Retail Library

Standards for retail chains:
development and implementation

With the growth of trading companies, the tasks of collecting, analyzing and avoiding information loss become more and more urgent. Considering that the problem of the lack of qualified personnel for retail does not lose its severity, it is necessary to try to reduce the negative impact of the human factor - costs and losses associated with unskilled work of lower and middle management personnel, as well as the costs of training and adaptation of employees. Therefore, at a certain stage of a company’s development, it is necessary to introduce network systems.

Even with category management, information losses are sometimes significant: the vision of the store as a whole and the chain as a whole often disappears, and a lot of time can be spent solving problems that will have little effect, while important, strategic points and opportunities for the store slip out of sight managers. For example, the distribution of space and display within a product group is improved without a centralized analysis of the efficiency of using retail space throughout the store. It is noted that the main effect is provided by the location of the groups and the ratio of the areas allocated for them, as well as the organization of additional sales points. Display solves the problem of increasing profits only partially. Another dangerous point is that employees who are engaged in analysis may place points of sale irregularly and rely only on numbers in their conclusions. In this case, indicators of the sales structure of brands may give a distorted picture, and good, promising brands may be included in the list of candidates for removal from the assortment. This can happen if you do not check whether the product was physically present on the shelves during the period in question; did the brand occupy the entire area in accordance with the planogram, or was it quickly sold out, and the stock was replenished at the expense of its “neighbors” - other brands.

A number of difficulties now arise for trade organizations when applying the principles of effective organization of trading space in multi-format networks. Very often, the stores that the network unites differ in both area and location, and in the absence of standards, it is necessary to “reinvent the wheel” each time, and the company’s resources are distributed ineffectively. It happens that when the network expands, moving to an area much larger than previous stores, errors are replicated according to the scale. Or during the first months of work, losses associated with an incorrectly selected assortment transferred from another store in the chain are very serious: for example, on the basis of a store in a business district, the assortment in a store in a residential area is formed. In general, the issue of the relationship between groups of goods and brands for buyers with different incomes is very important, and due to the wrong decision, the store can lose a lot. While working in Russian cities, we have repeatedly noticed a focus on wealthier buyers, not supported by the market, both in the assortment and in the display. It is not difficult to identify and correct such miscalculations by studying the amount and structure of receipts, and the signal that attention needs to be paid to this issue will be given by the behavior of customers in the store. In one case, a week-long observation on the sales floor showed that the majority of customers in each department “collected” goods from the lower shelves. In another store, it turned out that after the renovation, customers began to be afraid to enter the alcohol department: the “suspiciously beautiful” design and elite brands at the entrance convinced customers that cheap vodka and wine had completely disappeared from the assortment. And if they buy less alcohol, sales of “snacks” and confectionery products may decrease... Incorrectly selected price category of brands for cross-merchandising can have a sharply negative effect: imagine the emotions of a buyer choosing cheap dumplings and seeing wine next to them that costs half his monthly salary (“ That’s it, next time I’ll go to the market, there are all the goods for these Mercedes, so let them buy here, but I won’t spend too much”). Without a doubt, the presence of image brands raises the reputation of the store and in some cases “works” not so much to sell these brands, but to support the sales of economy class brands. But, if the main group of store buyers are people with average and below average incomes, it is advisable not to place expensive, luxury goods and image brands in large quantities and in prominent places in the hall. This is especially true for the entrance area, since in addition to irritation, customers will form the impression of high prices, and the attitude towards the store will worsen in the medium and long term. However, image brands can also be displayed in places of impulse purchase, but in small packages, so that there is a desire to try products that are consumed by a more affluent public.

Issues such as working with groups of brands in the assortment must be reflected in the general assortment standards. The following main areas can be noted in which standards are being developed for each type of chain store (types can be divided according to location, sales area and other significant criteria):

• Range;
• Principles of organizing a retail space;
• Maintaining stock and order in the hall during the day;
• Seasonal and holiday changes;
• Placement and display of goods;
• Space standards for product groups;
• Retail store equipment;
• Rules and possibilities for placing advertising materials in stores.

The benefits that standards provide to trading companies are obvious. Firstly, it is reducing costs in the operation of stores and eliminating the negative effect of the division of operations, when employees do not fully understand the importance of a particular task and how its implementation affects the overall results of the store. This is especially true for the work of salespeople and sales floor managers, whose full training with a fairly high turnover rate can be expensive for the company. It is advisable to familiarize new store employees with accepted standards and rules immediately upon joining in order to reduce costs during the period of adaptation and induction. After familiarization, it is recommended to conduct testing. Centralized analysis and control over the network is also simplified if there is a clear evaluation criterion. The experience of the leading stores of the chain, reflected in the standards, will allow for the optimal layout of trading floors of various configurations (when reconstructing existing stores and opening new ones), as well as improving equipment, ordering in the future exactly the one that most fully meets the needs of the store. Having solved the issue once, you no longer have to waste time on meetings, for example, on the topic “Rotating glass display cases for mobile phones - are they good or bad?”

