How Modular Construction is Saving Big Money for Franchise Owners
Last year we were approached by a quick-service restaurant chain undergoing a major franchise expansion including hundreds of locations across numerous states. They wanted to know if modular construction would work for them and what benefits it could offer.
At the core of their business model, franchises are already utilizing a common variable with modular construction: efficiency through standardization. A franchise has a standard set of products or services, operations, and core principles that are replicated across locations for maximum efficiency.
In similar fashion, a modular builder will often develop a set of standard models and replicate those models from pre-designed plans, in turn saving time and money in the planning phase as well as during construction and installation due to procurement, production lines, and teams growing faster with repeatable processes.
It’s no surprise that we hit it off with one of the franchise leaders who was seeking strategic connections for a huge nationwide expansion. They saw the benefits of modular construction for franchise locations that depended on the same principles for profitability and success. The question was, how could modular construction add further efficiency to the expansion process, and where had they encountered bottlenecks in the past?
One challenge the franchise faced was that floor plans differed between locations, and some were inherently more efficient than others. With that, one of the crucial steps in developing their construction plan was to leverage the replicability of a highly effective floor plan. After we acquainted ourselves with their business, we were able to collaborate with their corporate office to design an optimal floor plan based on the operational testing of multiple franchise locations. We could then offer this optimized design to any franchise owner seeking to build a new location. The design should translate into quicker service, more effective teams, and higher revenue.
Another key challenge they faced was construction management. In typical construction you often have time gaps between contractors working on different aspects of the building, and managing these contractors can be costly and time-consuming. With any commercial building, time equals money in the construction phase. The sooner you’re operational, the sooner you’re generating revenue.
Working with Polaris Modular, our own leaders would be managing the construction process on a steady production line with a unified team. No gaps between construction stages, and less juggling when it comes to scheduling and communication. To scale these efficiencies, we can build multiple locations at one time using the same team.
When we talk about scale, we get into the potential for massive cost savings. While the variables we already will save franchise owners time and money with the buildout of a single location, once you introduce the additional cost savings made possible by volume and procurement systems, the efficiencies multiply.
We devised a plan with our client to save each franchise location an estimated $100,000 in construction costs due to the benefits we could offer with modular construction: cost savings through volume and replication, reduced labor and construction management costs, and the elimination of wasted time and materials.
Are you a franchise owner looking to expand? We’d love to talk with you about how our modular construction team can save you time and money on your next locations. Reach out anytime and let’s collaborate.