El Pollo Loco adds tech to control supply chain

Nation's Restaurant News, June 11, 2007

IRVINE, CALIF. -- Irvine-based El Pollo Loco Inc., which operates or franchises more than 360 flame-grilled-chicken restaurants, is deploying Instill Corp.'s Web-based Food Spend Management technology.

Steve Lash, director of supply chain management for El Pollo Loco, said the Instill service "will enable us to audit 100 percent of our spend, helping to ensure that our franchisees benefit from the full value of our negotiated contracts."

Tom Giannetti, vice president of information technology for El Pollo Loco, added, "The ability to leverage proven technology that can be rapidly deployed in a service-based model also made Instill an easy choice."

Instill said its technology helps operators monitor and enforce unit-level compliance with order guides while identifying variances in contract prices, purchases eligible for rebates and SKU rationalization opportunities, among other possible cost savings.

The system supports graphically oriented "dashboard" presentations of information and exception-based reporting with alerts, sources at Redwood, Calif.-based Instill said.