Cash counter trivia

Have you ever stood in a long queue in front of a cash counter in a departmental store or a super market? How do you feel? This is the only activity which I hate while shopping in a store. Most of the times I have noticed customers standing in the queue get into minor arguments. The reason is plain and simple. They lose their patience at one level and then need to find a reason to vent their anger on someone or something. So they will come up with some weird reason to come up with an argument. It is more painful if you will come across stores where the cash counters are not well equipped or the cashiers are not trained properly as all these ads on to the delay in billing and lengthening the queue.
It is at the cash counter that the sale is closed. Most of the retailers are not aware of this important fact and hence ignore this important section or do not put much effort on improving the same. The staffs at the cash counter need to be much disciplined in their activities that they do and need to also concentrate a lot in their work. Cashiers have a tough job to handle as they have to handle daily transactions of around an average of hundred thousand per day. They need to be well verse with the system software and need to have proper training session’s at-least every six months in soft skills and technical skills. As they interact with maximum customers in a day they need to be very polite, helpful in their approach and carry a positive attitude every time.

Once the cashiers enter the store they get ready to collect the float money and the stationary required at the cash deskk .Float money is a fixed amount of cash distributed to all the cashiers at the beginning of trading. It consists of currencies in smaller denominations. Every cashier need to sign on a register handled by the head cashier on receiving this float money. It also becomes the cashier’s responsibility to collect all the stationeries required at the cash desk during the collection of the float money from the head cashier. The head cashier assigns them the cash point for the day. The Head Cashiers are to maintain till allocation records for cashiers at all times.

What need to happen at the cash counter?

The cashiers are then supposed to clean up the cash desk, check the phone lines and Electronic Data Capturing machines (EDC machines), arrange the float money providedcash in the cash till drawer, coins of different denominations in different slots, and notes of different denominations in different slots containing the hook to hold the cash, as this practise will help the cashier to provide exact change to a customer during the transaction process as well as to avoid shrinkage at the end of the day. They should cCheck availability of shopping bags, whether all sizes of shopping bags ar available and sufficient enough to suffice for the day. In case any particular size falls short then the same has to be informed to the head cashier so as he will inform the person concerned to replenish the same..
Being proactive and preparing for the day in advance at the cash desk improves efficiency of customer service at the cash desk. At routine intervals and at the end of the day the cashiers are supposed to clear the cash counter of all the merchandise left by the customer due to change of mind, by returning it back to the relevant department through the helper or personally, and at change of shift or during closing need to do the reconciliation activity. They then have to hand over the day’s transaction to the head cashier and sign off for the day. All cashiers need to have basic knowledge of the products sold within the store and also need to update themselves on a daily basis the schemes or offers running in the store, the currency rate in the market as they have to deal with foreign currency transactions as well. They also need to have good communication skill and knowledge of the local language is an added advantage. The basic understanding of how to handle cash is expected from cashiers. A cashier is expected to process all transactions at the cash counter through his or her personal log-in ID only, as all data enetered in the system will be recorded in individual log-in ID’s only.
The cashiers also need to be very smart and alert during cashiering process. They should be able to trace shoplifters, and customers indulging in malpractice. They should also be able to identify fake notes while handling cash at the desk.

Have you ever come across a cashier who greets you politely before accepting your goods for payment? Mostly you will come across a cashier who is either very aggressive in his actions, rude, or a very silent person. While your turn comes for payment you will never notice him looking at, forget about giving you a smile, nor will he acknowledge for the payment done. You will also notice him being very stressed out.
Whenever a customer approaches a cash counter for billing a cashier needs to at every moment look at the customer, smile at him and also greet him. It’s the cashiers job to collect the merchandise from the basket or trolley with utmost care from the customer, and not wait for the customer to hand it over to the cashier.
He then has to scan each and every product carefully without committing any error. If a product does not have a bar code he should be able to enter the alternate item code (AIC). Simultaneously while scanning the products he should check for products carrying offers and observe if the same is being reflected on the screen or not. In case the offer does not reflect on the screen the cashier should call for an authorised person to apply the discounts manually.
After the last product is scanned the cashier is then expected to look at the customer with a smile on the face and inform the customer the final transaction total. He should then ask the customer for the mode of payment he would like to use for making the payment. Payment is made by cash, credit cards, and vouchers/coupons and in some cases by credit notes.

