Mrs. Fields' Cookies

I). Mrs. Fields' Cookies

The role of information technology in the "success story" of Mrs. Fields' Cookies has become so legendary in the field of MIS that it has been whimsically granted membership in the "information Technology Hall of Fame". The company was founded in 1977 by Debbi Fields who, at the age of 20, together with her husband Randy, borrowed $50,000 and opened a store selling home-baked cookies in Palo Alto, CA. Within a year, a second store opened in San Francisco and shortly thereafter, several more stores spread throughout northern California. By 1981, the company had 14 stores.

The use of information technology was critical to the initial success and rapid growth of Mrs. Fields' Cookies. As the potential of the company began to manifest itself in the late 1970s, Randy Fields, a Stanford University graduate, economist and computer enthusiast moved into an active role as chairman of the company. He perceived that the newly introduced microcomputer technology could be harnessed to afford far greater control of far-flung cookie stores than could be achieved with conventional techniques. His concept in short was to provide expertise directly from headquarters to every store. More specifically, the goal was to create systems with embedded knowledge that was "based on Debbi Fields' personal and successful experience in running one of her first stores". As the system evolved in the early 1980s, each store was given a terminal. The system provided mangers with explicit directions for planning the day's production, sales and scheduling labor, along with conventional applications such as inventory control and ordering. It also supplied managers with utilities such as electronic mail and an employee time clock that interfaced with corporate payroll. Even traditionally qualitative activities were not exempt from automation.

For example, system provided on-line skills testing and interactive interviews, which managers were required to use in hiring employee. The terminal based system was augmented by a sophisticated voice mail application, permitting managers to leave messages that would go directly to Debbi Fields. She personally replies to many of these messages and frequently called store managers to converse with them and offer advice.

The early 1980s were a period of heady growth for the company. By the end of 1983, the company had 150 stores, all company-owned. By 1986, the company had opened over 300 stores and had achieved annual sales of $87 million. Particularly impressive was that, throughout the whole period of double digit sales growth in the early 1980s, the company had managed to remain consistently profitable, with 1987 earnings reaching $17.7 million sales of $113 million. These achievements of the company did not go unnoticed, with considerable press being given to the company's unique structure, along with the fact that it had been founded by the woman entrepreneur with a unique philosophy of doing business. The period from 1987 to 1989 witnessed a dramatic shift in the company's fortunes. Significant changes in the business climate were becoming apparent. Competition in the cookie business, which had begun to heat up in the mid-1980s, had grown intense.

The acquisition served as the basis for the company's foray into combination stores, closer to a café concept than a cookie store. The initial design of programs for running these stores was based on specialists' analysis, with subsequent modifications to be made based upon the experience of senior managers, each of whom would take a turn at running a store for 2 months.

b) Suggest how Mrs. Fields' Bakeries can develop and sustain a competitive advantage by using information systems and information technology.

The impact of technology on the self-regulating capacity of Mrs. Fields' was profound. In the company, there were numerous examples of computers and telecommunications being applied to permit automatic response to environmental changes without affecting fundamental