Starbucks' Data To Go

Starting this week, about 600 Starbucks Corp. district managers will be able to access job-related data via wireless-enabled notebook computers in nearly 2,000 Starbucks stores with Wireless Fidelity technology. The coffee company wants its district managers to spend more face time with store managers and customers, says Karen Metro, VP of North American business systems for Starbucks. Giving them access to corporate information when they're on the road should help.

Andrea Streedain, a Starbucks district manager in Portland, Ore., who participated in a test of the initiative, says store visits show her firsthand the challenges and opportunities store managers face. Quick access to sales data, E-mail, and contact information lets her better help managers who report to her.

Starbucks is considering networking home offices with Wi-Fi technology, too. "We're trying to lower our infrastructure costs in field offices," says James Snook, Starbucks' VP of IT and enterprise architecture. "If you need to tear out or change a network setup, you can reconfigure quickly with wireless."