Operating Supermarkets is your core competency. Making them more profitable is ours.

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

Droste Consultants and JFConnolly & Associates have teamed to provide a unique approach to workforce management that helps retailers improve profits AND service levels.

Where operating margins are small, optimal retail productivity is paramount.

Supermarkets operate with some of the smallest bottom-line profit margins in retailing.  Remaining profitable in today’s dynamic competitive landscape requires significant skill, dedication, attention to detail, and management expertise. By definition, large supermarket chains have access to greater internal resources than small or mid-sized chains – an advantage that often translates to higher profitability and competitive advantage.  Most large chains have dedicated departments focused on retail labor management with names like “Productivity”, “Labor Scheduling”, or “Operations Analysis”.  Oversight of retail labor scheduling may reside in Accounting, Information Technology, or Retail Operations.

Whatever the name or area of corporate oversight, the function of such departments is to increase profitability by managing retail-operating expenses, particularly retail payroll.

Your organization can save money, increase retail productivity, and realize higher profits as well by applying progressive retail labor management concepts.

One of the fastest ways to increase profits is to manage costs.  Since labor represents a supermarket chain’s largest controllable expense, it is often the first place organizations look to as a way to increase profitability.  On the surface, it would seem easy to save money by cutting retail labor.  However, what happens to operating standards, customer service, productivity, and employee morale as a result?  The intelligent solution employs strategies that increase retail productivity, reduce costs, improve operating standards, grow sales, and increase customer service and at the same time keeps employees feeling valued and appreciated.  It’s a delicate balancing act.  Your customers know when they are getting good service.  Your employees know when they are truly valued.  In addition, you should know how and when you are maximizing your earnings through effective expense management.  There are no simple answers – only effective solutions. 

 Historically, smaller supermarket companies developed the simple answers on their own.  Droste Consultants and  JFConnolly & Associates can provide you with effective solutions today.

Independently owned, small to mid-sized regional supermarket chains can realize retail productivity benefits that are similar to those realized by large national chains.  You can create a competitive advantage by employing superior strategies of operational excellence in retail productivity, labor scheduling, and retail payroll management.  The Droste/JFConnolly & Associates team combines over 20 years of experience providing integrated software solutions with over 20 years of  retail labor/payroll management.  Our experience spans single-store operators, family owned supermarket companies, regional independent chains, and national supermarket organizations.  Leveraging the expert and operations-focused retail labor management strategies we offer can save you money, enhance your operations, improve your customer service, increase your top-line revenues, and improve your bottom-line earnings. 

 The proof is in our performance.

There is no wisdom in making any investment unless you can be reasonably certain of a return.  One valuable way to make that assessment is to look at past performance.  Prior to forming JFConnolly & Associates, John Connolly was responsible for organizational management of $765.0 million of supermarket and pharmacy operating expense for over 250 stores with annual sales of $4.5 billion.  The strategies we have put into effect have resulted in direct annual savings ranging from tens of thousands of dollars to many millions of dollars depending on the size of the organization and its annual sales volume. 

Retail payroll improvements of a half point or greater as a percent of sales can be expected based on our experience. 

Additional savings from reduced expenses in other areas may compliment these results.

 Services now available to your supermarket company.

Whatever the size of your supermarket operation, the Droste/JFConnolly & Associates team offers you results-oriented concepts, strategies, and systems of retail and corporate expense management focused on reaching your operational objectives and organizational goals. 

Our professional services include: 

• Operations-focused expense management strategies, programs, and systems leading to improvements in retail productivity, reduced retail payroll, improvements in other areas of operational expense, and increased bottom-line earnings.
   

• Retail payroll, productivity, and workforce management - Concepts, systems, and tools encompassing labor forecasting/planning/scheduling, management control and performance reporting, analytical output, and detailed store-level budgeting.
   

• Operational analysis of new or existing programs, systems, and technologies.  Solutions, recommendations, and operational support for implementation of new programs.
   

• Cost/benefit research, analysis, and decision support of operational practices for business, financial, and capital investment strategies.
   

• Operations-based resource to companies, governmental agencies, and other entities conducting business and interacting with retail supermarket organizations.

Contact us for details and pricing.

THE DROSTE DISTINCTION:

• Minimize your labor expense with a proven approach.
   

• Improve service levels while reducing payroll.
   

• We can help you get the most out of your current systems or implement our software to  manage your workforce.
   

• Work with the team with a proven track record.