dark stores – a bright spot in retail’s dark night?
The sun is shining and the retail buyers have worked all year to get the right stock into the warehouses predicting consumer demand down to the exact date consumers begin to turn their thoughts to a particular product. For the DIY sector this means millions of pounds of outdoor furniture, lawn mowers, plants and compost. But it is stuck in the store or the warehouse. We know demand is there, the whole country is stuck at home staring at unpainted fences, tired walls and fast growing lawns. The news that B&Q and Wickes have had to implement online queuing on their websites this weekend due to a surge in demand will only add to the frustration of store managers. With lockdown extended until after the first May bank holiday, two of the biggest weekends in DIY store sales will be missed. So what is the answer ?
It is time to think differently about the stores themselves. What if they could be turned into online fulfilment operations ? Why not use the retail space, and arguably the store staff who already work there, to fulfil customer orders? If Tesco can do it with pickers selecting stock for online shoppers from the shop floor, so the DIY retailers could do the same. It is important to remember that team safety must be considered from the start. The store may be familiar, but safe working practices will mean working differently.
Store Redesign
In order for teams to work safely with social distancing measures in place, it is not just about asking team members to stand 2 metres apart at all times. Simply walking into your local grocery super store it is easy to see how social distancing breaks down as people lean in for the last cucumber. To ensure the safety of team members, the store layout, the picking process, command and control mechanisms and the safety assurance practices need to be adjusted. All of this is possible with some planning and practice.
Retraining staff
The HR team start the ball rolling by offering a return to work on a volunteer basis. For many staff stuck at home this could be the opportunity they are looking for to return to work. A shift pattern could be established for workers caring for children at home during the normal working day. Already familiar with the store they will know the stock lines and will be able to fulfil online orders using existing equipment (customer trolleys) and ordering software from the store website.
From Store to Customer
By using an existing store network as an online fulfilment operation, the customers should be relatively local. Consider partnering with a logistics company who has a local network of delivery drivers who may be able to fulfil orders. In the US, Target has worked hard to develop a number of different ‘last mile’ delivery options that could be replicated in the current environment in the UK. One of these, ‘Drive Up’, allows the customer to order from the local store and collect it in their own vehicle from the kerb outside the store.
Playing the Long Game
This won’t be as efficient as fulfilling all customer orders from a centralised warehouse. What it will do is clear stock already delivered to the local store network at a higher price point than having to discount it later in the year when the demand for seasonal products has ended. Through increasing the capacity of orders that the business can fulfil, it is also an opportunity to grow a client base at a time when the retail sector has all but stalled completely.
In times of crisis, it is those retailers that adapt that ultimately come out on top. While it may seem easier for the smaller independent retailers to adapt, the larger retailers have superior technology infrastructure that can be turned to their advantage when it comes to processing customer orders quickly and efficiently.
Brakes, the food and beverage wholesaler, has pivoted its business to great effect with their new Food Store. By opening up for domestic orders they use their online ordering and stock system to direct new orders to the relevant local depot. Utilising their supply chain they are able to supply the domestic market with products unavailable in the supermarkets. They also have the volume of staff able to adapt their roles in a crisis situation. It really is survival of the fittest, so look again at what you do have and work out how to get it out to the customers clamouring for your stock.
In the past two weeks Egremont Group helped a national pharmacy chain develop a brand new online customer fulfilment centre within a week. Come on, let’s get those fences painted.
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