Of course, standards are effective, but it is necessary to provide the ability to respond to changes in a timely manner. The stricter the rules, the greater the degree of chaos when any deviation from the usual situation occurs. Therefore, the rules for adaptation to the conditions of a particular store and the procedure for making changes and proposals should also be described, and instructions for store employees should contain information about what actions they can carry out independently, and which ones only in agreement with the central office. Changes to the rules should be made based on the results of the store’s activities for a period, for example, once every quarter or half a year, if the product in which the store specializes has a pronounced seasonality in sales.

Some of the rules and standards that relate to may include the following:

• Working with product groups;
• The ratio of brands for different groups of buyers;
• Rules for identifying leading products;
• Rules for the selection and introduction of new brands;
• Rules for removing products/brands from the assortment;
• Rules for working with slow-moving goods, etc.

When analyzing and optimizing the assortment, it is very important to pay attention to the grouping of reports, since in many cases employees are lost from the abundance of data and do not always accurately highlight key points, positive and negative signals. We touched on the issue of assortment analysis in the article "", No. 9 of the magazine for 2002, and we plan to consider it in more detail in future articles. Now we note that the effectiveness of the analysis largely depends on the form of the product catalog and the selection of indicators at the first stage in fairly large blocks that will allow you to see the overall picture in the store (from groups and subgroups to brands and types). It is quite dangerous to become too attached to the history of sales for a period, while you may not see changes in the consumer environment, the activities of competitors and the emergence of new trends in the market.

Now let's move on to practical aspects and consider what the format of an album dedicated to the placement and display of goods could be. Such an album should contain the following sections:

1. General rules - a brief description that includes information about the main display errors that should be avoided in stores.
2. The “Equipment” diagram is a graphic representation of the sales floor with the characteristics of the equipment. For ease of operation and access to information, shelves on racks are usually counted section by section, and the diagram indicates the dimensions of the rack sections and the number of shelves in each section (working and storage). The “Equipment” scheme is the basis for drawing up diagrams and calculating the efficiency of using retail space.
3. Scheme “Location of product groups in the hall” - a store plan indicating the location of each product group and shelving numbers. For stores with a large sales area, it is recommended to indicate the number of linear meters allocated for display of each product group (subgroup).
4. Instructions for replenishing stock in the hall and actions in case of temporary lack of goods (general and for each product group).
5. Layout schemes.
6. Photos of the display.
7. General layout rules, including:

• display system in a product group (by type, block, etc.),
• principle of boundaries of types or brands,
• principle of color spots and contrast,
• number of units (including the minimum allowable),
• information about leading products,
• brief information about possible unacceptable proximity in case of temporary absence of any brand.

The album should contain information about seasonal changes in the assortment and display: changes in the areas allocated for product groups (subgroups) in accordance with changes in demand, changes in the display at the end areas, goods recommended for allocation in a certain period.

Table “Places of sale of goods”.

In order for the standards of placement and display to be fully used for work, and not just serve as decoration or a demonstration of the achievements of the analytical department, it is advisable to produce the album in 2 versions. The first is for management and managers carrying out analysis and optimization - high-resolution graphic files. And the second, for store employees, is low resolution, but the images must be clear and understandable. When compiling an album, a black and white version should be taken into account, which can be easily reproduced on any, even the oldest and poorly functioning copier, in the event of loss or damage to the rules and diagrams by store employees. That is why, in some cases, layout diagrams are more effective than photographs. The files for the second version of the album should be small in size so that, if necessary, they can be easily transferred by email.

Kira & Ruben Kanayan,

Leading consultants of the company "Union-Standard Consulting", Moscow,
authors of the book " Retail real estate: challenges of time and prospects »,
books ""
and books ""

Introduction

Conclusion

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

Retail trade is one of the most important areas of providing services to the population. She mediates the implementation of a market agreement between product supply and consumer demand. Being a source of cash flow, trade thereby forms the basis for the financial stability of the state.

During the period of market transformations, it has undergone fundamental changes.

In retail trade, like in no other sector of the economic system, a rich competitive environment has formed. Entrepreneurial and investment activity in this area is the highest.

The modern goods market is characterized by relatively high saturation; there is virtually no shortage of goods. The bureaucratic system of distribution of goods has been completely replaced by relations of free purchase and sale.

The dynamism of the volumes and structure of sales of goods and services is gradually becoming more and more stable.

At retail trade enterprises, the process of circulation of funds invested in industrial consumer goods is completed, the commodity form of value is transformed into monetary value, and an economic basis is created for the resumption of production of goods. There are constant quantitative and qualitative changes caused by the use of advanced technology, improvement of technology and equipment, and management methods that ensure increased efficiency of trading enterprises and improved trading culture.

The transition to a market economy and the emergence of a wide variety of organizational and legal forms of enterprises have led to the need for new approaches to the organization and technology of trade processes, to the widespread development of private initiative and entrepreneurship. All this places new demands on the training of specialists whose professional activities are carried out in the field of commodity circulation.

