{"id":5630,"date":"2010-12-22T01:45:38","date_gmt":"2010-12-22T08:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5630"},"modified":"2010-12-22T01:45:38","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T08:45:38","slug":"what%e2%80%99s-retail-got-to-do-with-project-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5630","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s Retail got to do with Project Management?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While you are shopping the holiday sales, and fighting the crowds, do you ever wonder what it takes to get that merchandise out there?\u00a0 Do you ever wonder how it all happens?<\/p>\n

The Holiday Season is a Project<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Is the Retail Holiday Season really a project?\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 It has a start and stop time. \u00a0We usually think it starts in October when you start seeing the displays go up in the stores, and it finishes up in early January when you\u2019re done with your returns and using up your gift cards.\u00a0 In reality the Retail Holiday Project starts much sooner.\u00a0 As soon as the January returns season has ended, retailers start looking at the previous seasons lessons learned, and apply those towards the coming year.\u00a0 Typically, product is ordered in the late spring to early summer for delivery by September or October.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At that point, that’s when the real action starts.\u00a0 As stores start receiving their holiday product, they need to translate strategic objectives to daily logistical tasks.\u00a0 Let’s explore how they do this, using an example from my work history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Some years ago I ran the Inventory Department for a big box retailer who specialized in fancy jewelry in a blue box.\u00a0 My department handled the lower priced but high volume items for the store. We supported the sales floor by keeping inventory accurate and in stock. \u00a0Preceding the Holiday Season, our department received large shipments of merchandise.\u00a0 One of the items we sold the most of was a silver bracelet with a heart on it.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Alignment with Stakeholders:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In preparation for the Holiday Sales Season, we talked about aligning with the Sales Team\u2019s business goals.\u00a0 In Retail, 25% of the year\u2019s business typically happens in the month between Black Friday and Christmas Eve.\u00a0 Not only does the sales staff increase during that time, but we also needed to look at ways that we could expedite their process, and streamline the Customer\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In order to make sure we had enough of the right sku\u2019s in stock, so we didn\u2019t lose sales, I kept in close touch with the Sales staff. I asked questions about what seemed to be the hot sellers. I looked at current stock levels for that sku. I made sure that Replenishment Planning already had replacements in the pipeline, and that those replacements would come fast enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As time got closer and closer to Christmas Day, it became more and more important to track the responsiveness of the Replenishment process.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t that the process was broken, but that I wanted to jump in and proactively expedite wherever I could.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Lastly, we wanted to align with the Customer\u2019s Experience.\u00a0 It is commonly known that the sales floor gets flooded with customers during the Holiday Season. Seasonal Staff is hired and trained. Sales floor inventories are fully stocked, and additional space is found for overstock storage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0What we are looking for is to expedite the process between the time the customer says they\u2019ll buy an item to the time it is in their hands. \u00a0That window of time, called the Cash Wrap process, needed to shorten.\u00a0 In PM speak, we needed to Crash the Cash Wrap! This needed to happen not only for the sales person to move on to their next customer, but also so the customer can move on with their own day.\u00a0 We needed to be efficient, so we could also allow the Customer to be efficient in their own day as well.<\/p>\n

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Creating Customer Service through the PreWrap program:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Normally, the sales staff wraps each item as they sell it. But during the holiday season, the volume of transactions is so high that this becomes a critical path item, one which slows the Sales Process flow.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One of the ways that the Inventory Department was able to help the Sales floor expedite the Cash\u00a0 Wrap process, and keep the flow of customers moving, was to implement what is known as the Pre-Wrap program.\u00a0\u00a0 Since my department handled the highest volume sku\u2019s in the store, we knew that it would greatly help the salespeople to finish quickly if they didn\u2019t have to wrap these sku\u2019s themselves.\u00a0 We knew that if we picked the top 10 selling sku\u2019s, and wrapped them for them, we\u2019d help to expedite both the sales process, and improve the customer\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n

Deciding which sku\u2019s to PreWrap, and how many? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Luckily, in a company that size, we had the benefit of previous year\u2019s sales figures by sku, and forecasted sales trends by sku.\u00a0 Early in October, I reviewed these lists of sku\u2019s , keeping in mind our store\u2019s customer base and current trends, and made decisions on which sku\u2019s to focus on for the PreWrap program. \u00a0(I have to stress, however, that even in a smaller company without benefit of extensive Business Intelligence tools, it\u2019s imperative you know which items are your hot sellers, so you can make strategic decisions at the store level.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I looked at sales volume for each sku, and planned on how many supplies to make sure to have on hand, I made room in the stockroom and on the sales floor to store quantities of the prewrapped items, and I made Checklists for each sku as it moved through the PreWrap process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The PreWrap Checklist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That PreWrap Checklist was my bible throughout that all important selling month.\u00a0 Every morning before the store opened, I went over it to see which inventory bins on the sales floor needed filling with how many units. After replenishing the sales floor, I used the Checklist to see which of my stockroom bins needed to be replenished. \u00a0From there, more items were PreWrapped and the cycle went on.<\/p>\n

