Over the last four years Lenovo has worked in collaboration with 321 Coffee, a small independent business at the heart of Raleigh, NC. When visiting their cafés around the city, you’re welcomed into a community built on inclusion, possibility and purpose. Founded to provide meaningful employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, 321 Coffee was a natural ally to Lenovo’s Smarter Technology for All ethos.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our community, and our friends at 321 Coffee are an outstanding example of that. This is such an important relationship within our local Raleigh community because it truly embodies our mission to provide Smarter Technology For All, with Lenovo technology allowing 321’s team to be even more independent in their jobs,” says Megan Bornemann, Sr. Manager of NA Brand Strategy. “Plus, we’ve got some great friends now between the Lenovo and 321 teams!”
Lenovo’s collaboration with 321 Coffee began in 2021 with a single video spotlighting their work at the local farmer’s market. The following year, Lenovo and Engage NC supported their launch to a fully accessible roasting facility powered by Lenovo technology. This step scaled up 321 Coffee’s roasting capacity, created new jobs and helped expand their mission. Since then, the relationship has blossomed into an ongoing support system reaching nearly every aspect of the business, most recently expanding into software migration and AI integration.
A new era of growth: AI
For many small businesses, AI begins as an unknown. People are unsure how it might fit within their tightly knit team. Like 321 Coffee’s core founding team, Lindsay, Michael and Mallory, most business owners run on passion and grit. They wear multiple hats, handling everything from operations to marketing and shipping logistics. This juggling act is where Lenovo’s AI-powered solutions step in.
Lenovo’s AI PCs, paired with Microsoft Copilot, have helped 321 Coffee handle their day-to-day admin as well as bring new expertise to unexpected challenges. With this new AI “teammate,” they’ve freed up time to focus on what matters most to them: growing their mission, supporting their team and building community.
To ensure the team was ready for AI integration, Lenovo equipped 321 Coffee with a full suite of hardware including AI PCs, ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptops, ThinkVision M14 monitors, tablets, plus full M365 and Microsoft Copilot licenses. Switching to a new system can be daunting, but Lenovo was with the team every step of the way, helping them take advantage of AI seamlessly, starting from the initial operating system migration itself.
Migration
321 Coffee was using different software and operating systems that did not fully serve their needs or their consistent growth. This is where Lenovo’s expert Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) Specialists were on hand to support their migration over to M365. This team provided everything from the early strategic planning and licensing to a personalized migration plan and deployment, making the switch easy and seamless. Plus, unlike other services, Lenovo also offered 24/7 specialist support, helping empower 321 Coffee during an otherwise daunting process. With Lenovo’s support, 321 Coffee was able to adopt new software and technology without missing a beat.
Harnessing AI
Technology is most powerful when the people using it know how to harness its full potential. To make sure the 321 Coffee team was able to navigate their new software suite, Lenovo’s AI Adoption and Change Management Service team stepped in. This team works with businesses of all sizes to create a tailored plan for AI adoption, including Microsoft Copilot. Through these trainings, 321 Coffee was able to save up to 30 hours a week.
Led by the AI Transformation Team, the trainings were friendly, interactive sessions that started with learning the unique pain points of 321 Coffee’s business. Next, the training team took 321 Coffee through a crash course in the basics of Microsoft Copilot and a deep dive into real-world examples covering 321 Coffee’s specific needs. The final step was a Q&A session a few weeks later, after Lindsay, Michael and Mallory had time to put the learnings into practice.
Results that speak for themselves
After just a few weeks into their AI journey, 321 Coffee saw meaningful benefits with tangible impact on their daily lives:
Lindsay has turned 30-minute tasks into 5-minute wins, saying “I used to spend anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour writing LinkedIn posts, now I can write a post in as quickly as 5 minutes.”
Mallory nicknamed Copilot her “intern” because it helps draft social copy and cut down on repetitive admin, giving her time back in her day.
Michael created a variety of coding systems with the new technology, and he was able to pull shipping codes in seconds, a process that previously took 2 hours.
“What I’m so excited about for us is how we are able to do way more within our day through leveraging Lenovo and Copilot,” says Lindsay.
321 Coffee and Lenovo’s story is about more than technology, but rather what’s possible when purpose-driven teams are given access to the right tools. Their story proves that AI is not only for large corporations but is a catalyst and lifeline for all sized businesses. Lenovo is committed to working with businesses to empower growth, while keeping the essence of their company and staying focused on what matters most to them. By cutting down time on tedious tasks, 321 Coffee has been able to not only save thousands of dollars, but also gain more time back to pour into what they love – a win that is available to all businesses big and small, as they start their own AI journey with Lenovo by their side.
Learn more at: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/evolvesmall/