Assignment+2

This is a process that I want to take an in depth look and redesign a certain aspect that I don’t find particularly useful and well managed. The management structure or the **//people//** aspect of the activity which is commercial, a corporate environment-retail. The line of command follows a simple three levels structure: top, middle and first line people approach, where there is a constant flow of information in both directions. Retail being the last stop where products are placed for immediate purchase, looking from the perspective of the lower level management people, most of the time is spent placing the product on the shelf and serving customers. The department that I have worked in the past year and a half is dealing with health and beauty products. Five main tasks performed are:
 * communication (store level with head office and within levels of management on the store level);
 * merchandising, merchandise maintenance;
 * customer service;
 * ordering;
 * financial analysis.

Purpose: to control the flow of information coming in, in order to be efficient and prompt and coordinate accordingly; Functions: this is the core process that makes use of a centrally processed data and implements it in the daily processes to ensure consistency among stores part of the same banner; Objects: hand-held wireless devices (Teluson), computers, self-scanners; Roles: Top management, middle and lower (first line personal); Link: the obvious link of this activity is to wholesale, if this part of the chain is excluded than it is linked to supply chain management to ensure constant and timely supply; Constraints: high dependency on technology, communication chain between different levels of management; Issues: possibility for miss-communication of information.
 * Break down of tasks according to the criteria:**
 * Communication** (store level with head office and within levels of management on the store level)

Purpose: ensure the right products get to their shelf space at the right time; ensure they are displayed under the right information; Functions: lower level personnel is displaying merchandise and making sure price and description is up to date; Objects: Cutters, carts; Roles: Lower level management with the direct supervision of middle layer; Link: this activity is directly linked to receiving as final in supply chain management; Constraints: time constraints, work under pressure; Issues: possibility to damage fragile products while merchandising.
 * Merchandising, merchandise maintenance**

Purpose: ensure the satisfaction of the end consumer; Functions: CS manager takes in information from HO and relays that to front end staff; Objects: computers; Roles: all across layer, a commitment philosophy; Link: this is linked to internal marketing, brand management, competition monitoring; Constraints: customer exploitation of the “customer is always right” perspective; Issues: returns.
 * Customer service**

Purpose: ensure product availability; Functions: familiarity with interacting software; Objects: hand-held Wi-Fi enabled devices; Roles: restriction to some ordering functions to middle management only; Link: supply chain management; Constraints: break down of technology; Issues: no relevant and/or enough knowledge.
 * Ordering (manual and control of specials)**

Purpose: to ensure that the right funds are being allocated where needed, efficiency and effectiveness of staff, control of pay, shrink; Functions: analytical capabilities; Objects: computers; Roles: communication of findings to respective units ; Link: this is linked to the overall business model, follows the flow of money coming in and out on all levels; Constraints: gets complicated, synchronization, some patterns may not be obvious, high level knowledge, dependency on accuracy of information from lower levels used as input data; Issues: lack of attention to detail may results in bigger system problems.
 * Financial analysis**

I redesigned the process with a slight change in the steps. The problem involves the most important day to day activity in retail and that is the monitoring of allocation of products and their status change. Head office officials often do not include items in new releases of plan-grams because of various reasons, often based on the frequency of sale, statistical research based on the demographic of the population in the surrounding are etc. However, often enough there is a great demand from multiple regular customers for a particular product, and there is no established way to get the message to head office. My proposed design is supposed toad another stream in the communication channel and enable clerk to take note of items that they have been asked and have been discontinued. After head office is made aware of this, the manufacturer is still producing it and the supply chain is able to deliver it, the new plan-grams display the product. In case the problem comes from the manufacturer, a similar stream of information can be established with the manufacturer.
 * Comment**

The flowchart has a simple structure, the decision diagrams are a frequent use. This can be presented also in a more complex and analytical way but that requires an advanced knowledge of information processes.What is not shown in the flowchart is the main tool used to control these processes and it is a hand-held device that utilizes wifi technology to connect to an Intranet and constantly update and synchronize information in real ate informtime, between stores, head office and supplier.The database is an extensive version of the process that I am trying to present, a series of actions that have "yes" and "no" modalities and expand in a tree as a person moves along the process of determining course of action.




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