Le Duff America, Inc. operates cafés, bakeries, coffee houses, and boulangeries under brands including la Madeleine, Bruegger's Bagels, Brioche Doree, Timothy's Coffee, and Michel's Baguette. Based in Dallas, Texas, the company is a subsidiary of Groupe Le Duff SA. Its portfolio spans 10 separate quick-service restaurant brands and more than 1,650 restaurants around the world, with U.S. locations that depend on voice and internet for online ordering and point-of-sale systems.

Le Duff needed to modernize and digitally transform its stores. Phone systems were unreliable and outdated, locations used a variety of internet connection types, bandwidth was low at most sites, and Wi-Fi was inconsistent, with some restaurants lacking it entirely. Voice- and internet-supported applications such as online orders and points of sale were business-critical, so the company required consistent uptime to protect business continuity.

With limited resources to manage a complicated system internally, Le Duff needed a partner that could deliver a fully scalable package with management and monitoring included. The plan had to be templated so it could be rolled out quickly across all stores, and deployment could not disturb operations, which meant installation work could only be done at night.

The company also wanted the new foundation to support a mobile app and a loyalty program across all of its brands, so the network had to connect with customers at every touchpoint.

MetTel digitally transformed Le Duff's U.S. locations with a system that its certified engineers monitor and manage 24/7/365. MetTel developed a template-based solution and rolled it out to restaurants nationwide, meeting the requirement for rapid deployment without disrupting store operations.

The template combined Managed SD-WAN with 4G backup, providing redundancy and resiliency for the highest possible uptime, and a Cloud Firewall that delivers next-generation security including content filtering for public Wi-Fi. Managed Public Wi-Fi now gives guests a uniform, consistent experience at every location, monitored and managed by MetTel. Traditional phones were replaced with VoIP telephony to improve reliability and reduce cost.

MetTel's Bruin platform manages inventory, usage, spend, reporting, and repairs across the entire telecom ecosystem. With a single billing platform that tracks spending line by line and real-time usage reports that support inventory optimization, Le Duff can focus on serving customers while MetTel looks after the complete communication system. The new foundation also allowed Le Duff to launch a mobile app and a loyalty program across all of its brands, connecting with customers whether they are on the app or on in-store Wi-Fi.

• Uniform, consistent Wi-Fi across all locations, with SD-WAN and 4G backup delivering redundancy and higher uptime
• A cost-saving plan locked in at a discounted rate for the life of the contract
• Real-time monitoring and reporting for telecom systems at U.S. locations, with greatly improved network performance
• Single billing platform tracks spending line by line and supports optimized telecom inventory management
• Foundation in place for a new mobile app and loyalty program across all Le Duff brands