With the rise in living standards and the saturation of the market with goods, the needs of the buyer change. First of all, the need for the product itself is replaced by the need for belonging to a certain group, for recognition of status, for good treatment (everyone wants to enjoy the purchasing process). Satisfying these needs is one of the intangible factors of loyalty. Over time, the retail chain is forced to offer not only a wide range at good prices, but also a good attitude towards its customers, and be emotionally attractive to its customers. This issue is especially acute, oddly enough, in popular stores where there is a large flow of customers. Seller's position: "There are many of you, I am alone!" - a classic for many successful stores. And before a caring attitude towards the client becomes the norm for sales personnel, a lot of work will have to be done with it.

Retail Service Standards

In the competition between retail chains, those who can offer customers something unique and valuable win. Quality service is a real competitive advantage. Firstly, because it allows you to retain existing customers. Secondly, because it is difficult to copy by competitors.

If the level of service in two or three stores can still be controlled without relying on system management, then a network of 5 or more stores cannot be managed situationally. So, the time has come to optimize and standardize all business processes, including the customer service process.

The standardization process is necessary to ensure that all sales personnel in all stores of the distribution network serve customers equally well. Based on the behavior of the best sellers and knowledge of consumer psychology, service standards are developed.

The technology for developing and implementing standards is shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 1 - Technology for the development and implementation of standards

1) company policy regarding customer service appearance of the seller

2) the behavior of the seller on the sales floor

3) description of the customer service process

4) clear rules for interaction with the client at each stage of the service process

5) rules of behavior in conflict and non-standard situations.

But the secret of success is not only in how customer-oriented service standards are, but in how they are implemented and maintained.

The first step: the implementation of standards must include training. Employees should practice and get a feel for how the standards work. Only after training can you begin implementation and begin assessing the compliance of employee behavior with approved standards.

Second step: if a company seriously intends to implement standards into practice, it must assign someone responsible for monitoring their implementation. For the first 3 - 4 months, this control can be total and obvious (there is a controller behind you with a checklist), and later selective and hidden (mystery buyer, surprise check, etc.). Assessing compliance with service standards can also be taken into account when assessing personnel. This allows you to select and retain the most successful salespeople and raise their status through career growth.

Third step: the implementation of standards must be supported by a motivation system. Only in this case, the standards will not remain on paper. The more transparent the connection between the implementation of standards and the bonus of sales personnel, or the assessment of their qualifications, the faster successful models of behavior take root.

It is noteworthy that in the future, even ardent opponents of the standards among employees note the positive aspects of their implementation - it becomes easier to work with clients.

It is important to understand that standards must be analyzed and adjusted over time (but not more than once a year) in order to comply with the changes that have occurred, and not remain anachronistic.

In conclusion, we list the main effects of the introduction of service standards:

1) growth in sales volumes

2) increase in the number of regular customers

3) reduction of conflict situations

4) growth of the professional level of sales personnel

5) formation of a recognizable and positive image of the retail chain brand

conclusion

In conclusion I would like to say. Stores need standards for sales personnel. It is like a beacon for beginners, which shows them standard situations, as well as what and how to do and what to say in them. Unfortunately, this also has a minus when the service process becomes too standard, and therefore predictable, uninteresting and even boorish, according to some customers. Why? The answer is simple, we are all people, not robots, with our entire range of emotional experiences and moods, so we want to be approached individually depending on:

Our mood;

The one who came with us;

What product do we choose;

Are we in a hurry or do we have time to look.

Strict implementation of standards is only possible with strict control over the actions of sales personnel, which is quite rare, so smart salespeople feel what the client needs and approach outside the box. Hence the answer to how to write these requirements: simply observe those consultants who suit you in terms of the average check and total sales volume, as well as the quality of customer service and simply describe how they do it. These will be correctly developed customer service standards.

There is some rule regarding the detailed compliance of the seller with the prescribed standards of communication with clients. The higher the cost of the product, the less strictly the standards should be prescribed.

Degree of "standard" service

Mass market - high;

Bridge - medium;

Premium or luxury - low.

For example, if we take the Luxury class product group, then an individual approach to the client is most important there, because these customers are more demanding and service-sensitive. Plus, the policy of many expensive brands speaks of a special aura of their products, which the sales consultant must be able to create when servicing the buyer. But this cannot be written down in the standards. Moreover, in some boutiques the service standards say: “Be prepared to break standards for the sake of customer satisfaction!

A positive result in the form of service standards accepted for implementation is the result of the accumulated experience of the company’s employees, the political will of management and the expertise of the involved group of professionals.

