The Challenge Case “Domino’s Goes High-Tech with Easy Order” and its related Challenge Case Summary were written to help you understand the management concepts contained in this chapter. Answer the following discussion questions about the Challenge Case to further enrich your understanding of chapter content. 

Data from The Challenge Case “Domino’s Goes High-Tech with Easy Order” 

Just a decade ago, Domino’s was on the brink of disaster. In 2008, the firm had $1.7 billion in debt but only $1.4 billion in revenue. Stores were shutting down, and the stock price was less than $3 per share. Fast-forward to today. The company now has over $2.7 billion in sales, significant profits for franchisees, and a stock price near $200 per share.1 How did it do it? First, the company changed its recipe to improve taste. But second, it went high-tech, so high-tech that the company is now in the top 10 list of businesses with the most online transactions—right up there with Amazon and Apple.2 The technology goal for Domino’s was to create an ordering system that would allow customers to place an order in 17 seconds or less. That’s a difficult objective given that Domino’s has 34 million possible combinations of toppings,  sauce, and crust. In addition, to make certain that these orders are correct, control processes had to be established. Kevin Vasconic, chief information officer at Domino’s, attributes the success of Domino’s to its Easy Order system. Technology has enabled the worldwide pizza chain to go from near bankruptcy to one of the most successful restaurant success stories of the twenty-first century. And it all begins at the top of the firm. “That’s why I took the job,” said Vasconi. “What a great opportunity as a technologist to work for a company where the CEO is already convinced that technology can change the business.” The Easy Order system permits customers to order pizza in many different ways, such as via an app, voice, and television, and even sending a pizza emoji through Twitter. This revolutionary approach to ordering pizza has enabled the company to get the ordering process down to just 17 seconds and to monitor the accuracy of each order. For Easy Order to be effective, all the company’s stores had to install the software and technological infrastructure. And though expensive, this step proved to be the key to the firm’s success. “It was maybe the most important technology decision made in the last decade at Domino’s,” said Vasconic.

1. Describe the importance of the Easy Order system at Domino’s as it relates to the controlling process. What if Domino’s had not implemented the Easy Order system?

2. The main steps of the controlling process are measuring performance, comparing performance to standards, and taking corrective action. Discuss the possible role of the Easy Order system at Domino’s in each of these steps.
3. Discuss three challenges that the Easy Order system may experience, from customer problems to potential hacking from outside parties. How should Domino’s handle each of these three challenges?