Running a $3 billion supply chain that serves nearly 10,000 quick-service restaurants across the United States is not a logistics challenge you can manage with static spreadsheets and disconnected tools. National DCP (NDCP), the unified supply chain organization behind Dunkin’ franchisees, operates ten distribution centers, 30 driver hubs, and ships more than 86 million cases annually across 33 million miles. As the network grew, the gap between what their existing technology could handle and what the operation actually demanded became impossible to close through experience alone.
The trigger was clear: delivery windows were tightening, cost pressure was increasing, and when COVID-19 hit, NDCP’s legacy platform proved it had no room to flex. The organization needed a technology partner that could replace a patchwork of fragmented tools with a single, connected platform spanning planning, routing, execution, and analytics. That partner was ORTEC. This customer story details what changed, how it changed, and what NDCP’s performance looks like on the other side.
YOU WILL LEARN
- Why NDCP’s legacy platform became a growth constraint and what the turning point for technology modernization looked like
- How ORTEC’s integrated platform replaced multiple disconnected tools with a single data-driven operational foundation
- What Visit Day Optimization delivered in measurable miles, fuel consumption, and driver time reductions
- How the ORTEC Control Tower gives NDCP real-time visibility into plan vs. actual execution across a 10-DC national network
- What drove OTIF performance from the mid-80% range to averaging 88%, with a path to 90%
- How driver debriefs and proof-of-delivery data feed back into future planning to identify breakdown trends and load-level issues
- What “operational learning” means in practice for a supply chain at NDCP’s scale
- What NDCP and ORTEC’s next phase looks like, including AI-powered execution support and advanced executive dashboards
Strategic Insight: Technology Doesn’t Replace Supply Chain Expertise — It Amplifies It
The platform problem compounds over time
NDCP’s legacy system wasn’t failing in dramatic ways; it was simply not developing. As Steve Domonkos, COO of NDCP, described it: “We were on a platform that was layered into our organization several years earlier and was never really developed beyond that. When Covid hit, we had to maneuver very quickly and be very nimble, and the tool was holding us back.” Static tools don’t just limit execution — they limit the organization’s ability to learn and improve from what it already knows.
A single platform changes what planners can do
ORTEC replaced fragmented tools with one operational foundation that connects territory planning, visit-day assignment, route optimization, dispatch, real-time tracking, and analytics. The impact was immediate for frontline teams. As Domonkos noted, the ORTEC platform becomes a “work buddy” for supervisors, allowing them to focus on what matters rather than fighting disconnected systems. Training time decreased, consistency improved across the network, and planners could evaluate trade-offs with actual data instead of workarounds.
Control Tower turns visibility into early intervention
In distribution centers actively using the ORTEC Control Tower, NDCP saw OTIF performance climb from the mid-80% range to averaging 88%, with continued progress toward 90%. The Control Tower integrates data from electronic logging devices, proof-of-delivery records, and driver feedback, then aligns it against the original plan to surface emerging risks before they reach restaurants. Issues can be addressed hundreds of miles away without escalating into service disruptions. As Jason Jack, Director of Transportation and Logistics at NDCP, explained: “We can look at breakdown issues to determine if there is a mechanical trend we need to address or analyze load damage to identify patterns. We feed this information back into the system for future planning.”
Visit Day Optimization is a measurable cost lever
Territory optimization and visit-day planning replaced static routing with decisions informed by both historical and real-time demand data. NDCP has already implemented Visit Day Optimization across approximately half of its distribution centers, with additional expansion planned. The result: measurable reductions in miles driven, fuel consumption, and driver time — delivered at scale without compromising service levels.
OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES
NDCP manages uniform performance expectations across a geographically dispersed network where delivery windows, labor availability, and local conditions vary by market. The organization ships to nearly 10,000 Dunkin’ locations with zero tolerance for inconsistency — franchisees depend on reliable supply to run their businesses. Any disruption in the supply chain is visible to end customers within hours. Managing that level of service commitment while also controlling transportation cost and adapting to daily operational volatility requires technology that works as an active decision-support tool, not a passive record-keeping system.
IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH
ORTEC’s integration with NDCP connected planning and execution decisions across the full order-to-delivery cycle. Advanced routing accounts for delivery windows, fleet composition, vehicle characteristics, driver qualifications, and traffic conditions simultaneously. The Control Tower gives planners, supervisors, and executives a shared operational picture updated in real time. Driver debrief data feeds directly back into the planning system, creating a closed loop between field execution and future route design. The roadmap ahead includes expanding driver debriefs across all routes, advancing daily optimized routing based on real-world conditions, and deploying AI-powered execution support to help planners identify risks earlier within their daily workflow.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS
This customer story is relevant to supply chain and logistics leaders evaluating integrated transportation management platforms, particularly VP and Director-level heads of distribution, transportation operations managers, and supply chain transformation leads at organizations running large, multi-DC delivery networks. It is especially applicable to foodservice distribution, franchise supply chains, and any operation where consistent on-time, in-full delivery is a contractual and commercial necessity.
FINAL CTA
Download National DCP: How ORTEC supports a scalable national supply chain from ORTEC to see how a $3 billion supply chain organization replaced fragmented tools with a single connected platform — and what that shift delivered in OTIF performance, cost savings, and operational resilience at national scale.