How does the work of preparing service standards begin? At the first stage, the management of the network or enterprise is interviewed to understand what they want to get as a result of implementing service standards in their organization. Then those “bright minds” from among the staff are interviewed. The next important stage after clarifying positions is finding a balance so that the interests of both parties are balanced, and all this is adequate to the expectations of clients. Once the standards are written down on paper, it is time for training or workshops. There may be different forms, but, in essence, these are some kind of group actions with the goal, firstly, of overcoming the natural resistance of employees to innovations, and, secondly, of adapting their behavior to these standards. As you know, people work best when they understand why they are doing it. Therefore, one of the main results of the training should be people’s understanding of the tasks assigned to them and their involvement in the ranks of supporters of the decisions made.

bibliography

Sysoeva S.V. Retail store standard. Development of instructions and regulations. Peter "Peter Press" 2nd ed., 2008.

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To make a person overpay for a brand, they create an appropriate atmosphere. The environment says much more about the lifestyle than the product itself - this is the thesis of professional merchandisers.

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General provisions for certification in Japan. Interaction of the Long-Term Planning Committee with the European standardization organizations SEN and SENELEC. Analysis of non-tariff trade policy means of regulating restrictions on the import of goods into Japan.

Description of the integrated system of global standards. Trade applications of barcoding, e-commerce, global data synchronization and electronic product code for identifying and communicating information about products and services.

Approaches to creating sales training. Classification of basic concepts for constructing sales training programs according to T.A. Soltitskaya. Seller-oriented sales process training. Resistance groups according to R.A. Schnappauf. Purpose and structure of the training.

The connection between the growth of quality and competitiveness of goods and environmental certification. The impact of Ukraine's entry into the COT on the competitiveness of products. General requirements regarding the system of standards and conformity assessment for COT member countries.

The essence and specificity of the theory of customer service. Basic rules of seller behavior. General characteristics of the trading enterprise Avtozapchasti LLC, analysis of ways to provide technological services to its customers and recommendations for its improvement.

Analysis of a system of total quality control, focused on the consumer of products and on the massive and conscious involvement of managers and employees of the manufacturer in the work to improve the quality of manufactured products. Documentation of quality systems.

Development of the restaurant business in Russia. Restaurant chain standards. Service standards. Features of the organization of network operation. Types of business network structure. Organization of a restaurant business in Moscow. Sbarro network. Other restaurants in Russia.

Concept, meaning and factors for ensuring product quality. Methods for assessing quality indicators. Continuous training process (job-oriented) and increased staff motivation. Product quality management service at the enterprise.

Observation of the work of counter and hall sellers, cashiers in the Ekonta store, which was carried out in accordance with developed customer service standards. Characteristics of the pros and cons in the interaction of cashiers and salespeople with customers.

Competitiveness of the company in times of crisis. The problem of inconsistency in the actions of departments and the lack of a common vision of the company’s goals. Standardization of personnel work. Cost optimization, assortment management, flexible pricing policy.

Fundamental concepts for quality management: management, assurance, improvement, traceability and quality identification. Stages of the product life cycle. The quality loop and its stages. Procurement and production activities. Quality star system.

Studying the essence of certification of quality systems operating at enterprises in various industries and sectors of the economy, which has become an element of the culture of production and economic activity and a serious factor in competitiveness.

Definition, goals and objectives of merchandising. History of merchandising. The current stage of development of merchandising. Merchandising practice in Russia in our time. Stimulating the desire of consumers to choose and buy the promoted product.

The attractiveness of stores, the importance of the latest technologies in increasing it. Organizations monitoring compliance with trade rules. Requirements for personnel directly involved in commercial service to citizens in the store.

Indicators of quality of customer service. Determining the fundamental causes of customer dissatisfaction in unclear positioning of retailers. The use of "secret agent" services to assess the service level of retail enterprises.

“You can't improve a process until it's standardized.”
Masaaki Imai

One cannot but agree with this statement. It once again confirms that in competition between retail enterprises, only those who can minimize material losses in the technological process of providing services to the buyer will win. Thus, increase the store’s turnover by about 5%, if you trust the statistics.

Increased competition in retail trade due to the crisis is forcing even small retail enterprises to pay close attention to standardization and automation of business processes and product accounting in general. By observing the work of the staff in the store, by the display of goods, by the atmosphere prevailing in the store, it is often possible to determine whether the work of the store is standardized or not.

So why do a retail store need standards and are they needed at all?

Taking into account my practical experience in trading, I am sure that they are definitely needed. First of all, in order to provide a comfortable environment in the store for customers. Standards are also needed to make it easier for the store director to manage store personnel, to objectively evaluate his work on a single scale, and to eliminate cases of subjective errors. Just don’t forget that standards need to be monitored and staff must be constantly explained the need to comply with them.

In order to monitor staff compliance with standards, staff must be trained to apply knowledge in practical work with the help of mentors or with your personal assistance. Sometimes on projects, we encounter resistance from employees when implementing standards developed by consultants. We often hear: Why is this necessary? And they worked well! We ourselves know how to work! Well, now they will start fining people - just so as not to pay the money! As a rule, careless employees or those who have been working in the company for a long time and are simply afraid of everything new think this way. It also happens that it was the “old people” who started working together with the owners at the same counter, and now it is difficult for the owner to explain to these employees the importance of changes in work.

