The retail and distribution sectors present a unique challenge for IT managers, according to resource management expert, Christine Headford. Inexperienced employees are managing systems in an environment that entirely depends on IT to survive
The retail and distribution sectors present a unique challenge for IT managers, according to resource management expert, Christine Headford. Inexperienced employees are managing systems in an environment that entirely depends on IT to survive
Extensive networks of branches, which often have small teams of staff with little or no expertise, combine with high employee attrition rates to mean that all too frequently, inexperienced employees are managing systems in an environment that entirely depends on IT to survive said Christine Headford, chief technology officer at resource management software provider, RMS Services.
"As with so many of today’s industries, IT is fundamental to retail on a large scale," she said. "In the modern world it would be impossible to stock large chains of stores, process card payments or to offer the prices we see on the High Street without the efficiencies in service processing that IT delivers.
"The IT logistic service has become a finely tuned engine, ensuring that stocks are replenished, goods are ordered and delivered to warehouses, just in time. One hiccup in the process and the potential for a chain reaction of mayhem is immense - lorries queuing to unload, stores with empty shelves or warehouses overflowing, and with perishable goods, the impact is potentially worse."
Ensuiring those tills keep ringing
She continued: "Front of house point-of-sale (PoS) services are equally important; losing the ability to process sales can immediately affect revenue. In the last six months I’ve been in two stores where the PoS system had failed and I had to walk out without making my intended purchase, alongside other lost customers.
"Similarly, most of us have used some sort of computer aided design service provided when buying a new kitchen or bathroom. Although less crucial, loss of this service would also impact on sales and profit.
"There are also other key ‘back-of-house services,’ including personnel, time and attendance and security - all of which are crucial to the effective running of a store, and all of which run on computers today.
Each time a new store is opened, existing IT services must be updated to encompass the new requirements. Equipment is ordered, software reconfigured and schedules altered for the additional loads. Personnel need to handle the recruitment process and update their systems, staff need training and security systems are implemented.
Consistency is key to the effective rollout of new stores. Not only does it provide the additional benefit of store to store comparison across the organisation, but also staff moving between stores should see all systems working in the same way.
Although the best store managers will always wish to innovate, this tendency must be constrained where IT systems are concerned. When support is needed from central services, a consistent implementation will ensure that issues can be resolved quickly. With a standardised model approach the likelihood of problems arising that could delay the store opening is minimised and best practices address the unavoidable teething issues.
Ensuring store processes run smoothly
An IT service management system that provides workflow management ensures that each stage of the implementation is completed in the correct sequence and nothing is forgotten. Best practice, standards and efficiency can be built into the workflow model ensuring the best possible outcome. As each task is completed the next dependent tasks are automatically released to the appropriate team or person, and progress can be easily monitored.
Once the store is open, keeping the process running smoothly is paramount. When an IT failure does occur - and hardware devices, such as network components and hard disk drives, inevitably do - it’s important to react quickly. Typically 80 per cent of the resolution time is taken in finding out what has gone wrong and 20 per cent on actually fixing it. By using automated monitoring tools, the detection is immediate, reducing the outage time by 80 per cent. In fact, with today’s advanced equipment, failures are often heralded by low level indications, and a monitoring tool which filters events can detect these early warning signs, which can prevent the failure occurring in the first place! The near failure can be automatically logged and reported on, constantly highlighting the value that IT is delivering to the business.
The tendency in a support department can be to prioritise by whoever is shouting loudest. But that is not necessarily the organisation’s priority. By working with the business to build a Service Catalogue, identify the services, their uses, Service Levels and importance, IT can react in the most appropriate way. Overlay this with a Technical Service Catalogue, showing the dependency of all the end user systems on their lower level components and the automated detection of an individual problem can immediately be translated into an action and the impact on the business fully understood.
