M-Preis standardised the communication between its employees in the stores and the headquarters on a single platform last year. Christoph Enzinger, project manager at the Austrian grocery retailer, explains the results achieved so far at this year’s EHI Technology Days in Bonn last week. M-Preis has been able to reduce the number of tasks by over 60 per cent compared to previous processes since the Zebra Workcloud was implemented in over 450 stores. The retail company’s store employees also complete nine out of ten tasks on time, which significantly increases the efficiency and quality of processes in all of M-Preis’ Austrian sales areas.
M-Preis now bundles all requirements for the stores on one platform with the introduction of Zebra’s Workcloud, instead of communicating via various channels such as email, phone calls or Sharepoint. This ensures clarity and transparency in the retail organisation. M-Preis was able to significantly reduce its software zoo of dozens of different systems that the retail company had previously been using.
The Austrian retailer uses the so-called gatekeeper process to ensure that each task is thoroughly checked by one or more people before being sent to the stores. Gatekeepers first check each task for relevance, clarity and priority. Only clearly defined tasks with all the necessary information for the operational process are finally sent to the stores via Zebra’s Workcloud. Christoph Enzinger explains that this structured check has significantly improved the quality of tasks and reduced redundant and unclear instructions.
New communication times ensure greater efficiency
Since Zebra’s Workcloud was rolled out at M-Preis in October 2023 (The Retail Optimiser reported), the number of tasks has been reduced by over 60 per cent compared to the previous practice. M-Preis store employees complete nine out of ten tasks on time in all Austrian sales areas, as the reporting on the quality and quantity of task processing shows. However, Zebra’s Workcloud analysis also showed M-Preis management that stores with high workloads or staff shortages occasionally incorrectly marked tasks as completed. In these cases, M-Preis management can take targeted countermeasures by assigning tasks to stores that are understaffed or have a high workload.
M-Preis has also restructured the time at which tasks are sent to the stores. The employees at the headquarters now mainly send tasks to the stores from Monday to Thursday to minimise the burden of external tasks on busy weekends. “Working with the Zebra Workcloud has enabled us to ensure that only the really important tasks reach our stores,” explains Christoph Enzinger, Head of Sales Development & Support at M-Preis. “This allows us to significantly reduce the workload of the store teams without compromising operational quality.”
Planning and control of promotion displays
M-Preis can implement and control promotions more easily with Zebra Workcloud’s visual presentation, merchandising and marketing module. Stores not only plan promotions efficiently using Zebra’s solution, but can also have them tested and evaluated directly. Each store documents its placements with photos to prove to headquarters whether the desired set-up and quality standards have been implemented.
M-Preis employees exchange feedback and media – from photos to documents – easily via the Workcloud. Christoph Enzinger emphasises that Zebra’s platform also facilitates transparency in task management. M-Preis employees can track the status of each task and prioritise them. Everyone involved can also see whether tasks have been completed at a central location. M-Preis management receives detailed analyses of task processing and can fine-tune their work based on data.
M-Preis takes Workcloud to Italy
M-Preis will soon be rolling out the Zebra Workcloud in its South Tyrolean stores. The retail company is also planning to increase the use of Zebra’s platform in the Austrian market to further streamline processes and simplify internal communication.