Of course, the presence and adherence to standards of business processes for product distribution will also increase the efficiency of a retail store. Of course, not everything can be standardized, but processes that occur with a certain frequency need to be standardized. Having standards will prevent staff from making decisions based on their personal intuition or opinion. After all, as you know, there are so many opinions. Imagine for a moment what could happen in your store if each employee worked as he saw fit. Creating a set of rules, or standards, that describe the basic business processes of a store will mean that any employee will act the same when performing them. For the store it is recommended to register:

1. organizational structure of a retail enterprise;
2. assortment policy, including merchandising standards;
3. business processes of goods distribution;
4. standards of work of customer service personnel;
5. standards of conduct for personnel when performing their functional duties in a retail store;
6. the procedure for opening a store (if it is planned to develop a retail network).

All these processes are important for the store, but in this article I would like to draw the attention of store directors to the standardization and automation of product distribution:

• Ordering goods;
• Reception of goods;
• Posting goods into the database;
• Pricing;
• Moving goods to the sales floor;
• Display of goods on the sales floor;
• Sales of goods;
• Write-off of goods;
• Inventory.

Let's look at some of them in more detail.

Business process “Ordering goods”.

Automation of this business process will help product order managers more quickly resolve issues regarding the supply of the desired product and the required quantity to the store. After all, he won’t have to count the balances himself, figure out how many days of trading they will be enough for, and at the same time not overload the warehouse space, since there is, as always, not enough of it. This work will be done for the manager by an automated inventory management system and will provide him with data in the form of “Goods Turnover Analysis”, from which the following data can be obtained:

• weighted average balance for the period;
• turnover (product consumption) for the period;
• turnover ratio;
• Average shelf life of a product in days.

Minimum inventory standards are used to control inventory levels and are the basis for the formation of auto orders. When using auto orders, the purchasing manager will only adjust orders before holiday trading or in a situation where it is impossible to pay the supplier on time (this sometimes happens). So far, in such situations, the automated control system is powerless and only human experience and knowledge is needed here.

When implementing a system for exchanging electronic documents with suppliers, orders for goods are automatically generated and stored in the database to monitor the work of purchasing managers. To do this, it is enough to install special software for each supplier that connects it with the purchasing department of the retail network. The system automatically checks inventory levels and generates an approximate list of orders. The manager only has to review the list, adjust it if necessary, and send the order to the Supplier. At the same time, the system eliminates the possibility of placing an order incorrectly, since the data entered by the Customer is automatically transformed into a standardized form. Suppliers will know within a short time what goods, in what quantities and when they need to be delivered, and also have the opportunity to confirm the order indicating the exact quantity of goods that they can deliver within the time frame specified in the order. This allows purchasing managers to avoid manually placing orders, which allows them to more effectively manage the assortment: analyze, monitor competitors, search for new products and suppliers.

Business process “Reception and return of goods”.

Acceptance of goods using a data collection terminal (DCT) allows you to control the fulfillment of an order by the Supplier already in the acceptance area, thereby eliminating the possibility of accepting goods that the store does not need. It is also important that the possibility of accepting goods at an inflated price is excluded. It is no secret that suppliers often take advantage of the moment and supply goods at an inflated price from the agreed price list. If the goods are accepted without the use of TSD, then the discrepancy in the input cost of the goods will be revealed only after the supplier leaves. And long negotiations with the commercial department or merchandise experts will begin to set the retail price.

In addition to the above advantages, the time from acceptance of goods to its sale is significantly reduced. After all, the operator no longer needs to waste time scanning product samples, transferring them from cart to cart, etc. Only in the case of acceptance of goods with established deadlines for implementation, the operator will need to enter information at the end of this period into the database, generate a delivery note and print price tags. In addition, automation of this process will reduce the number of operators, because The goods receiving manager will partially perform his work.

In fact, when automating the acceptance of goods, two business processes are combined: acceptance of goods and its entry into the database into one. A clear example of business process optimization. When carrying out the business process of returning goods, the use of TSD also speeds up the process of generating accompanying documents and the actual return of goods to the supplier. Automation of this process does not exclude possible errors on the part of the performers. Whether they are accidental or intentional is the second question. Therefore, the manager should not forget about organizing control over the acceptance and return of goods. Checking the accepted goods for compliance with the supplier’s invoice and making a note from the security staff will not hurt. It is known that the goods acceptance area is a special risk area in terms of theft of inventory items. Unfortunately, no automation will protect you from theft when accepting goods, or possible collusion with the forwarder or the same security guard. It is necessary to develop additional measures to prevent possible theft of inventory items at the time of their acceptance.

Buisness process« Posting goods to the database» .

We have already partially discussed the advantages of automating this process in the previous paragraph. Here it is worth mentioning the advantages of automatically loading cash registers and weighing equipment (in grocery stores) after generating the invoice and setting retail prices. If a few years ago a system administrator was still required to download information, now it can be downloaded not only from the operator’s workplace, but also in remote access mode from the central office. Automation of this process allows you to receive daily product reports for the store; accordingly, the store director will quickly receive information about inventory balances.

