Transforming The Coffee Club's digital landscape

Challenge

Overcoming legacy network obstacles

In the past, Minor DKL Food Group encountered significant challenges with its existing network infrastructure, within The Coffee Club’s stores, which were both complex and costly. The previous managed networking solution, implemented as part of a cloud-first strategy, left franchise partners burdened with high expenses.

Bandwidth constraints led to unreliable phone calls, slow internet speeds and frequent disruptions to essential store operations, including point-of-sale systems and customer Wi-Fi. 

Christian Klinger, CIO - Minor DKL Food Group explains, “you couldn't even take a phone call without it dropping out and that was mainly bandwidth constraints that were producing that.”

Minor DKL Service Manager, Sam Dillon added, “the old network was pretty slow... it was about 12 megabits down.” Sam noted that because the internet was so slow, franchisees were forced to throttle guest Wi-Fi to preserve bandwidth for business-critical functions, which resulted in a negative customer experience.

Franchisees also struggled with basic tasks like placing online orders and often had to reboot phones to meet growing connectivity needs, which subsequently increased the support burden on internal IT teams, spending excessive time troubleshooting recurring issues. 

With a need to reduce costs, improve service reliability, and enable future scalability, Minor DKL Food Group needed to find a solution that would deliver faster, more reliable connectivity, maintain security standards, and provide substantial savings to franchise partners. 

In addition, this solution had to be delivered without needing a complete hardware refresh, which required maintaining existing hardware (Meraki), ensuring 4G backup services, leveraging NBN® effectively, and improving on or maintaining existing telephony, whilst sustaining operational efficiency for many years to come. 

Solution

Network transformation with SD WAN

The solution implemented for Minor DKL Food Group (primarily benefiting The Coffee Club franchise network), was a comprehensive, cost-effective, and scalable network transformation designed to address longstanding issues of high cost, poor performance, and operational inefficiency. 

It not only delivered significant cost savings - over $360,000 in the first year and ongoing annual savings of around $505,000 - but also improved the experience for franchise partners and their customers, setting a foundation for future growth and innovation.

The upgrade plan centred on deploying a software-defined network (SD-WAN) architecture, leveraging Cisco Meraki hardware, and utilising Telstra’s business broadband services to each store. This allowed the business to retain existing, licensed Meraki hardware - ensuring ongoing support and replacement while modernising the network stack for improved reliability and security. 

A key technical element was the integration of secure, cloud-first networking with robust 4G backup services, supporting business continuity and resilience at every franchise location. The solution also mandated the use of NBN connections, negotiated for optimal rates, and included enhancements to telephony, eliminating previous issues with dropped calls and unreliable service. Security was embedded throughout the network, supporting the safe transmission of customer and sales data, and supporting the compliance needs of a large franchise operation. 

The partnership between Telstra, Minor DKL Food Group, and Clarity ICT was also critical to the project’s success. Clarity ICT, as Telstra’s enterprise partner and integrator, played a pivotal role in orchestrating the delivery, coordinating between Telstra’s technical teams, field technicians, and Minor DKL’s internal IT staff. This collaboration enabled rapid project mobilisation, with Telstra’s engineers providing in-depth design documentation and remote architecture planning, while Clarity ICT managed logistics, scheduling, and on-the-ground support. 

Throughout the rollout, the teams worked closely to overcome challenges such as hardware shortages and scheduling setbacks. And the strong relationships built between the Telstra, Minor DKL, and Clarity ICT’s teams, ensured that technicians were empowered to resolve issues proactively, resulting in the rollout of over 220 stores completed approximately six months ahead of schedule. 

Approach

A collaborative roll-out strategy

The introduction of the new network solution for Minor DKL Food Group was characterised by a structured, collaborative, and agile approach that prioritised both technical excellence and operational efficiency. 
The process began with a comprehensive review of the existing network, which was found to be costly, complex, and underperforming. Minor DKL Food Group then initiated a competitive request for proposal process, with the goal of delivering higher bandwidth, improved reliability, and significant cost savings for franchise partners. 

Once Telstra and Clarity ICT were selected as partners, the project moved swiftly into the design and planning phase. Telstra’s technical team, including engineers, provided detailed low-level design documentation and remote architecture planning, leveraging their expertise to establish a robust, cloud-first SD-WAN solution using Cisco Meraki hardware. 

This phase was marked by clear communication and a deep understanding of Minor DKL’s operational needs, suppoorting a scalable and reliable solution. Pilot rollouts were conducted at three test stores, allowing the teams to validate the design and address any issues before scaling up. 

The main deployment phase was meticulously coordinated by Clarity ICT, who acted as the integrator and orchestrator, managing logistics, scheduling, and direct engagement with Telstra’s field technicians. This hands-on approach enabled rapid deployment, with the teams working closely to resolve challenges such as hardware shortages and site-specific constraints. 

Throughout the process, collaboration was imperative. Regular communication between Minor DKL’s IT team, Clarity, and Telstra ensured that all stakeholders were aligned and empowered to make decisions quickly. 

This partnership-driven approach enabled the rollout to be completed for over 220 stores in just six months, well ahead of the original schedule - all the while maintaining high standards of quality, security, and customer satisfaction. 

Sam reflects, “all our previous problems have been alleviated, it’s now better for customers, better for franchisees, and better for everyone all-round.”    

Impact

Powering success through partnership

The collaboration between Telstra, Minor DKL Food Group, and Clarity ICT, stands as a benchmark for what can be achieved when expertise and vision come together. The Coffee Club stores across Australia underwent a significant technology transformation, with the entire rollout completed an impressive six months ahead of schedule. 

This achievement was not just about speed - it was about delivering real, measurable value to franchise partners and their customers. By implementing a new, cost-effective network solution, franchisees saw their network costs cut in half while gaining access to internet speeds up to five times faster than before. 

This leap in connectivity meant that stores could finally offer reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi to customers, enabling them to work, hold meetings, or simply enjoy an easy online experience while visiting The Coffee Club stores. Another value-add the improved network allowed for, was better access to essential business tools like CCTV, further enhancing store security and management.

Operationally, the benefits were just as profound. Franchise partners reported that previously persistent issues, such as unreliable telephony and slow online ordering were resolved, therefore freeing up staff to focus on delivering great service rather than troubleshooting technology. 

Nick Kent, Minor DKL Service Desk Team Member, explains, "we've had positive feedback from the franchise partners and they’ve expressed their gratitude for getting the job done... something as simple as increasing their internet speeds so that they’re able to place their orders in a timely manner, is just one of the things that’s been a significant improvement for them.”

The financial impact was immediate and substantial: the rapid decommissioning of outdated infrastructure resulted in $360,000 in savings in the first year alone, with ongoing annual savings of approximately $505,000 projected for franchisees.

But what truly set this project apart was the spirit of partnership that underpinned every stage. Telstra’s technical expertise, Clarity’s orchestration and hands-on project management, and Minor DKL’s clear vision and leadership created an environment where challenges were met with agile problem-solving and open communication. 

This approach ensured not only a smooth rollout but also laid the groundwork for future growth. With a scalable, more  secure, and future-ready network foundation now in place, Minor DKL Food Group is well placed to expand its operations and easily onboard new stores and brands as the business evolves.