Recommendations

 

Recommendations

Improvements in the Structured Process (Segun)

As Shoprite continues to grow it should focus on increasing its security and strengthening its automation. The cameras above the ShopRite self-checkout POS machines are fine but could have some improvements. Currently, while customers scan items, the camera makes sure that the items are scanned properly. Additionally, when it comes to items under the cart, the machine is not able to tell if those are scanned. This means that workers are still needed in the self-checkout lane in order to make sure that cheaper items are not being scanned in place for more expensive items and that items aren't being stolen. 

Adding a better AI system to the ShopRite self-checkout camera would be beneficial for aiding in the security of the structured process. The best approach is that the AI camera could take a look at everything in the customer’s cart and automatically add it to the payment system. At the moment the most the AI system can do is to make sure that the customers are properly scanning items left to right on top of the scanners. Even then, the machine is still buggy and will mistake a proper scan for a bad scan making the employee need to come and assist the customer. The way self-checkout currently is frustrates both the customer and employees and accounts for a loss of money for the company.

            Automation throughout the supply chain of the company could improve. Inventory is checked once a month to make sure no items are over or understocked. The manager and the assistant manager walk around the store to make sure that the correct number of items are placed on the shelves for the product. Then the manager places the information into the POSDD system which communicates with the warehouse. If an item is damaged it gets thrown away into the trash. If an item is overstocked then it gets placed into the storage room in the back of the store. If there were more improvements in the communication from the warehouse, to the vendors and the stores it would decrease the amount of supplies that have to be trashed. If the register was able to communicate with inventory and inventory was able to communicate with the warehouse, this would make the supply chain more consistent and take away human error. The company could do this by updating their inventory system from an enterprise system into an inter-enterprise system. This would increase the efficiency of the process, improve communication between the different departments, and minimize any confusions that may occur due to duplicated, or non-updated, data. 

The other issue mentioned several times earlier was the fact that the ShopRite app holds some information silos when it comes to inventory management. The company should update their app and add an ERP management system that would take out the silos and keep the inventory shown on the app consistently updated. Cin 7, ShipBob, or a more advanced AI management system, called CB4, should be added to the app. To make it easier and more convenient for workers and customers. 

Improvements in the Dynamic Process (Mikayla)

Even though ShopRite has a massive following of 58.6 K on Instagram currently, they receive little to no engagement on each post. This isn't an uncommon occurrence as most companies struggle to get consistent engagement on any social media platform. On their most recent post (May 5th, 2023), they only received seventeen likes and no comments, meaning they have an engagement rate of 0.0002%. Which shows that they have a massive amount of room for improvement. The easiest alternative for ShopRite to take and try to fix this issue would be to listen to their engagement. What I mean by that is to see which of their posts has the most engagement, i.e. likes and comments, and post more of that type of content. They seem to get a solid amount of reactions from their followers when they post content about/with current employees. Whether that is an employee appreciation post or an employee-filmed cooking tutorial. So they should be pushing out more employee- oriented content. On top of listening to their engagement, they should be utilizing the databases available to them to help figure out when it would be most appropriate to post. The Instagram analytics feature tells you what day of the week, and even what time of day,  your followers are most active on the platform. And that information can be vital in telling you when the most amount of traffic would be brought to your profile if you listen to it.

A more drastic and time-consuming solution would be to start fresh on a new social media platform. TikTok could be a very influential and effective site for this. Although it is annoying to have to start from the beginning, starting a TikTok profile could increase ShopRite’s brand awareness and bring in new customers. Part of TikTok’s main audience is college-age individuals, who are just starting to cook for themselves and are always looking to save money. This would be a great demographic for ShopRite to try and reach because college students would gravitate towards ShopRites low pricing. On this platform, ShopRite could post quick commercials talking about upcoming sales, and even some fun cooking tutorials using Bowl and Basket products. TikTok would also be a great site to try and start a profile on because it is very easy to go viral and gain thousands of followers in a single day. Which would be great for ShopRite. Even though this alternative would take longer and need more manpower, this would be the more effective solution.