Business process “Pricing”.

Remember the time when markup percentages and retail prices were manually set on the supplier's invoice? To do this, we looked for the previous invoice in order to see the markup percentage and not miss the price. Now this is no longer imaginable! And all thanks to the automation of this process. All the manager responsible for pricing needs to do is initially set the markup level for different product groups and subgroups. Everything else is, as they say, “a matter of technique.” When a product is entered into the database, its price is generated automatically. Automation of this process allows you to receive:

• analytical information on price changes;
• control incoming prices for goods from suppliers;
• control the profitability of any product group.

Example from practice.

When diagnosing pricing methods in one retail chain, it turned out that the markup percentage for product groups was set centrally by managers of the commercial department. Based on the actual state of affairs in the chain stores, it turned out that the operator calculates the retail cost of the goods using a calculator. Moreover, the price rounding rules were applied by each operator independently. Sometimes they simply make arithmetic errors due to insufficient qualifications. The decision to change the price is formally made by the commercial director, who sends an order to the stores to change the markup. Unfortunately, it is impossible to find out when the stores actually revalued. Operators can pay attention to mail after a day or a week. Some of them, as it turned out during the diagnostic process, cannot receive mail at all. They sit and remain silent, do not ask anyone, so as not to incur discontent from their superiors. In one of the stores, our consultant helped an unlucky operator accept mail with a Revaluation Order that was three days old. The company’s programmer could not answer the question: “Why is it impossible to carry out automatic centralized pricing?” Dependence on the personality and “professionalism” of the programmer leads to the company lagging behind competitors in assortment management, pricing, sales planning and other business processes. So maybe it’s really easier to part with such a specialist than to convince him of the need to automate the retail network, which is actually his job responsibilities? By chance, are you familiar with a similar situation?

Business process “Moving goods from warehouse to sales floor”» .

If the store maintains separate records of the warehouse and the sales area, then automating the process of moving goods to the sales area certainly reduces the time it takes for goods to arrive on the shelves. Before the advent of TSD, the storekeeper collected samples of goods, labeled them indicating the quantity that needed to be transferred to the sales floor, and sent a cart of these samples to the operator. And the operator is busy registering the received goods and cannot create an internal movement until he completes the previous operation. With the use of TSD, the storekeeper himself can handle the movement of goods to the sales floor by scanning barcodes and indicating the required quantity. Entering information from the TSD into the database and printing out the shipping invoice and price tags is a matter of minutes.

Business process “Product sales”.

The use of cash registers with software makes it possible to analyze sales of all product categories, the number of customers, the cost of purchase, and the efficiency of use of retail space. This information is key for analyzing the activities and planning the development of a trading enterprise. In addition, by automating cash transactions, the throughput of customers increases, and it becomes possible to introduce loyalty programs for customers:

• credit card services;
• discount programs, holiday and birthday greetings;
• prize draws for customers;
• payment for mobile communication services.

Business process “Inventory”.

Inventory is a mandatory business process for a trading enterprise. To obtain a more accurate result, it is advisable to schedule it when there is the smallest inventory in stores and warehouses. A complete inventory allows you to check compliance with the rules and conditions for storing goods, cash and fixed assets, maintaining warehouse facilities, and the actual compliance of inventory balances with accounting data.

Case from practice.

On one of the projects, in the process of preparing for a complete inventory, the chief accountant of this store asked me: “How are we going to count such a quantity of goods? How many times will we rewrite everything? Shall we close the store for three days?”

I hope that for most trading enterprises the time of counting goods “on the knee” has sunk into oblivion. For those who are just planning to automate this process, I would like to give advice - do not delay it, save your working paid time and switch to counting goods using a data collection terminal and an automated goods distribution system. A summary inventory list is generated very quickly after entering the actual balances of goods. The matching sheet allows you to obtain reliable information about the surplus or shortage of each item of goods.

It is very important to check for the largest discrepancies in quantity or amount and make changes to the database before arriving at the final result. Inventory automation allows you to reduce the time required to conduct a complete inventory by several times. The result is calculated in a very short time with detailed details for each product item. Of course, in addition to automating the inventory process, a clear organization of this process by the manager is also necessary. It is necessary to clearly calculate the sufficient number of personnel, determine the order of their actions, and rationally use the allocated resources for reliable calculations and obtaining results.

Business process “Product display”.

While you are the owner of one store, you can force managers to independently calculate the amount of goods required for display on the shelf, the layout of retail equipment and the location of product groups. As the number of stores increases, this becomes extremely difficult. Merchandising software can come to the rescue, which will help you understand what and how it looks on the sales floor, and which store sells better. To automate the merchandising process, there are both Western automation systems: Spaceman, Apollo, Galleria, and domestic ones.

For example, the SM Merchandising system is quite effective for developing a unified merchandising standard in online retail.