PreWrapping the Top Ten sku\u2019s: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0During the selling day, the Inventory team and the Shipping team worked together to make sure that there were enough boxes, bags and ribbon in stock to support the PreWrap program.\u00a0 Both departments participated in PreWrapping the Top 10 skus.\u00a0 Using my PreWrap Checklist, I made sure that enough quantities of each of the sku\u2019s were wrapped each day.\u00a0 Following exact Presentation Standards we all pitched in, tying perfect bows on each box.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Once we had wrapped the items, we had to store them, by sku, in a segregated but convenient area.\u00a0 Through the resourcefulness of one of my staff, the strong cartons used to ship merchandise to us, were reshaped, reinforced, labeled, and repurposed as PreWrap bins. \u00a0As the items were wrapped, into the PreWrap bins they went, waiting to fulfill their destiny on the sales floor!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With the use of a rolling cage, we staged certain quantities to push up to the sales floor for the next morning.\u00a0\u00a0 On the sales floor, any space that was available, or wasn\u2019t actively being used, was repurposed as PreWrap overflow. Besides their normal stock bins, the salespeople had PreWrapped merchandise on the floor, within reach, throughout the Holiday Season.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Timing is everything: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Timing was really important to the PreWrap program. In early October, I chose which sku\u2019s to include in the PreWrap program.\u00a0\u00a0 By end of October, we had created room on the Sales floor for their PreWrap overflow areas, and we set aside room in the stockroom for supporting PreWrap inventory. \u00a0As soon as we had these areas set up, and I had my PreWrap Checklist set up, I started using this tool to direct the quantities of each sku to be wrapped each day.\u00a0\u00a0 I knew how many of each sku sold the previous year, so I knew how many to expect to wrap ahead of time.\u00a0 Our best selling sku sold 2000 units in one month!!\u00a0 With volumes like that, you know I had to keep my finger on the pulse!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By mid-November, we were ready for the Holiday sales to begin!\u00a0 We had quantities of the best selling sku\u2019s PreWrapped and stocked both in the stock room and on the sales floor.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As the Holiday season got into full swing, we got into a routine, based upon my handy PreWrap Checklist.\u00a0 In the late afternoons, I\u2019d review quantities of PreWrap on the sales floor. I\u2019d return to the stockroom, and pull replenishment quantities from the PreWrap bins, and stage them on the rolling cage.\u00a0 In the mornings, before the store opened, we took that cage up to the sales floor and filled all the PreWrap overflow areas.\u00a0 The sales people were set up for their days!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Using the PreWrap Checklist functioned similarly to a daily scrum meeting.\u00a0 By talking with my team about the quantities actually sold, the quantities we needed to wrap, and which sku\u2019s were selling faster or slower than expected, we all kept on top of the stock levels of these all important top sellers.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Anticipating the End of the Season:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As the season started winding down, we stopped PreWrapping so many of the top selling sku\u2019s. \u00a0Several days before Christmas, we tapered off on the lesser selling of the PreWrapped sku\u2019s.\u00a0 If a sku hadn\u2019t needed replenishing in some days, we stopped PreWrapping it.\u00a0 On Christmas Eve, we stopped PreWrapping our number one selling sku.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Now, we still had PreWrap quantities floating around even after Christmas day, and that was OK. It wasn\u2019t worth putting any man-hours into unwrapping them. Sales were still brisk with customers coming in to spend their Christmas cash.\u00a0 \u00a0By middle to end of January, we usually didn\u2019t have much PreWrap left.\u00a0 We were back to \u201cnormal\u201d.<\/p>\n

Why do it all? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So this is quite a process that we had to do, and it was in addition to the increased demands placed on us by the fact that it was the busy holiday season.\u00a0 But the fact of the matter is, that by providing this service to our internal customers, the sales staff, we were also able to directly affect the quality if our external customers\u2019 experience as well!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We sped up the Cash Wrap process for both the sales person and the customer. We helped avoid lost sales due to stock outages.\u00a0 We helped increase sales\/unit by pushing quantities up to the sales floor. You know sales staff would rather sell something they didn\u2019t have to wrap! And we created Process Improvement lessons that carried forward.\u00a0 Most importantly, despite the crowds, we contributed to the Customer Experience!<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So next time you\u2019re in a busy Retail store, and wondering about how it all happens\u2026. Just remember that behind every great salesperson, is an Inventory Elf making it all happen!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While you are shopping the holiday sales, and fighting the crowds, do you ever wonder what it takes to get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1512,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[852,844,5,562,853,854,855,856,857],"tags":[124,891,892],"class_list":["post-5630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pmbok-process","category-integration","category-time-management","category-procurement","category-pmbok-process-initiating","category-pmbok-process-planning","category-pmbok-process-executing","category-pmbok-process-monitoring-and-controlling","category-pmbok-process-closing","tag-customer-service","tag-inventory","tag-retail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1512"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5630\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}