There’s no shortage of data and opinion in frontline work on how to cope with labor shortages across supply chains.

A November 2022 Financial Times article outlines the transition with Howard Shultz temporarily back at the helm, and also checks into frontline operations. Automating time-consuming inventory checks is one area of efficiency, also coffee machines that make it easier to make drinks and focus on customer service. A 20-hour, 20-step cold brew process is mentioned - now a four-step process that takes a matter of seconds, accounting for r $50mn of annual spend.

Formerly with Penn Foster, Starbuck’s chief transformation officer Frank Britt states candidly, "There's a fundamental change happening in the frontline workforce marketplace in this country, period, the end, regardless of whether you work at Home Depot, Starbucks, you name it.” A new internal language around career developing tunes employees on internal mobility, helping them “thrive” in their career with Starbucks.

Read Still Broke for the Walmart transformation