This system allows:

• visually represent the store shelf without going into the sales area, because Each item has a corresponding photograph, and on the manager’s computer screen you can see options for displaying the product on the shelf.
• determine the optimal ratio of the goods sold and the volume of display in the sales area: on racks and shelves;
• preview the placement of goods on the shelves as it will look on the sales floor;
• conduct a comprehensive analysis of the impact of product placement on sales of products placed nearby (when integrated with the SM Management analytical module).

It is known that the use of the Automation&Optimization program allowed Marks & Spencer to switch to a weekly rescheduling of 125 planograms for each of 55 supermarkets - which immediately affected both sales results and inventory and supply chain optimization (SCM). It should be noted that all this work is provided by 18 employees of the marketing department.

What does business process automation give?

1. Reducing the time of the “order-delivery” business process from the beginning of order formation to its delivery.
2. Availability of comprehensive information about the relationship with the supplier: orders, deliveries, prices, returns in each retail store.
3. The ability to produce according to a centralized scheme and direct deliveries of goods to retail outlets.
4. Pricing becomes simpler: the price is set once for one product, and this operation is done at the central office.
5. Saving highly qualified personnel employed in marketing, logistics and accounting due to high automation of basic processes and division of personnel into analysts and operations officers.

A centralized information system allows you to reduce operating costs, since the cost of maintaining IT service personnel is reduced. Administration and support is carried out from the central office. In the next article, we'll look at the requirements that retail software needs to truly help drive business performance during challenging retail times.

With the growth of trading companies, the tasks of collecting, analyzing and avoiding information loss become more and more urgent. Considering that the problem of the lack of qualified personnel for retail does not lose its severity, it is necessary to try to reduce the negative impact of the human factor - costs and losses associated with unskilled work of lower and middle management personnel, as well as the costs of training and adaptation of employees. Therefore, at a certain stage of the company's development, it is necessary to introduce network merchandising standards.

Even with category management, information losses are sometimes significant: the vision of the store as a whole and the chain as a whole often disappears, and a lot of time can be spent solving problems that will have little effect, while important, strategic points and opportunities for the store slip out of sight managers. For example, the distribution of space and display within a product group is improved without a centralized analysis of the efficiency of using retail space throughout the store. It is noted that the main effect is provided by the location of the groups and the ratio of the areas allocated for them, as well as the organization of additional sales points. Display solves the problem of increasing profits only partially. Another dangerous point is that employees who are engaged in analysis may place points of sale irregularly and rely only on numbers in their conclusions. In this case, indicators of the sales structure of brands may give a distorted picture, and good, promising brands may be included in the list of candidates for removal from the assortment. This can happen if you do not check whether the product was physically present on the shelves during the period in question; did the brand occupy the entire area in accordance with the planogram, or was it quickly sold out, and the stock was replenished at the expense of its “neighbors” - other brands.

A number of difficulties now arise for trade organizations when applying the principles of effective organization of trading space in multi-format networks. Very often, the stores that the network unites differ in both area and location, and in the absence of standards, it is necessary to “reinvent the wheel” each time, and the company’s resources are distributed ineffectively. It happens that when the network expands, moving to an area much larger than previous stores, errors are replicated according to the scale. Or when opening of a new store in the first months of work, losses associated with incorrectly selected assortment transferred from another store in the chain are very serious: for example, on the basis of a store in a business district, the assortment in a store in a residential area is formed. In general, the issue of the relationship between groups of goods and brands for buyers with different incomes is very important, and due to the wrong decision, the store can lose a lot. While working in Russian cities, we have repeatedly noticed a focus on wealthier buyers, not supported by the market, both in the assortment and in the display. It is not difficult to identify and correct such miscalculations by studying the amount and structure of receipts, and the signal that attention needs to be paid to this issue will be given by the behavior of customers in the store. In one case, a week-long observation on the sales floor showed that the majority of customers in each department “collected” goods from the lower shelves. In another store, it turned out that after the renovation, customers began to be afraid to enter the alcohol department: the “suspiciously beautiful” design and elite brands at the entrance convinced customers that cheap vodka and wine had completely disappeared from the assortment. And if they buy less alcohol, sales of “snacks” and confectionery products may decrease... Incorrectly selected price category of brands for cross-merchandising can have a sharply negative effect: imagine the emotions of a buyer choosing cheap dumplings and seeing wine next to them that costs half his monthly salary (“ That’s it, next time I’ll go to the market, there are all the goods for these Mercedes, so let them buy here, but I won’t spend too much”). Without a doubt, the presence of image brands raises the reputation of the store and in some cases “works” not so much to sell these brands, but to support the sales of economy class brands. But, if the main group of store buyers are people with average and below average incomes, it is advisable not to place expensive, luxury goods and image brands in large quantities and in prominent places in the hall. This is especially true for the entrance area, since in addition to irritation, customers will form the impression of high prices, and the attitude towards the store will worsen in the medium and long term. However, image brands can also be displayed in places of impulse purchase, but in small packages, so that there is a desire to try products that are consumed by a more affluent public.

