Convenience store chain Mapco optimized store management efficiency and the accuracy of end-cap displays through a mobile application, linking employees at all locations for easier communication and faster installations.

The Tennessee-based store was able to cut down a significant amount of lag time in staff discussions, man-hours and overall instillation time of in-store setups. For many Mapco locations, rearrangement and redesign timing was cut down from more than a month to about two to three weeks, increasing efficiency and maximizing profits.

“Among our retail, consumer packaged goods, restaurant and hospitality customers, we recognized mobile technology would be a boon to regional and district managers for tracking activity and execution in real time, rather than having to wait for the monthly sales report,” said Vladik Rikhter, CEO and co-founder of Zenput.

Employee productivity
The mobile work-task application, developed by Zenput, allows employees across all locations to communicate in a streamlined, accelerated and seamless manner. Staff members can simply glance at their phones for notifications and messages regarding work tasks.

Zenput’s app also allows Mapco workers to check off these assigned tasks, including time and location information to cut down confusion and increase efficient time usage. It uses geotagged submissions to track which employee is working on or completing a task, along with when and where.

Employees can also share images and video content to showcase where they are in the process, or to better display how-tos and what something should look like.

For example a staff member can send a task such as updating a window display to an employee through the app. The employee will receive a push-notification regarding the task.

Through the process the employee can update the supervisor or co-workers through photo sharing, messaging and time stamps. Once the assignment is completed that worker can mark that it has been finalized, and even share a photo to confirm.

Managers can send tasks to individual employees or numerous staff members throughout many store locations.

Using an app to handle employee practices such as this allows for Mapco to really maximize the most out of their business. Completing tasks in an efficient manner allows cutting back on working hours and ensuring that the business is running tighter.

Updating displays faster and better ensures the accuracy of reaching customers. This application gives the staff the tools to create the most effective displays to encourage spending and drive sales.

It also allows for its employees to focus on the customer experience rather than business tasks.

Behind-the-scenes applications
Similar to this, Los Angeles-based boutique chain M. Fredric introduced a new inventory management application, allowing the retailer to make more accurate inventory decisions while on the go (see more).

Also, Williams-Sonoma  tapped Deliv, a crowdsourcing delivery solution, to use its physical locations as distribution centers to fulfill online orders and enable omni-channel shopping experiences for consumers (see more).

“A large part of the battle in providing a better customer experiences is ensuring stores are consistent across locations,” Mr. Rikhter said. “MAPCO overcame these challenges with Zenput’s ability to track field employees’ progress from hundreds of locations, using photos as visual proof.”

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Commerce Daily