Jersey Mike’s Accelerates Growth with Crunchtime’s Operations Management Suite

With 300 new locations opening annually, Jersey Mike’s Subs depends on Crunchtime’s suite of products — Crunchtime Inventory, Crunchtime Labor, Crunchtime Ops Execution, Crunchtime Learning, and Crunchtime Insights—to scale effectively while maintaining operational consistency across 3,000+ locations. What began as a solution for inventory control has grown into a strategic, company-wide product suite supporting execution, training, and data-driven decision-making.

CHALLENGE

Fragmented Systems Created Growth Bottlenecks

As Jersey Mike’s expanded across North America, operational complexity became a challenge. Store teams relied on a patchwork of manual tools, from laminated checklists to pen-and-paper inventory logs, and the corporate team struggled to gain clear visibility into what was happening across the growing network.

“Before Crunchtime, auditing was nearly impossible in real time,” explained Amanda Vrabel, Manager of Business Management Systems. “Franchisees used different processes, and we’d get information in all kinds of formats. We couldn’t get a clear, consistent view across the system.”

Launching new stores was also inefficient. “There were redundant tools managed by different teams,” she said. “It made it hard to focus on what mattered: supporting teams and preparing for customers.” Store teams, often made up of younger digital native employees, expect a modern, mobile-first experience. “Most of our managers have grown up with smartphones,” added Kevin Loughran, Field Training and Development Specialist. “They’d rather complete tasks on a mobile app than hunt down a printer or boot up a computer.”

SOLUTION

End-to-end Solutions For Operations, Training, And Data

To eliminate friction and improve scalability, Jersey Mike’s expanded its partnership with Crunchtime to power operations across its entire store network. By adopting the Crunchtime Operations Management Suite, the brand created consistent system that meets the needs of both corporate and franchise teams:

Inventory

Key capabilities that made an impact include: Crunchtime’s mobile app enables team members to conduct inventory simultaneously for faster, more accurate counts.
The suggested ordering capability standardizes purchasing and vendor management and reduces overstocking.
Crunchtime’s auto-forecasting enables store managers to save time and make smarter staffing and purchasing decisions. “Auto-forecasting helps managers compare their expectations with what Crunchtime predicts and ask why there’s a difference. It’s a learning opportunity and a planning tool,” Amanda shared.

Ops Execution

Digital checklists, photo uploads, and real-time task tracking replace outdated clipboard methods.
Franchisees can monitor performance across multiple stores without being on site.
Task completion scores are used to support employee performance reviews, promotions, and bonus incentives, reinforcing a culture of execution.
Custom forms, multiple-choice fields, and flexible logic reduce errors and improve efficiency.

Learning & Development

The Jersey Mike’s training team can update and reorganize content on their own — no development support needed.
Mobile access allows multiple team members to complete training simultaneously.
Managers gain instant visibility into training progress by role, with automated assignments by skill position and at-a-glance dashboards that show which employees are prepared for specific responsibilities.

Operational Intelligence

Crunchtime’s upgraded analytics platform, Insights, allows the team to quickly build custom reports, visualize cross-functional data, and power decision-making with confidence.
Cross-functional teams can evaluate market performance, test product launches, identify training needs, and support strategic decisions at scale.
Allows managers to compare forecasts, analyze anomalies, and adjust plans instantly with confidence.

“Operational Intelligence gives us even more freedom to work with data than we had before. It’s intuitive and fast — one of my team members picked it up and became a total wizard with it,” Amanda said.

RESULTS

Faster Openings, Smarter Decisions, And Happier Teams

By consolidating operations management with Crunchtime, Jersey Mike’s has dramatically improved both efficiency and decision-making across its expanding footprint. Despite supporting more than 3,500 locations and opening hundreds of new stores each year, Amanda’s business systems team remains lean with just four people. Crunchtime’s suite plays a critical role in keeping the team small and agile, minimizing the need for additional headcount while still delivering high-impact support across the entire brand. The partnership has helped the company maintain high standards without slowing down its rapid growth.

Key outcomes include:

75% reduction in administrative work: Reports that once required manual creation are now instantly available, freeing up managers to focus on highervalue work

50% faster employee scheduling: With Crunchtime’s forecasting and scheduling tools, store managers spend significantly less time determining labor needs each day

More flexible, high-volume training: Stores can train multiple team members at once, increasing training flexibility during shifts, especially important in highgrowth periods

Improved brand consistency across new locations: Digitally tracking daily tasks and standard operating procedures helps ensure that new stores uphold brand standards from day one

Smarter decision-making with real-time data: Access to sales, inventory, and labor insights helps leadership plan with precision, test new ideas quickly, and adjust in real time

Increased franchisee confidence: With modern tools and centralized data, franchisees feel supported, informed, and empowered to run their stores effectively, even when overseeing dozens of locations

“Everything in our restaurants happens within 14 feet of counter space,” said Area Director Brian Deeth. “Crunchtime keeps our operators there, not buried in the back office.”

The impact hasn’t gone unnoticed—Jersey Mike’s was named a finalist at the 2024 Crunchtime Ops Excellence Awards, where Amanda shared the brand’s success story.

“We’re just getting started,” she said. “We’re opening 300 stores a year now and that annual number could increase. But thanks to Crunchtime, we already have the systems in place to support it.”

“Crunchtime doesn’t just provide software — it’s a true partner. They help us solve problems, evolve our strategy, and keep moving forward.”

Amanda Vrabel
Manager, Business Management Systems
Jersey Mike’s Subs

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