among other things, Marco’s Pizza is looking into voice-to-text ordering, expanded third-party delivery, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to generate automated promise times.
High Marks for Marco’s Pizza
While the future appears promising, the past points to solid performance by Marco’s. The pizza chain made Newsweek’s 2023 America’s Best Customer Service rankings for pizza chains; it ranked No. 1 in guest satisfaction on QSR’s Top 50; Marco’s finished 51st on Entrepreneur magazine’s 2023 Franchise 500; it chalked up six straight years on Nation’s Restaurant News’ Top 500 roster.
Potential investors also will appreciate the big thumbs-up that the Marco’s Pizza franchise has received for its unit-level economics. The Nation’s Restaurant News Top 500 Report shows Marco’s achieved the highest percent year-over-year sales change – an 18.2% increase – when compared to the nation’s top four pizza brands. With that leap, Marco’s became the No. 5 U.S. pizza brand in system-wide sales.
Why Own a Marco’s Pizza Franchise?
Another compelling statistic comes from FRANdata, a franchise-industry research and advisory firm. FRANdata has Marco’s Pizza’s 2022 FUND Score of 895, putting it in the top 1% of evaluated franchise systems. That’s the second-highest score among all evaluated food franchises.
Incoming franchisees can count on solid support from the Marco’s Pizza development team, which has expertise in financing, real estate, construction management and field operations to help before and after launch. Training for new franchisees begins with five days in the classroom on operational and marketing basics. Next, franchisees spend six weeks at a certified training store to familiarize themselves with a range of topics, among them sanitizing processes, pizza preparation, managerial duties, technology, and Marco’s University e-learning resources. There’s one additional week of training to polish business and operational skills.
To learn more about Marco’s Pizza franchises, visit www.marcos.com/franchising/ or call 866-731-8209 to speak with Shannon Iverson, vice president of franchise sales.