Franchise Brands plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018 11 Financial Statements Strategic Report Governance FOCUSED ON DEVELOPMENT Strategic priority As franchisor we play an important role in developing, testing and piloting new ideas, strategies, systems and technologies so that our franchisees may benefit from these in the future. Progress in 2018 • Development of ITOL-accredited Metro Rod apprenticeship scheme to develop new engineering talent. • Roll-out of ITOL-accredited training programme to "train the trainer" in franchisee's depots. • Development of ChipsAway Car Care Centre to introduce franchsees to the latest technology. • Establishment of company-owned Metro Rod franchise in Exeter which trialled the new quotations system and WMS. • Recruitment of first independent Metro Plumb franchisee. • Roll-out of hybrid and electric vehicle training to ChipsAway franchisees. • Assisted Barking Mad franchisees in securing local authority licences following new commercial dog boarding regulations. Focus for 2019 • Launch new ChipsAway model Car Care Centre at the Kidderminster Head Office. • Launch of apprenticeship scheme and recruitment of first apprentices. • Continue to roll-out the Metro Rod "train the trainer" programme. • Open our first Metro Rod Vision 2023 depot. • Broaden the scope and capability of drainage and plumbing services, possibly by acquisitions. • Complete the licencing of Barking Mad franchisees and promote this to customers as a badge of quality and compliance. FOCUSED ON SUPPORT Strategic priority Our shared support services allow the management of our individual brands to help their franchisees to grow their businesses. Progress in 2018 • Identification of, and commencement of trial, of new Metro Rod WMS. • Successful use of robotics to log and monitor an increasing proportion of Metro Rod jobs. • Development and launch of Management Information ("MI") and reporting dashboard, balanced scorecards and intranet to Metro Rod franchisees to aid productivity, profitability and share best practice. • Investment in new Metro Rod telephone system and technology to improve the customer call handling experience. • Launch of new finance scheme to assist Metro Rod franchisees to buy additional equipment. • Supported Metro Rod franchisees in the production and analysis of monthly management accounts. Focus for 2019 • Develop and commence roll-out of new Metro Rod WMS in 2H 2019. • Launch new quotations system for all Metro Rod franchisees in 1H 2019. • Develop and implement new CRM system at Metro Rod. • Further automate job acquisition and monitoring at Metro Rod. • Update and relaunch franchise recruitment process for ChipsAway, Ovenclean and Barking Mad. • Establish franchise recruitment process for Metro Rod.