Placement of Merchandise

Placement of merchandise is the art of displaying merchandise in an organised manner so as to offer the right quantity of the right merchandise in the right place at the right time. The concept of S-T-P is implemented in this process.

The objective behind placement of merchandise inside the store is to allocate correct space to all products, and to make sure that the products are grouped together as per the assortment plan and aligned in the right way so as to make it visible to the customer Proper planned placement of merchandise allows enough aisle space for customers, and racking space as well as stacking space for merchandise. This helps in easily identifying slow sellers and fast sellers, missing goods with respect to size or colour or pattern. It also helps to avoid damages to the goods, and helps customers to be able to browse, identify and pick the required merchandise easily. The format and layout of the store place an important role when it comes to placement of merchandise. The placement varies from one type of format to another. For a value format the placement of the merchandise is based on volumes, while for a lifestyle store format the placement is more based on merchandise assortments.
Further the placement of the merchandise also varies based on the verticals i.e. for Apparel, General Merchandise and FMCG products. Within verticals also it varies based on the type of merchandise.

Let us understand this with some examples of products from different verticals.

The placement of stocks in case of Apparels should be brand wise, product wise, style wise, size wise, colour wise and price wise as per the demand of the store and the nature of the merchandise. The direction of placement should be top to bottom and left to right.

FMCG products
When placing merchandise on shelves and other fixtures one needs to note the first in first out method (FIFO). It helps the retailer to clear the stocks that have come in first on the floor from the shelves first.
In this method the products are placed as per-
Brand
Type
Batch No
Expiry date
Weight
Size
MRP

All the products which have come recently are placed behind on the shelves and the products arrived earlier are placed in front on the shelves. This way the older products are sold ahead of the recent ones.
FIFO needs to be strictly followed for FMCG goods as they are perishable goods. Retailers cannot afford to keep these goods on the shelf for a longer period as they will increase the retailers’ shrinkage.
Loose food grains, and other types of staple products mostly come in sacks. Care should be taken when they are stacked on top of each other. The stack of sacks should not be very tall, but convenient enough for the staff to manage it.
Soft drinks, tetra pack products, mineral water bottles need to be stacked along with the carton one above the other. Only the top most carton need to be opened and the product displayed for the customers.

General Merchandise
Under this vertical let us first understand placements related to electronics and home appliances.
· The heavier products are placed at the bottom and the smaller units are placed on top.
· The gradation in the shelf is big to small –left to right as we face it, the prime reason being our tendency to look from left to right every time, and not the other way round, hence even the higher priced products are placed at the left hand corner.
· The eye level shelves which are between shoulder height to hip level get maximum reach, here the main products are displayed and focused upon.
· All products placed on pallets should be at chest level.
· Merchandise displayed below the knee level is lost to a customer. This space should be utilised to store excess merchandise required for replenishing. Hence in some stores cabinets are placed below the shelves at knee level.

Product handling is a very crucial aspect in retail. Stacking same items one above the other must be carefully executed to avoid unnecessary damage / scratch to the items.
Movement of items is to be limited and performed only if it is to be replenished.

In most of the general stores and supermarkets in India the placement of stocks on the floor is not up to the mark. One will notice that stocks are just placed wherever space is available and a signage is placed besides it. You will also notice signages which say,
“TOUCH IT, FEEL IT,
BUT CONSIDERED SOLD IF BROKEN”

Such signages are very prominent near crockery and gift article section. I personally as a retail expert would not entertain any signage conveying such a negative statement to a customer. Simply because it is the responsibility of the store staffs to take care of the merchandise, and the way they are placed on the fixtures.

Just to make maximum utilization of space does not mean one should get into such an activity inside the store. It is very essential to plan your space properly to display merchandise. Proper stacking of merchandise on the store floor plays an important role in reducing stock damages. Merchandise should be stacked on the floor in such a manner that goods are not dumped on each other thereby damaging them.

Because of not placing merchandise properly on shelves the chances of damage to goods is high. Items which are fragile in nature e.g. crockery, toys, electronic items, etc, should always be placed or stacked one by one on a rack. They should never be all dumped together or placed haparzardly. For fragile goods the shelf space should be enough for just one row of items. The staffs should also take care to place every product in such a manner that there is adequate space between items to enable one to easily pick a piece from the rack.

