James Richardson Duty Free
Cash register Rearrangement
Background
James Richardson's duty-free shop has asked us to re-plan the exit from the store as part of the renovation and to find a way to accommodate the enormous volume of buyers visiting the store in massive puffs that are significantly boosted by open skies agreements.
In the given situation, the 60 installed boxes were unable to withstand the heavy load and volume. Queues trailed to the center of the store, blocking displays, causing abandonment and creating waiting times that sometimes reached 40 minutes or more. A management team stationed on the floor of the sale was helpless in view of the structure of the area and the amount of buyers it had to manage.
Satisfaction of buyers from the funds and payment process was very low.
Tasks
The first task: to understand the source of the problem - why despite the large number of HMOs, it is not possible to control the management of queues and funds effectively.
The second task is to create a concept that will address the problems: significantly reduce wait times, create a manageable reality by means of a small team, increase customer satisfaction significantly, reduce the number of abandoned customers and if possible help sell products.
The third task: detailed planning of the queue system, fund structure, detailed work plans, design, operation pattern and queue management, merchandising of the displays along the queue, supporting technological systems.
What did we do?
The first thing we did was a comprehensive ad hoc study that included observations, interviews, and operational research aimed at understanding the course of ongoing activity. In this framework, the problems that cause the huge traffic jams are mapped.
The conclusions were clear
You must change the waiting method and queue management in order to streamline the way you leave the store. The research found out exactly how the HMO manages a multi-line system - dozens of small queues per POS, creating a situation in which every problem in the HMO "shuts" the rest of the line after it, when solving an average problem can take between several minutes and dozens of minutes.
Since the problems vary widely and are mostly due to buyers' regulation or mistakes (forgetting a passport, forgetting a product, changing a purchase etc.), the problems that lead to a long transaction time can not be solved immediately, but it is possible to rethink how the queue is managed The problem.
The solution
We recommended a revolution in the concept of managing the queue and the funds.
To switch from Multi Line management to running a line-single line, one long line that serves dozens of boxes.
In this way - if one box is stuck with a problem, there are dozens of towels that are not stuck in line.
Many question marks and eyebrows were raised when we proposed the solution - how will the Israeli buyer respond to one long queue? Can the solution be implemented in the store space? How do I test my thesis before a full application? How do you admire such a complex system?
Execution
In order to make this change, we built a 6-step plan:
Step 1: Build a statistical model and run computerized simulations until reaching an agreed and stable formula that will enable accurate performance prediction.
Step 2: Identifying similar systems in the world and a comprehensive learning journey. At this stage, we discovered that we were among the pioneers of the solution in retail spaces and certainly in duty free shops that only a few fields in the world used this method before we implemented it.
Stage 3: A small pilot over 14 funds to examine the feasibility of the change according to the statistical model that was formulated. The pilot passed with great success, with a thorough study of the issues that required a solution and new issues that arose from the experiment.
The statistical model we built showed more than 85% congruence with reality, and therefore we are left to enter the pilot data, to refine the model and expand it to the required amount of funds.
Stage 4: Extending the pilot to 30 funds, creating a single, substantial and massive queue while assimilating current and ongoing measurements. Running the statistical model parallel to reality in order to improve and correct it.
Step 5: Detailed planning of the queue system in the new store after the renovation. As part of this stage we were required to have a complex problem of thinking about the structure of the HMOs and how to assimilate the line. The fund manager is required to implement as many funds as possible according to strict standards. After thorough research, we designed the position as it exists today - two back-to-back backstage series with a middle transition.
In a smart and precise design, we have built a disassembly line system that can re-calibrate - to determine the length of the queue by closing and opening line transitions. We managed to implement more than 80 meters of queue within the store in the designated area and about 66 funds.
As part of the planning, a test was examined and a digital queue management system was adapted and a dynamic index system was connected to the funds and to manage the queue.
Step 6: Build an accurate queue management system that is backed up by an operating method whose purpose is to reduce the buyer's perceived latency.
For a number of months, we were led by a new queuing manager who helped us to recruit, build the queue department, define roles, build job procedures, build a communication and language system among the employees of the queue.
The results
The queue system has become a huge success for the country.
The waiting time was drastically shortened to an average of "0" when the store was not overloaded, 3: 20-2: 40 in normal time and under 7:00 pm, waiting for more than 90% of the entrants. The perceived waiting time also decreased significantly.
Thus, James Richardson became one of the most sophisticated and efficient queues in the world.
The worst waiting time measured did not exceed 10 d when all the dummies and malfunctions occurred at the same time.
The department's satisfaction is among the highest among store departments, especially among Israeli visitors.
The amount of abandonment of wagons has decreased significantly.
The results
The queue system has become a huge success for the country.
The waiting time was drastically shortened to an average of "0" when the store was not overloaded, 3: 20-2: 40 in normal time and under 7:00 pm, waiting for more than 90% of the entrants. The perceived waiting time also decreased significantly.
Thus, James Richardson became one of the most sophisticated and efficient queues in the world.
The worst waiting time measured did not exceed 10 d when all the dummies and malfunctions occurred at the same time.
The department's satisfaction is among the highest among store departments, especially among Israeli visitors.
The amount of abandonment of wagons has decreased significantly.
