Business
Introduction
The situation in the warehouse store can be described as a case of inefficient store design. The fact that the attendant in the electronics section will need to attend to the customer and call the manager for check approval at the same time is an issue with workflow efficiency. In addition, the time needed for the manager to come to the electronics section creates a delay because of the bottleneck effect, which hampers the smooth transition of business from one customer to another. The discussion will propose a more efficient workflow process for the store in order to improve the store’s shopping and buying process including customer traffic.
Process Flow Strategies for Improvement
The efficient utilization of the space, procedures, and workflow enhances the store’s overall productivity and smooth traffic. In the case of Zei-Loft, there is a lack of cohesiveness in the way the bottleneck situation is being handled. There are questions that needs to be addressed, one of which is how each department creates a support net for the other, second is how the processes or the problems encountered to it is being communicated to the supervisors and the manager. Evidently, the store and the staff are not showing initiative to diffuse the bottleneck situation in other departments. Assuming that supervisors are on duty, another question to ask is what they have been doing to correct the situation. Suppose the manager is making rounds within the store and finding him will take time to approve the customer’s check, one of the ways in which the process can reduce the customer wait time is by redirecting the customer to the customer service section where the check verification process can be accommodated. The cause of the bottleneck in the electronics section of the store is because there is imbalance in the store process (Dey, 2014).
The given scenario in Zei-Loft can be improved by practicing the recommended work and process flow. First, the customer can approach the sales clerk stationed at the electronics department. Inquiries about the products can be made from the store clerk. It is recommended that the clerk never leave the customer with the product. If there is more than one customer at the same time, the clerk can put the queuing system in effect where the clerk will provide the customers with a number and as soon as the transaction with the first customer is done, the clerk call out the next customer in line (Allard et al., 2006). In terms of payment, if the customer decided to use a check to pay for the purchase, instead of the clerk calling out to the manager, the clerk can simply issue a payment order to the customer indicating the product being purchased, the amount, quantity, and the mode of payment. Since the customer will be paying by check, the clerk should politely ask the customer to have the check verified in the customer service area.
On the other hand, the customer service representatives at the CS booth will conduct the verification process and will be the one to call out to the manager through the PA system. With this, the customer no longer needs to hold up the line in the electronics section just to have the check verified. In addition, the sales clerk in the electronics section can move on to the next customer. Going back to the verification process at the CS section, once the manager was able to verify the check, the payment transaction can be accomplished in the CS section as well, provided a separate POS is stationed in the CS section. After the receipt has been issued for the purchase, the customer can claim the purchased item at the electronics section where it will be packaged as a regular purchased item.
Conclusion
The described process addresses two things; one is to eliminate the bottle neck at the electronics section, second is to divert the customer traffic to another section of the store where the remainder of the transaction can be accomplished, and lastly, the approach will save and energy for the customer in going around the different sections of the store just to conduct a check verification because the process was diverted into a single section, which is the CSR. In addition, the proposed process will not need to hire another manager just to compensate the inefficiencies in the process flow.
References
Allard, V., Semeijn, J., Ribbink, D. and Peters, Y. (2006). Managing the Waiting Experience at Checkout. HEC Entrepreneurship and Innovation. [online] Rue Louvrex, Belgium: HEG. Available at: http://www.hec.ulg.ac.be/sites/default/files/workingpapers/WP_HECULG_20060201_VanRiel_Semejin_Ribbink_Peters.pdf [Accessed 26 Feb. 2016].
Dey, S. (2014). A Lean Six Sigma Approach to Improving Efficiency in Retail Store Operations. Global Consulting Practice. Calcutta: TATA Consultancy Services.