The operations within the store can run safely and smoothly if a proper process of managing space, understanding fixture capacities and placement of merchandise is followed.

Racking and stacking capacity
This is a very basic and most essential process which every store needs to follow during merchandising and displaying the products on the shop-floor. The objective behind it is to avoid inconvenience and congestion on the shop floor, and minimize damages of merchandise on the shop floor. It provides convenience to the customers while shopping and improves the ambience of the shop floor. This process also is very beneficial for better inventory management.


Let us understand this concept along with the various fixtures used inside a store to display merchandise. Please note that this is a standard benchmark to be followed while displaying the merchandise on the fixtures. It also depends on the dimension of the merchandise and hence may vary accordingly.

Fixtures used to hang merchandise on the wall panels :( Mostly used for apparels)
Sloping arms: these arms are used on gondolas or slat-walls to display men’s, ladies and kids tops
Racking Capacity:
Max. 7 pieces per unit

Pegs: these are used to mostly to display accessories. Various types of pegs are used depending on the structure of the back wall panel. They can also be placed on gondolas.
Racking Capacity:
Maximum 15 pieces per unit

Step arm: placed in gondolas and slat-walls and used for displaying men’s, ladies and kids tops
Racking Capacity:
Maximum 15 pieces per unit

D-bar: This fixture is used on gondolas and on slat-walls and specially used to rack stocks more in quantity.
Racking capacity:
For blazers- maximum 12 pieces per unit
For men’s and ladies tops- maximum 35 pieces per unit
For kids tops- maximum 50 pieces per unit

Fixtures used on the floor to rack merchandise

These fixtures make it very easy for customers to browse through the merchandise.

4-way browser with straight arms: used to display men’s, ladies, and kids tops and bottoms Racking capacity:
Maximum 60 pieces per unit

4-way browser with step-arms:
Racking capacity:
Maximum 40 pieces per unit

The 4-way browser can be customised as a browser with two straight arms and two step/sloping arms on opposite side. Racking capacity will accordingly change.

8-way browser with u-arms: this fixture is used to display only kids’ tops and bottoms
Racking Capacity:
Maximum 64 pieces per unit

16-way browser with u-arms: this fixture is also used only to display kids’ merchandise, especially to promote co-ordinates or sets of tops and bottoms.
Racking Capacity:
Maximum 128 pieces per unit

Fixtures used on the floor to stack merchandise: used for apparels and mostly for FMCG and General Merchandise.

3-feet shelf: These shelves are used on wall panels, or on a 4-way gondola. They are either made of wood, metal or glass, depending on the format and concept of the store. Merchandise from every category can be displayed on this fixture and this is the most common and effective fixture used in all store formats.The capacity of stocks to be placed on these shelves completely depends on the type of merchandise being displayed. It will again vary depending on the format of the store.

A- Gap Table: This fixture is mostly placed in the centre of the department and all new arrival merchandises of any style in different colours are displayed in this fixture to highlight the collection. Advantage of this fixture is that it can hold more stocks comfortably.
Racking Capacity:
Maximum 160 pieces per unit

N-Table: also termed as Nesting or Nordstam table. It is mostly placed at two corners of the entrance to the store or the department. Sometimes in the absence of the gap table it might be positioned at the centre of the department as well.
Racking Capacity:
Maximum 110 pieces per unit

Fixtures used in supermarkets and hypermarkets

N-Table (Square): This fixture is mostly used to display general merchandise and consumer durables. Its capacity to hold stock again depends on the type of merchandise being displayed on it. Here in the picture you can see loose utensils displayed on it with a maximum capacity of 400 pieces.


Bins: Bins are used to display free size loose merchandise which are mostly on offers. This bin is also used to promote merchandise in various departments.
They are of three types:

Stack bin: as the name suggests one can stack loose merchandise in it. It can be assembled as a two layered or three layered bin and placed to the two ends of a gondola. One can stack around 150 pieces of loose merchandise in this bin.
Maximum capacity:
to stack around 150 pieces.

Stall Bin: This particular bin can be stalled in any prominent area within the store to promote loose merchandises and general merchandise. Mostly stocks which are on offer are placed in these bins. Also this bin is mostly placed near cash counters to encourage impulse buying.
Maximum capacity:
to fill around 200 pieces.