Issues such as working with groups of brands in the assortment must be reflected in the general assortment standards. The following main areas can be noted in which standards are being developed for each type of chain store (types can be divided according to location, sales area and other significant criteria):

• Range;
• Principles of organizing a retail space;
• Maintaining stock and order in the hall during the day;
• Seasonal and holiday changes;
• Placement and display of goods;
• Space standards for product groups;
• Retail store equipment;
• Rules and possibilities for placing advertising materials in stores.

The benefits that standards provide to trading companies are obvious. Firstly, it is reducing costs in the operation of stores and eliminating the negative effect of the division of operations, when employees do not fully understand the importance of a particular task and how its implementation affects the overall results of the store. This is especially true for the work of salespeople and sales floor managers, whose full training with a fairly high turnover rate can be expensive for the company. It is advisable to familiarize new store employees with accepted standards and rules immediately upon joining in order to reduce costs during the period of adaptation and induction. After familiarization, it is recommended to conduct testing. Centralized analysis and control over the network is also simplified if there is a clear evaluation criterion. The experience of the leading stores of the chain, reflected in the standards, will allow for the optimal layout of trading floors of various configurations (when reconstructing existing stores and opening new ones), as well as improving equipment, ordering in the future exactly the one that most fully meets the needs of the store. Having solved the issue once, you no longer have to waste time on meetings, for example, on the topic “Rotating glass display cases for mobile phones - are they good or bad?”

Of course, standards are effective, but it is necessary to provide the ability to respond to changes in a timely manner. The stricter the rules, the greater the degree of chaos when any deviation from the usual situation occurs. Therefore, the rules for adaptation to the conditions of a particular store and the procedure for making changes and proposals should also be described, and instructions for store employees should contain information about what actions they can carry out independently, and which ones only in agreement with the central office. Changes to the rules should be made based on the results of the store’s activities for a period, for example, once every quarter or half a year, if the product in which the store specializes has a pronounced seasonality in sales.

Part of the rules and standards that relate to assortment, may include the following:

• Working with product groups;
• The ratio of brands for different groups of buyers;
• Rules for identifying leading products;
• Rules for the selection and introduction of new brands;
• Rules for removing products/brands from the assortment;
• Rules for working with slow-moving goods, etc.

When analyzing and optimizing the assortment, it is very important to pay attention to the grouping of reports, since in many cases employees are lost from the abundance of data and do not always accurately highlight key points, positive and negative signals. We discussed the issue of assortment analysis in the article “ Assortment: strategy and tactics", No. 9 of the magazine for 2002, and we plan to consider it in more detail in future articles. Now we note that the effectiveness of the analysis largely depends on the form of the product catalog and the selection of indicators at the first stage in fairly large blocks that will allow you to see the overall picture in the store (from groups and subgroups to brands and types). It is quite dangerous to become too attached to the history of sales for a period, while you may not see changes in the consumer environment, the activities of competitors and the emergence of new trends in the market.

Now let's move on to practical aspects and consider what the format of an album dedicated to the placement and display of goods could be. Such an album should contain the following sections:

1. General rules - a brief description that includes information about the main display errors that should be avoided in stores.
2. The “Equipment” diagram is a graphic representation of the sales floor with the characteristics of the equipment. For ease of operation and access to information, shelves on racks are usually counted section by section, and the diagram indicates the dimensions of the rack sections and the number of shelves in each section (working and storage). The “Equipment” scheme is the basis for drawing up diagrams and calculating the efficiency of using retail space.
3. Scheme “Location of product groups in the hall” - a store plan indicating the location of each product group and shelving numbers. For stores with a large sales area, it is recommended to indicate the number of linear meters allocated for display of each product group (subgroup).
4. Instructions for replenishing stock in the hall and actions in case of temporary lack of goods (general and for each product group).
5. Layout schemes.
6. Photos of the display.
7. General layout rules, including:

• display system in a product group (by type, block, etc.),
• principle of boundaries of types or brands,
• principle of color spots and contrast,
• number of units (including the minimum allowable),
• information about leading products,
• brief information about possible unacceptable proximity in case of temporary absence of any brand.

The album should contain information about seasonal changes in the assortment and display: changes in the areas allocated for product groups (subgroups) in accordance with changes in demand, changes in the display at the end areas, goods recommended for allocation in a certain period.

Table “Places of sale of goods”.

In order for the standards of placement and display to be fully used for work, and not just serve as decoration or a demonstration of the achievements of the analytical department, it is advisable to produce the album in 2 versions. The first is for management and managers carrying out analysis and optimization - high-resolution graphic files. And the second, for store employees, is low resolution, but the images must be clear and understandable. When compiling an album, a black and white version should be taken into account, which can be easily reproduced on any, even the oldest and poorly functioning copier, in the event of loss or damage to the rules and diagrams by store employees. That is why, in some cases, layout diagrams are more effective than photographs. The files for the second version of the album should be small in size so that, if necessary, they can be easily transferred by email.