Connected Workforce a Big Differentiator for Schnucks
Schnuck Markets is championing a connected workforce to drive operational efficiencies and deliver the kind of customized and frictionless shopping experience that elevates regional grocers.
Schnucks Chief Data and Deputy Chief Information Officer Tom Henry and VP of Operations Support Kim Anderson recently detailed the retailer’s strategic vision on intelligent and connected operations at NRF’s Big Show.
[RELATED: "The 8 Retailers Worthy of Being Called Top Regional Grocers"]
“Having a connected workforce isn't breaking down the silos, it's breaking down the silos that's going to enable a connected workforce,” Henry said.
According to Henry, a happy employee base creates a happy and loyal customer base.
“So a lot of what we're attempting to do is take the abrasion out of the job not only so that they're working on things that have the greatest value to the customer, but also give them time back to actually interact with the customer,” Henry said. “Let's face it, those of us specifically in the mid-market, a lot of our differentiators are relationships.”
Henry described working as a bagger during the holidays and observing one of the company’s front-end cashiers: Her name is Ruby.
“Every person that comes through that line knows her, knows her children, she knows their kids,” Henry said. “And so at one point I said, Ruby, do not help bag anymore. Whatever it takes, I'm going to bag groceries. You just visit with customers because that relationship is really what matters. And so back to the connected workforce: If we can take abrasion and the unnecessary out of a person's job so that they have more time for the customer, that's a win, especially for mid-market companies.”
Anderson said employees want to “feel more engaged with the process, feel a sense of ownership over the store and understand sort of how they fit into the puzzle. It seems to be that that is a workforce that's going to be better at delivering customer service, however you want to define it,” she said.
Henry also about the Schnucks approach to forecasting and how a connected workforce is empowering success in every part of the business.
[RELATED: "Unraveling Demand Forecasting Challenges in Retail"]
“If you've got one forecast driving how you're going to staff the store based on demand, and another informing the store on what to order based on inventory management, and another where you've set your financial budgets, there is no common basis,” Henry said. “Having a consistent singular demand forecasting baseline gives information to each of these aspects: How you stack the store, production planning and various other aspects creates a common major point so that you can measure and introduce continuous approval.”
Henry said Schnucks is able to accurately forecast at store level what's going to happen over the next several months.
“But the bigger aspect of this is being able to run those models real time, right? Because if you're ingesting the forecast for the next seven days, you're only as good as that forecast for the next seven days. So you need to be able to quickly respond by redeploying or rerunning those forecast models on a regular basis and that real time consumption of those unique data sources as a real differentiator saying, ‘Hey, we need to produce more or we need to produce less. We need to have more staff in this area and less in that.’ … Whether it's forecasting people in the right place at the right time, or the right product at the right place at the right time, an empowered and connected workforce can deliver that to the customer.”
Henry said the connected workforce is also consistent with the Schnucks purpose to nourish customers' lives and provide an outstanding customer experience by being the friendliest stores in town.
“At our core, retail is about relationships and if we can do what we can to create not just a better customer experience and a better teammate experience and even a better supplier experience, we're kind of all pulling the rope in the same direction” Henry said.
