Krispy Kreme Doughnuts streamlines new shop openings and boosts project management efficiency with Smartsheet

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts has been making hot, fresh doughnuts since founder Vernon Rudolph began selling the sweet treats to local North Carolina grocers in 1937. Krispy Kreme sold more than 1.6 billion doughnuts in 2022 and now operates in more than 30 countries.

The company uses Smartsheet to manage much of the process for new shop openings.

“Our goal is to be the most loved sweet treat brand in the world, and we need to ensure we have smooth shop openings and new product and process implementations,” says Seth Whisnant, Senior Manager, Strategic Operations and Continuous Improvement for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. “Smartsheet makes this much more efficient.”

Tracking Shop Openings and Managing Other Key Processes in Smartsheet 

Shortly after adopting Smartsheet, Whisnant began creating an end-to-end task list to support the operations team’s new shop processes. “I interviewed all our key stakeholders to learn their critical milestones and project lead times,” he says. “I then built a project management tool in Smartsheet to manage the process.”

Using Smartsheet, the company now tracks every step of the process, from new shop conception to opening. Different teams at the company use Smartsheet to track processes such as building permits, approvals, and key project deadlines.

“Every part of our business touches Smartsheet throughout the shop opening process. Each new shop opening is a massive project, and Smartsheet helps us map it all out easily and on time,” says Whisnant.

Teams also use Smartsheet surveys to rate the overall new shop opening experience and collect continuous improvement feedback from their field operations and support center partners. Additionally, the Krispy Kreme support center conducts Smartsheet surveys to develop scorecards to learn and improve from all projects, tests, and new rollouts.

Another way the company uses the tool is by collaborating with external vendors, such as construction general contractors and third-party supply chain partners. The team works with these vendors to stay aligned on project timelines as well as delivery and installation of equipment. Whisnant and his team also use workflow automation in Smartsheet to automatically remind and alert team members when key tasks or deadlines are approaching. 

Strategic Goal Alignment through Higher Visibility

The company also has better visibility into processes through the tool. Whisnant and his operations team host integration meetings with other departments to discuss key activities and projects. “During our meeting, there’s a massive Smartsheet behind the scenes of our presentation,” he says. “Departments use it to update their projects and milestones. This gives everyone visibility into what’s going on with all cross-functional initiatives.” Now, Whisnant can more effectively manage new shop openings because project management processes are streamlined across departments.

More Efficient Project Meetings 

By taking advantage of project visibility and workflow automation in Smartsheet, teams save time previously spent on manual processes and meetings. “Everything is automated in Smartsheet, so I just read updates or get alerts,” says Whisnant. Similarly, Whisnant sends out project update requests in Smartsheet and receives alerts when responses are made.

“Because we can see the responses directly in Smartsheet, we’ve reduced the meetings times to 20-30 minutes,” he says. “It’s much more efficient.”

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