Streamlining New Store Openings: Secrets from the Pros
Strategies to ensure a smoother and more productive launch for your fresh retail establishment:
It's an exhilarating phase when a brand expands, and opening new stores is a significant part of that growth. In the first half of 2023, U.S. retailers announced plans to open approximately 3,420 stores, as revealed by The Daily on Retail.
While new store openings are invigorating, they can also be a challenge for the planning and execution teams involved. This is due to the numerous details that need to be managed and the high-profile nature of these events, with both the brand's leadership and their customers paying close attention.
So, how can retailers ensure their new store openings are a success without adding unnecessary stress? Bunzl Retail Services, a company known for handling retail supplies, has stepped up to help manage the new store opening process, remodel projects, and store decommissioning for numerous retailers across the country. Bunzl's objective is to simplify the process and keep costs down, allowing retailers to focus on their primary goal: serving their customers.
To achieve this, retailers can take advantage of consolidating vendors, which can lead to cost savings of up to 20% on total project costs, as reported by the Aberdeen Group. Here are five tips provided by Bunzl's National Account Managers to ensure your next new store opening goes smoothly:
1. Regular Check-ins
Communication is crucial when it comes to new store openings. Schedule regular meetings to discuss the progress and plan ahead. By revieweding timelines and ensuring alignment on key milestones together with your retail operations partner, the entire team will stay informed and challenges can be addressed promptly.
By maintaining continuous communication throughout the new store opening process, you can eliminate the need for additional shipments, save on freight, and reduce waste.
2. Encouraging Open Collaboration
Share relevant information with all parties involved to ensure everyone is kept in the loop. This includes goals for delivery in-store dates, timelines, store addresses, and contact information. Ensuring that internal retail personnel are aware of shipment arrival dates and have personnel ready to handle items as they arrive will contribute to a smooth opening.
3. Striving for a Comprehensive Order
Working with a large cross-departmental team to develop a Bill of Materials for all items required to open the stores can help reduce adjustments and additions later in the process. Placing an accurate order early on will help ensure that your retail store hits its original opening date.
4. Standardizing Items
Creating a standardized assortment or template for stores will lead to a more accurate and reliable order, which can facilitate better forecasting, buying, and reduce waste.
A consistent order can also result in greater savings on the cost of goods. It is essential to work with the full team to get precise numbers and keep your retail partners updated on any changes.
5. Consolidating when possible
Working with fewer vendors and reducing the number of deliveries is always optimal. Streamlining these vendor relationships can simplify logistics and strengthen partnerships.
Consolidated orders can result in freight savings and support sustainability through fewer trips and less packaging. Consolidation will also improve operational efficiency and contribute to a more cost-effective retail strategy.
Achieve Cost Savings and Faster Openings
Collaborating with Bunzl Retail Services during a new store opening can lead to significant benefits: on average, the number of lost or damaged items is reduced by 10%, and new store teams open about 20% faster compared to previous projects.
Want to make your next new store opening a success? Reach out to us at [email protected].
Consolidating vendors and supplies during new store openings helps retailers achieve significant cost savings through logistics optimization, volume discounts, and operational simplification. Here's a brief overview of why these strategies work:
- Logistics Optimization: By consolidating shipments, fewer freight costs are incurred, primarily through lower LTL (less-than-truckload) shipments and lower per-pallet costs.
- Volume Discounts: Reducing the number of vendors allows retailers to negotiate better pricing due to improved negotiating leverage.
- Operational Simplification: Fewer suppliers simplify adherence to retailer-specific rules, reduce errors, and minimize the risk of supply chain disruptions.
By adopting these strategies, retailers can balance operational agility with financial discipline, especially in competitive markets.
- Retailers planning new store openings can adopt strategies to streamline the process for success, as demonstrated by Bunzl Retail Services who offer assistance with store openings, remodel projects, and decommissioning.
- Regular check-ins are crucial for new store openings, encouraging communication to discuss progress, plan ahead, and maintain alignment with retail operations partners.
- Open collaboration among all parties involved in a new store opening is essential for a smooth process, with the sharing of relevant information and timelines to keep everyone informed.
- A comprehensive order featuring all items required for store openings can reduce adjustments and additions later, contributing to a more accurate and reliable order.
- By standardizing items for stores, retailers can achieve greater savings on the cost of goods, improve forecasting, and reduce waste.
- Consolidating vendors and deliveries by working with fewer vendors can result in improved logistics, strengthened partnerships, freight savings, and support sustainability.
- Collaborating with Bunzl Retail Services during new store openings could lead to reduced losses or damage of items by 10%, and newly opened stores could be completed about 20% faster compared to previous projects.