Hyper bin: These bins are the bigger version of the stall bin and are basically used to stack bigger merchandise like pillows, cushions, beach towel, etc.
Maximum capacity:
to fill around 250 pieces.


Pallet: heavy products from FMCG like loose staples in huge cylindrical vessels, molded luggage from general category of merchandise, and consumer durables and electronic items like refrigerator, television, etc. are not placed directly on the floor as it does not give a good image of the product. Hence they are placed on pallets. Advantage of using pallets is that it does not damage the flooring.

Staff grooming

Frontline sales team oOn the shop floor:-

Once the staffs enter their department they need to be dressed in full uniform as per company norms, and also get properly groomed as per the service standards.

Appearance
The frontline team is the brand ambassador of the store. The customers visiting the stores are greeted by this team and are assisted by them. Hence they are expected to present a neat & clean appearance. They are expected to be in uniforms (including shirt, trousers, shoes & socks) which must be worn clean & ironed. Care should be taken so as no stains, broken buttons, or loose thread is present on the uniform. Shoes should be clean & polished all the time. No sandals/slippers/sports shoes and white socks to be worn while on duty. Nails must be clean & cut as most of the time one will be handling merchandise. When in store premises, even during off-duty hours, a well dressed appearance needs to be maintained. Hair should be combed before commencing duty, never in front of customers.

Specifically for Men
· Uniform prescribed should be clean and pressed.
· Shoes should be clean and polished.
· Hair must be short, clean & tidy.
· One is expected to have a clean shaven look.
· In case of beards/moustaches, must be trimmed, neat & tidy.
· Nails should be cut or trimmed neatly at regular intervals.
· Any type of earrings studs & bracelets are not to be worn on the floor during official hours.

Specifically for Women
· Lady staffs having long hair should tie their hair not keep it loose, not much oil applied to it.
· No (gajras) string of small white jasmine or mogra flowers hooked on the head.
· They should avoid bright coloured nail polish and long nails as they will be a cause to distract customers or damage the merchandise on display.
· Minimum, non-flashy jewellery should be worn.
· Dangling earrings, noisy anklets & bangles must not be worn on the floor
· Only very light make-up to be applied (lipstick of very light shades only)


Personal Hygiene/Body posture
· Staffs need to keep their Hands clean at all times as they mostly will be handling merchandise or in contact with customers.
· Floor staffs should avoid biting nails on the floor.
· Floor staffs should also manage body odour & bad breath to be under control as they are offensive to the customer.
· Presenting Self by maintaining straight & upright posture on the shop floor, should be the floor staffs motive.
· Slouching on the floor should be avoided and hands in pockets & hands on the hips are not courteous to the customer & hence should also be avoided.

Dress Code
· All frontline staffs in the store should wear a prescribed uniform everyday.
· The back-end staffs mostly are expected to be in formal dress code.
· The direct & indirect staffs need to display ID cards when on duty so as it helps the customers to identify the staffs.
· Service staffs handling edible foodstuff should wear clean gloves while all staffs working inside the kitchen & live bakery sections at FMCG stores need to wear caps when on duty.
· The shop-in-shop staffs & brand promoters have their approved uniforms.
· Mostly black socks & black belts are preferred as a part of staff uniforms.

Housekeeping, security & other contractual staff also have their own prescribed uniforms with shoes.

STP IN RETAIL

A typical retail store is segmented either as a lifestyle or a value format and the store is positioned accordingly after targeting the right audience. Every retail store may further be segmented within into various verticals, and these verticals are further segmented into departments and sections. Now onceOnce the concept of store format is clear one needs to clearly understand the departments, products and their assortment hierarchy within a store. Understanding product assortmenthierarchy (product mix) is very essential as it helps one to display the products in the right manner and easier to assist a customer buy a product. It also helps one to plan the layout of the store very systematically.
Many retail organisationstores have large number of brands and products within the verticals, like Apparels, FMCG and General Merchandise and are termed as product lines. Apparels which is referred to as Product Line. They offerconsist of shirts, trousers, t-shirts and other products. Therefore, it can be concluded that these stores have a wide product line with different products (shirts, trousers, t-shirts). These various options that are provided are termed as product width. The shirts within the apparel section are further in differentiated by styles, sizes and colours which are termed as the product depth. Therefore, it can be concluded that they have a wide product line with different product lines (shirts, trousers, t-shirts). Product line depth indicates how many product variants are there under each brand/ product line.

