Currys Streamlines Task Execution Across 296 Stores and Saves 900 Management Hours with Zebra Workcloud
Currys is a leading tech and electronics retailer in the UK, known for its innovation, exceptional customer service and wide range of consumer electronics and home appliances. With 296 retail stores across the UK and Ireland, Currys serves as a go-to destination for tech enthusiasts.
Zebra Success Story: Currys
Overview: Retail Challenge
Currys faced operational challenges that impacted efficiency and consistency across its branches. Store managers were spending excessive time manually adjusting schedules, and the lack of centralized communication and real-time visibility caused delays in task execution. To help address these issues, Currys implemented Zebra Workcloud Task Management and Workcloud Scheduling to enhance operational consistency, reduce schedule adjustments and deliver a more seamless customer experience.
Benefits / Outcomes
- Streamlined task execution across 296 stores
- Eliminated 90,000 store schedule adjustments during peak seasons
- By optimizing schedules, approximately 900 management hours were reclaimed to spend on the store floor over the span of two months
Customer
Currys
London, England/UK
Industry
Retail
Solutions
About Currys
Currys, a top tech and electronics retailer in the UK, is known for its legacy of innovation, exceptional customer service and cutting-edge products. With 296 retail stores across the UK and Ireland, Currys offers a wide range of consumer electronics and home appliances.
Whether it’s the latest smartphones, gaming gear, home appliances, or high-end laptops, Currys has become the go-to spot for tech enthusiasts nationwide.
Committed to delivering outstanding customer experiences, the company continually explores technology-driven solutions to enhance efficiency and streamline store operations. This commitment to innovation became crucial when Currys realized it needed to better equip branches across the country to handle the management and execution of tasks, as well as improve workforce scheduling efforts.
The Challenge
“At many branches, task management and workforce allocation weren’t nearly as effective as they could be,” said Brad Porter, Process Product Support Manager at Currys. “Store managers were spending excessive time manually adjusting staff schedules, leading to inefficiencies and inconsistent staff availability.”
Additionally, many branches lacked real-time visibility and communication. “We needed a centralised communication platform to ensure timely execution of tasks and avoid inconsistencies across stores,” Porter continued.
The system ensures that tasks are completed on time, which improves compliance and operational consistency across all our stores.
The Solution
Zebra Workcloud Task Management, a powerful retail operations tool, was introduced to provide real-time, centralized visibility at all management levels. By seamlessly coordinating workflows, optimizing task distribution and dynamically responding to store conditions, Workcloud Task Management ensures Currys teams can communicate and operate at peak efficiency, delivering exceptional customer experiences consistently.
Currys expanded Workcloud Task Management to coordinate various operational and promotional activities beyond compliance tasks, ensuring clear prioritization and execution tracking. “Previously, Task Management was only used for a select few compliance tasks like health and safety checks,” explained Porter. “Now, we have expanded it to include 25-30 weekly or monthly tasks, giving us greater control and efficiency.” The expanded use of Workcloud Task Management resulted in streamlined task execution across 296 stores, eliminating inefficiencies caused by scattered communication channels.
With the successful expansion of Workcloud Task Management, Currys next utilized Workcloud Scheduling to implement fixed shift scheduling, integrate skill certifications and optimize workload allocation based on store size and demand. “We’ve been working closely with Zebra to make more efficient use of schedules,” Nathan Holland, Currys’ WFM Systems Development and Insight Analyst said. “We set out with three main objectives – to introduce fixed shift scheduling, implement certifications for job roles and rework workload distribution.”
The Zebra Difference: Outcome and Benefits
The new combined workforce optimization approach aligns staffing to demand, facilitates targeted task distribution, reduces email clutter and ensures relevant information reaches the right employees at the right time. “Before Task Management, we relied on multiple channels like emails and internal portals, which led to inconsistent execution,” added Shane Baker, Senior Manager of Workforce Management at Currys. “With Task Management, we now ensure the right tasks go to the right people at the right time.”
Currys now benefits from the real-time visibility it previously lacked. With real-time updates and feedback loops, Currys has enhanced operational consistency and responsiveness to business needs. “Task Management gives us visibility across leadership levels, from store managers to corporate teams,” Baker explained. “This real-time feedback allows us to quickly identify and resolve execution issues.”
By implementing Workcloud Scheduling during peak trading periods, Currys was able to decrease store schedule adjustments by 8,000 per week, totalling approximately 90,000 for the entire period. This efficiency enabled the reallocation of time towards more customer-facing activities.
Currys has improved resource allocation by mapping out annual operational plans and aligning staff resources with business objectives and compliance requirements. “With the Activity Planning functionality, we can schedule tasks efficiently across the entire year, ensuring we execute at the right time without overwhelming store staff,” Baker added. “It’s a game-changer.”
The collaboration with Zebra is far from over. Currys will continue working with Zebra to refine the use of the software and technology. Key future initiatives include further optimizing skill-based scheduling, broadening fixed shift applications and enhancing real-time decisionmaking processes. “We’re always working with Zebra to improve our scheduling and workforce management,” said Holland. “We have an 18-month roadmap in place with planned enhancements, including expanding skill-based scheduling and refining workload distribution.”
Currys integrates Zebra solutions within their retail stores and utilises Zebra mobile devices in its distribution centres to facilitate voice picking and home fulfilment operations. By leveraging Zebra’s expertise and evolving capabilities, Currys aims to continue its operational excellence and deliver superior customer experiences in the years to come.
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