Southern German denim specialist Yeans Halle is pushing ahead with its digital strategy and replacing its previous, highly manual staff deployment planning with the workforce management platform from Swedish technology provider Quinyx. The solution has been rolled out in all 14 stores and is intended to standardise processes and significantly simplify the daily work of around 250 employees.
Until now, Yeans Halle used a combination of Excel spreadsheets, outdated software and supplementary paper lists for workforce planning – a solution that was neither intuitive nor suitable for the complex processes involved in the fashion retail industry. This meant considerable additional work for the stores, as key planning steps still had to be carried out manually.
With the introduction of Quinyx, the fashion company is now creating a uniform basis for personnel planning, communication and task management and is using AI-supported functions to control personnel deployment much more precisely. “We chose Quinyx because it gives our employees the opportunity to interact with each other in a smart and mobile way and to use fast, direct channels of communication,” explains Thomas Klein, Managing Director of Yeans Halle.
Flexible resource planning via app
A core element of the project is the technology provider’s workforce management app, which allows employees to access digital duty rosters directly on their smartphones or tablets. They can also enter their availability, swap shifts or request time off. Clock-in and clock-out has also been digitised. The recorded times are automatically transferred to the payroll accounting system via Datev.
For store managers, this means less administration and a noticeable reduction in their daily workload. Duty rosters can be created, adjusted and published entirely online. “With the workforce management solution, we are not only relying on modern technology that is suitable for retail, but we also see our branches being supported in their daily operations thanks to the reduced administrative effort and time savings,” says Thomas Klein.
AI forecasts, integrated communication and task management
Quinyx uses artificial intelligence in the background, which utilises historical sales and customer frequency data from the previous year to predict staffing requirements more accurately. Automated shift allocation speeds up schedule creation and ensures more efficient staffing throughout the day.
In addition to planning and time tracking, Yeans Halle also uses Quinyx Messanger, which bundles all work-related chats and thus standardises communication between teams and managers. The integrated employee hub improves task management: store teams receive tasks, documents and microlearning videos for training there.
Strong market position through acquisition of Concrete
Quinyx’s retail customers include Swarovski, Gant, Rituals Cosmetics and CBR Fashion. With the acquisition of Concrete, a British company also specialising in workforce management for the retail sector, in April 2022, numerous other retail companies such as Calvin Klein, The North Face, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria’s Secret, Tory Burch and Superdry were added to the portfolio.