· In a retail store the various departments and sections are the segmentation of the entire store done as per customer type
· and the placement of merchandise on the various fixtures based on the layout inside the store are positioning of the merchandise
· and the product width and depth available is again for targeting the various types of customers inside the store.

Store layout:
Store layout should entertain customers to move around the store to purchase more merchandise than they may have originally planned. Before a store is set up the layout of the store is prepared. It involves the elevation plan for placing of fixtures on the walls and the floor; it shows how the walkway in a store should be and how much spacing needs to be given between departments and sections. Store layout is nothing but a Plano-gram of the store. It is similar like a map. It has information related to the sections, the fixtures used, area each section has occupied, which product is displayed where, and so on.

Grid layout: (Courtesy: Retailing Management-Levy and Weitz.)
It is mostly used in small grocery and FMCG store operations. It contains long gondolas of merchandise and aisles in a repetitive pattern. It isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing arrangement. Customers are not naturally drawn into the store.

o Racetrack track layout:
The race track layout facilitates the goal of getting customers to visit multiple departments. It is a type of store layout that provides a major aisle to facilitate customer traffic that has access to the store’s multiple entrances. This aisle “loops” through the store, providing access to smaller self contained departments.
The race track layout encourages impulse purchasing.

o Free-Form:
A free form layout arranges fixtures or aisles asymmetrically.Its successively used primarily in small specialty stores or within the departments of large stores. In this relaxed environment, customers feel like they are at someone’s home. Fixtures are likely to be expensive, hence customers are not naturally drawn towards the store. Hence personal selling becomes more important. Theft is higher in such layouts.

ABC of STORE OPERATIONS

Hi,
At last i have self published my book ABC of STORE OPERATIONS .
Retailing in India has seen a lot of activity and growth in the recent past. Organised retail has seen tremendous growth and this has created a huge demand for skilled work-force. The available talent-pool is limited and with the entry of more big retailers there is a huge demand for trained and skilled professionals in this sector. One of the basic requirements for the retailers is the basic understanding of the operational processes in the retailing industry among all the people they employ. A good training program where these basic concepts are imparted becomes a crying need in this sector. Most of the retailing curriculum in colleges, specialised institutes and business schools focus on broader areas like marketing management, SCM, franchising and other such broader concepts. There is a clear gap when it comes to retail store operations and processes in the retail industry. There is a need for operational skills training at the entry level and mid-management level of any retail company. It was this need that inspired the author Chinmayaprasad to publish the book 'ABC of Store Operations'. The book is aimed at trainers, students, retail professionals and industry practitioners. The book will be of great value to all those who are keen and interested in joining the store operations at entry level within the retail industry. The book is designed like an activity book with the whole book organised into ten sessions. Each session explains a specific concept and has various activities including quizzes, puzzles and other similar activities to explain the concept much better. The book is divided into two parts – the Instructor Copy and the Student Copy. Every topic within the book is explained in a very simple language and is packed with activities and illustrations to make it interesting and meaningful for the readers. The Instructor Copy will help the training instructors understand all the processes and activities that take place within a retail store with tips on how to handles each session and the activities for each session. It is the perfect facilitator for all teachers and instructors of various colleges and institutes conducting retail management programs. It would also be a very useful tool for trainers in corporates during the induction of their employees into retail store operations. The Student Copy will help the students understand the concepts in retailing and store operations much better and make learning more interesting and effective. It is a good tool for all students pursuing a course in Retail management and also for all the frontline staff within a retail store.

Retail Musings
In my previous post I had asked a query as to what are the activities that occur during store opening processes.
lets understand the same in detail in this post.
Store opening process:
Every retailer ensures that his store is properly secured and proper safety and security has been taken care of. It is a very critical responsibility of store operations managers to take care of the store so as to ensure that all the merchandise and valuables inside the store is properly arranged and safe at all times.
Every day hundreds of customers enter the store for shopping hence it becomes very important to open and close the store at a fix time so as it does not cause any inconvenience to a customer. To ensure this is in place a proper process needs to be followed during the store opening and closing time.

