Thanks to an innovative approach to developing new flavours, Ben & Jerry’s has transformed the local scoop shop into a global franchise.

The company needed a collaboration channel that would facilitate work with external partners to create interactions that are more appetising.

Working with partners outside the business hasn’t always been a breeze. Prior to implementing Dropbox Business, the management paperwork associated with shops in Australia and New Zealand was saved across external hard drives and platforms like Microsoft SharePoint, meaning that sharing, finding, and sorting through important documents was a chaotic process.

“We were wasting a lot of time chasing down documents,” said Adrian DiTonto, National Retail Operations Manager for Ben & Jerry’s.

“It could take a week to find a franchise agreement or chase down shop photos from a third party. Sometimes we just couldn’t find files at all.”

To create a more consistent and smooth workflow, Ben & Jerry’s parent company Unilever has decided to use Dropbox Business to manage and store share files.

In doing so, the ice cream franchise has been able to manage all its files from the one place and has established a uniform process around external sharing, enabling simpler communications with partners.

“Dropbox Business lets us share relevant, up-to-date information with suppliers, contractors, and anyone else involved in a project. If we make changes to a file, everyone knows about it. Our lives have become a lot easier with these smoother processes in place,” explained DiTonto.

Before implementing Dropbox Business DiTonto found it difficult to share large files across different teams. Files had to either be zipped or sent as a chain of emails, which was time consuming and inefficient. With Dropbox Business, however, larger files can be securely exchanged with contractors, suppliers and scoop shop owners through shared links.

With every file organised into one place on Dropbox Business, companies like Ben & Jerry’s can find the right document to send and share to coworkers without searching through endless emails or making frantic phone calls.

For Ben & Jerry’s the relocation of files means they are able to open up more shops, maintain momentum and ultimately serve more satisfied customers.

“Because Australia is the benchmark for Ben & Jerry’s retail rollouts, I’ve had a lot of inquiries from colleagues in other markets about adopting the same timesaving methods we’ve put in place here,” said DiTonto.

“Dropbox Business is the key to stopping wasteful conversations and giving individuals more autonomy.”

Since relocating and streamlining files with Dropbox, Ben & Jerry’s has established a new efficiency within the franchise.

DiTonto said, “We always want to make sure franchises are getting what they paid for. Dropbox Business keeps us in the same loop, working towards the same goal. It’s good for their business and for ours as a whole.”

Find out more about how Ben & Jerry's and Dropbox are working together. Download the full case study here.

Want to know who's using Dropbox in your business? Request a free Dropbox usage assessment or start a trial today.

Share