National Fixture Rollout

CASE STUDY

A retail chain was replacing display nesting tables in all of their 130 stores from wood to metal and glass. The stores did not have the storage space to house the new and existing fixtures at the same time.

Scope
The scope of work needed to execute this project included:

  1. Verify which stores were to get which quantity of tables, nesting 3 sizes of cube shaped tables.
  2. Arrange for trucking company to deliver in regional batches.
  3. Coordinate with the store to have merchandise removed and ready to merchandise new fixtures.
  4. Remove and dispose of old fixtures and packaging while freight company was delivering new fixtures..
  5. Ensure that trucks had lifts to lower fixtures from truck.

Challenges
Some of the constraints of this project included:

  1. Most stores lacked storage space to house the new fixtures.
  2. Some stores wanted to keep a few of the old fixtures, which would have caused a space issue in the stock room.
  3. Some malls loading zones were occupied by other delivery trucks.
  4. The delivery company truck drivers had been driving all night and were fatigued in the morning when the exchange was to take place.
  5. In a few instances, the mall security office did not communicate to the morning shift that this was to take place, delaying the process.

Solution
We understood that all parties involved needed to work together to keep the project going smoothly. Our solution included:

  1. Communicating with all involved parties, giving them contact info, procedures, etc. to ensure the project went smoothly.
  2. Working as a liaison with the mall, store managers and security to ensure they were flexible.
  3. Coordinating with store managers to ensure deliveries would be properly received.
  4. Coordinating with the freight company to provide in store delivery where necessary.
  5. Assessing responsibility for damage – all replacement costs of broken glass components were shared by the freight company and the fixture provider, since it was difficult to determine who was at fault.

Summary
Fixture replacement projects depend on great organization to run smoothly. By rolling out an organized, well communicated plan, we were able to achieve success. We also recognized that regardless of the amount of planning, each store delivery could be met with unique challenges, therefore we created a 24 hour hot line for the stores to call for guidance, helping keep the project on track.