Transforming Store Assessment for Operational Excellence

A large retailer, spanning company- and franchise-owned stores, was intent on transforming store assessment, regulatory compliance, and overall store standards.

Traditional paper-based assessments were brought up to date with our Excellence platform.

The Challenge

Our client wanted to complete an overhaul of their systems and processes in order to improve and streamline the branch management. Through a series of in depth sessions we mapped the areas of prioritisation.

Outdated Assessment Model
Store visits were conducted using a document that was unable to produce real-time insight, lacked easy mangerial oversight, and delayed the identification of emerging issues
Inconsistent Evaluation
Inconsistent evaluations across different sections hindered comprehensive assessment
Lack of Visibility
Absence of centralised reporting made it challenging to track progress and address issues proactively

Solution

After reviewing and understanding the shortcomings of the clients current process, we were able to utilise our Excellence platform to help the client achieve their objective of a consistent approach and standardisation.

Transforming Store Assessment

We configured the Excellence platform with its Measure of Excellence (MoE) comprehensive and dynamic assessment tool customised to suit the client’s needs. Company-wide adoption of the new system immediately standardised the assessment process and unleashed a wave of positive change.

Comprehensive Sections

Stakeholders from various different departments within the business were able to utilise the MoE system to obtain assurance from a managerial visit for their area of specific interest. The many needs of the business were compiled into one streamlined process that served the needs of each of these stakeholders, enabling them to reach previously hard-to-access business information, whilst continuing to ensure that the process was easy for the regional managers to complete, reliably producing fair and comparable results.

Regulatory: Ensuring adherence to regulations and guidelines
Security: Evaluating security protocols and measures
Health & Safety: Assessing the store’s safety measures
Process: Gauging operational efficiency and compliance
Store Standards: Measuring visual presentation and cleanliness
Sales Execution: Evaluating the implementation of campaigns and sales strategies
Overall Comments: A holistic, qualitative overview of the store’s performance, opportunities and next steps

Results

Through implementing the Excellence platform and tailoring to the client needs, we were able to help them achieve operational efficiency by Rationalising, Standardising and Centralising.

Scoring and Action Items

The implemented digital MoE system streamlined the assessment process. Regional managers now had a structured framework for evaluating stores across a wide range of different criteria. Upon completion, the document automatically generated a formal report and an overall score. Furthermore, actionable steps, with deadlines, were assigned to the store for any areas needing urgent improvement.

Transparent Reporting

The transformation of reporting lay in the visibility it brought to many areas of the business. Scores from each assessment were instantly available in our Central Reporting system, and accessible by store, region, territory, and company levels. This centralised reporting enabled an instant view of performance trends and areas that required attention. Data gathered for specific stakeholders was now easily accessible by them, enabling them to report specifically on their areas of interest, and allowing them to identify and react to emerging issues as they arose.

Franchise

For franchise stores, where subtle differences existed in terms of business requirement, the MoE was tailored to cater to these distinctions. The Excellence platform brought cohesion and consistency to assessments, transforming excellence across both company- and franchise-owned stores. Score metrics were designed to be directly comparable between all stores regardless of ownership, further helping to simplify central management and identifying poor performing stores across the entire estate.

Conclusion: Streamlined management across the estate.

The Excellence platform’s Measure of Excellence transformed store assessment into a seamless, insightful, and collaborative process. It eliminated the issues of paper-based evaluations and brought in a new era of precision, accountability, and proactive store management.

By embracing our solutions, the client was transformed in their quest for operational perfection.