It is very important that the store is ready and spick and span before opening for trading for the day. A customer judges the service provided by the store by the ambience it provides to one. Hence to take care of all these the store should be opened one hour prior to trading.
Responsibility: Only the management team is responsible and authorized to handle the store opening and closing process. It is the store manager’s responsibility to ensure that a register is maintained to track the store opening and closing process.
The store manager needs to prepare a schedule as to who will do the store opening and closing. He should only designate an employee at the managerial level within the store for this activity. The designated manager for the store opening and closing process needs to ensure that the register for the same is updated, checked and signed on a daily basis. He is also responsible for the store keys and needs to log the same in the key register on a daily basis. Managing keys at the store is a critical and sensitive operational function, which needs to be handled in a secure manner. Being inattentive to these critical areas will expose the entire store resources to serious risk.
The store is responsible for minimizing the risks involved in movement of keys and providing complete security for all the resources at the store.
The store opening and closing register lists the details of timings, signatory of authorized person, key details, etc. Any deviation in the process is noted in a separate log book. A check list also is in place which the manager needs to adhere to accordingly. The check list acts as a guide and ensures nothing is missed out during the opening and closing process.
Process: The opening and closing of the store is done by two different managers according to the schedule provided by the store manager. Every organization has a fixed process which is followed and adhered to.

The main entrance to the store is never opened first. The back door namely staff entrance is the first door to be opened. The store should be opened for the day for trading by a management staff along with the security guard. The person assigned for opening the store checks the lock if it is sealed properly, and not tampered with. He then opens the door, gets in along with the security guard and puts in the entry time and signs in the store opening/closing register. He then immediately needs to check the checklist and see for any remarks entered in it the previous closing time so as can act accordingly He switches on the minimum lights as required. He has to then check all the sensitive rooms such as the cash room, the server room, the panel room, etc. whether they have been tampered with or not and accordingly note in the register. All the doors to these rooms will be sealed the previous day. He will then allow the security guards to enter the store. All the security guards will get stationed at their respective posts as decided by the security supervisor. The guards get posted at the main entrance, at the customer service desk, at all the trial rooms, the entrance to the back office, the main entrance to the store, the ware house exit/entry door, and at all the other necessary place as required by the manager. The housekeeping supervisor will then allow his men to enter the store to begin with the house keeping activities. The team gets divided floor wise, department wise, and section wise. As per retail standards the floors are first swept, and then wet mopped and then followed by dry mop. If the floor is having carpet it is vacuum cleaned thoroughly twice in a day. All the washrooms are then cleaned, water tanks are filled. The cooler for drinking water is kept ready, back office computers, desks and cabins are cleaned. The food and grocery section is thoroughly cleaned, and the chillers are also wiped. All the fixtures, browsers, wall panels are also wipe cleaned. All the trolleys are also cleaned and then counted and taken out of the store and parked near the entrance to the store. The shopping baskets are also cleaned and placed at the entrance to all the departments. Trolleys and baskets are cleaned on weekly basis or as per requirement. This entire process should take one hour before trading begins. One has to ensure that proper cleaning materials are used to clean the fixtures and other materials in the store. Care should be taken when cleaning all wooden fixtures. Proper polish especially meant for polishing wood should be used for the same. Separate solution is used for metal and glass fixtures. Room fresheners also need to be used whenever necessary. Half an hour before trading the staffs is allowed to enter from the staff entrance. The security guard present does the frisking of the staff as mobile phones and other valuables are not allowed to be carried inside the store. Lady employees are frisked by the lady searcher. The valuables are all placed inside the locker of the individual staff. The staff then signs in the in/out register and settles in his respective department. The head cashier opens the cash room, (role of head cashier to be inserted) the systems personnel opens the server room and the maintenance in charge opens the panel room. The maintenance person switches on all the lights and air conditioner. The systems person switches the server and computers on and the head cashier takes out the float money and stationary required at the cash desk and hands over to all the individual cashiers. (what is a float- explain the same in cash management process later to be inserted)

The customer service desk in charge opens his cabin and logs on his computer. Once all the cashiers have logged on their point of sale machine and ready the main entrance to the store is opened for customers. Any deviation from the above process is immediately recorded in the log book. Also if any untoward incident occurs and is observed by the opening manager he immediately informs the store manager and necessary action is taken accordingly