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. The challenge lay in replacing an outdated paper-based assessment system for store visits.

The Challenge

1. Outdated Assessment Model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
2. Inconsistent Evaluation
   Inconsistent evaluations across different sections hindered comprehensive assessment
3. Lack of Visibility
   Absence of centralised reporting made it challenging to track progress and address issues proactively

Solution

Transforming Store Assessment

After reviewing and understanding the shortcomings of the clients current process, we developed the digital Measure of Excellence system (MoE) – a 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 the MoE system to get 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.

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

Scoring and Action Items

The new 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 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 system 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.