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Newsroom

Aug 2024

DEVELOPMENTS

More sites Track HMR and Bakery while ​Counter Presence alert goes live !


With about 30% of income but the bulk of the Gross ​Margin - Production departments need to be run ​accurately, so that they do generate larger margins.


The current problem is that most stores run those ​Depts on a historical 7 day lag, meaning there is little ​relationship between what they are reviewing and what ​is currently happening.


Going live is a change, but generates significantly more ​control and returns, so once a store travels by “looking ​out of the front window”, rather than “looking out of the ​rear mirror”, progress improves dramatically.

That translates to improved productivity and margin.


Newsroom

July 2024

LINKED IN ARTICLE

Making Retail Stores more Profitable from the Inside


The Pandemic accelerated the forward looking view

I recently happened upon the article “The Future of Work in Technology” by Khalid Kark, ​Bill Briggs, Atilla Terzioglu and Minu Puranik (Deloitte Insights 2019) in which the authors ​discuss how technology will be leveraged to redesign the current work outcomes. The ​article was written just before the Pandemic and the reading of it now underpins the ​forward looking insight of the authors.


Pre pandemic the greatest use of technology by supermarket floor staff in my local store ​was their tea and lunch social media engagement on their smart phones. Mid pandemic ​and certainly thereafter I do have to watch myself moving around the aisles, especially ​during the later afternoon hours, when I have previously had to take evasive trolley ​steering manoeuvres to avoid an enthusiastic online Picker flying past me, focussed on ​the PDA in their hands. Grocery online purchasing is here to stay.



Newsroom

June 2024

LINKED IN ARTICLE

The Thinking Store


Next time you walk through a supermarket entrance, enjoying the vibrant flowers and ​well-lit displays, imagine it as a "Thinking Store" where technology and efficiency ​transform the operational economics. Too often supermarkets still have cashiers waiting ​at empty checkouts while teams of merchandisers are spending their work hours talking ​in the aisles and slowly restocking shelves.


Outdated methods are expensive

Whereas many stores have large staff complements, not all employees contribute ​effectively every day. Managing so many people with paper checklists and countless ​WhatsApp’s is challenging. The system demoralizes diligent staff and complicates ​operations. But Retailers have historically valued consistency over innovation and are ​focussed on immediate costs rather than long term benefits, resulting in stores ​struggling operationally in today’s market, where online shopping and tight consumer ​spending pressurizes the bottom line. And Staff salaries are now the single largest ​expense, further straining finances.


Linked In Article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thinking-store-vincent-l-lanz-qslwf/?trackingId=sFjSdpneR%2F%2BGB%2FGotBNmNg%3D%3D

May 2024

POST

It’s about the Contribution, not the hours


As ShelfLink’s Scoreboard reports live on the work being completed on the ​floor, staff are realizing that they need to take responsibility for completing ​work. And those members of staff, that everybody knows are not contributing, ​now show up immediately.


Things have changed

  • Labour is a greater percentage of expenses than before and margins are ​lower
  • There are many more shortterm relationship employees- not all known to ​owner and staff are not committed to the store/business


Add to that on average 30% more line items than 15 years ago and you have a ​lot of lines to track and many more employees to track. Doing so in a paper ​based environment results in employee contribution and margin slide

April 2024

LINKED IN POST

“Battle Stats” for Retail ?


A quick back of napkin calculation of the five large Retail Stores contributing to ​the W23 Global fund, shows that Aussie employees generate 2.9 times more ​sales than South African employees. And English employees generate 3.1 times ​more sales per employee.


Wages are the single biggest Retail store Expense Item. And most stores feel ​that they can operate with fewer employees but don’t know who to keep.

It seems that the problem is not just that there is no floor productivity ​measure - most stores don’t have a Departmental workflow either.


Supermarket Franchise Owners are often pushed to employ more staff simply ​because the Dept Heads say they need more hands – be it Production, ​Merchandisers or Cashiers.

Additional people don’t necessary improve productivity, but they do drive up ​Expenses, jeopardising the business.


March 2024

CX is about floor performance, isn’t it ?


Retailers are battling with decreasing margins – both gross and net and it ​continues to get worse. Yet they are bombarded with Customer Facing ​initiatives – all promising to address that problem.


But clients that we talk to say that there is little attention spent on improving ​floor performance – the “engine room of the store”. Gross margin is impacted ​by Waste, Out of Stocks and Customer Experience, while Expenses continue to ​grow without a proportionate contribution improvement – both pressurizing ​store viability. And there is every expectation that this will trend higher.

Are you finding that ?

Auto Pick Lists get Stock ​to Shelf much faster

Losing Lines ?

Its going to continue to ​happen, unless you have a ​means to track what is not ​getting to shelf and manage it.


And yes, its expensive, ​because nobody has tools to ​check it on the shelf

June 2024:

The Thinking Store - continued

Auto directed Staff and Alerts

The "Thinking Store," shifts operations from paper to a digital screen, significantly improving efficiency and accountability. This system adjusts staff ​roles based on real-time needs, such as moving employees from merchandising to checkouts as the store fills, preventing queues.

Tasks are tracked in real-time, allowing staff to respond promptly. For example, a baker is alerted when rolls are selling out, ensuring fresh batches ​are made for later shoppers. Essential tasks like temperature checks and equipment maintenance are digitally logged, letting the system alert out ​of scope variances or error patterns.


Have you contributed enough ?

And the "Thinking Store" holds employees accountable and encourages ownership of their work, as each staff member builds a monthly ​Contribution Score, which influences remuneration. This shifts the work onus onto the employee, as the system indicates those performing below ​the necessary contribution level.

In a tough, repetitive business that needs constant attention, digital management will prove the differentiator, enhancing productivity, ​accountability, and overall efficiency.


Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thinking-store-vincent-l-lanz-qslwf/?trackingId=sFjSdpneR%2F%2BGB%2FGotBNmNg%3D%3D

Showing when the Fastest ​lines were checked

March 2024:

Getting Stock to Shelf faster & cheaper

Store Owners constantly worry that stock (including new lines) gets to shelf and remains in stock. A ​detailed accounting report will tell if it was purchased or sold. But Retailers don’t want to look at ​another report, they want the Item on shelf, selling.

The problem is not the report - showing what happened, the problem is changing the work done in ​the first place, the input.

Stores that we are working with are frustrated at lost sales, stock buried in receiving and lack of ​application by entrusted staff.

The question is what this costs stores on a monthly basis ?