Retailing is a highly detailed business, requiring the efficient and accurate management of thousands of products, hundreds of stores and many thousand staff. There is also the need to schedule and control the levels of resources (inventory, staff, vehicles) as productively as possible.
The operations consulting experts of PA Consulting Group work throughout the world to deliver robust, practical and creative answers to operational challenges, enabling retailers to deliver superior operating performance. Our working style typically delivers significant benefit within a short timescale. At the same time we work with our clients to ensure that business processes become the mechanism for delivering the strategic intent of the business.
PA's core capabilities are our understanding of the entire retail operation, from supplier to store, our ability to quickly analyze the needs of a business, and capacity to design and implement effective, creative new processes:
- Making the hard things easy - taking on the tough cost reduction work that often affects people's jobs, but doing it with a human face
- Realizing tomorrow's back office - tackling the operational mess that can result from changes such as implementing e-business, BPR and new technology
- Finding a better way - delivering products and services, faster, better and cheaper
- Pragmatic response to e-commerce - making sure you link the physical and virtual economy - there will always be both.
Track record
Leading UK grocery retailer
Operational performance improvement
A new group had been formed by the client to consider the operational management of non-routine activities. The requirement was for a system to help them manage their process effectively and sell their skills internally. PA analyzed the types of event the group handled, eg store openings and promotions. PA flowcharted the processes, assessed frequency and complexity, surveyed available software packages and selected the appropriate solution. We developed a process for use in controlling the sequence of tasks for each event. The benefits achieved enabled the new organization to function effectively, and to offer high quality and relevant reporting using a simple, user-friendly and cost-effective systems solution.
Fashion retailer
Rapid improvement of property function
PA conducted a rapid review of the property department, responsible for managing and growing a portfolio of over 400 stores. One immediate priority was to put in place and manage interim arrangements to maintain performance following senior changes. Our work also recommended and managed changes to systems, processes and the department's structure.
UK supermarket chain
Purchasing performance improvement
There were concerns about the organization responsible for supplying and fitting out retail premises, compounded by a lack of value-for-money measures on major equipment and maintenance contracts. PA conducted structured interviews with staff, internal customers and a number of suppliers and analyzed the use of staff time - much buyer time was not devoted to buying. We also reviewed the operation of contract administration and payment authorization processes, and mapped the procedures.
This identified many non-value-adding tasks and systems inefficiencies, and allowed us to recommend modified forms of contract specification, eliminating ambiguity and improving clarity, as well as a new organization structure with more-focused procedures which eliminated non-value-adding tasks. We identified and successfully reclaimed £400k paid to suppliers in error, and renegotiation of all major maintenance contracts saved £2.6m per annum.
