Facility Management in Retail Industries

The retail industry is evolving rapidly, and it is important retail facility executives understand the trends driving this evolution. Retail is one of the most rapidly evolving sectors and is also at the forefront of technological advancement and digital change. The retail transformation agenda is motivated by rising productivity challenges, low margins and the need to satisfy the changing cross-channel and convenience needs of a 24/7 consumer base. The physical store remains vital to retail, but its function is changing, owing mainly to the internet and Gen X and Millennial generations preferences. The goal is to develop, transform and future-proof the market for owners, managers and franchisees of supermarket chains, grocery stores and other shopping centres and retail establishments.

Why Facilities Management Is Key to Optimizing Retail Stores

There is no denying that the retail sector is in a state of transformation, evolving in unprecedented fashion and adding the need for a shift in both basic and complex business practices to stay competitive. The lift is not light but there are crippling dangers associated with sticking to the status quo. If the primary trigger is e-commerce, evolving marketing tactics, or shifting market patterns, one aspect is definite: customer demand just becomes more urgent and unique, making the already challenging world more complicated. Customer experience as the baseline differentiator between success and failure has replaced price. The goal is to obtain an outstanding experience, every time a criterion for truth and achievement that many still consider elusive.

The streamlining of processes that contribute to a smooth facility program can better ensure the uptime of your brand. Delivering a consistent in-store and omni-channel experience for your consumers will undoubtedly prove to be a compelling critical advantage that continues long after the door closes quietly behind them, before they open your app or website and continue to capitalize on your organization's fun, interactive retail experience.

Trends in Retail Facilities Management

Consumers Will Return to Brick-and-Mortar Stores for Product Exposure

Trends in Retail Facilities Management Enable BOPIS

Retailers Will Continue to Merge with Non-Retail Services

Retailers Will Look for New Ways to Save Energy, Read Money.

Blockchain Will Mature & Include Coupons, Loyalty Programs and More

The top issues facing facilities management in retail

1. A Growing List of Responsibilities: A key issue affecting Facilities Managers and retail goes back to a growing list of responsibilities. Todays Facilities Managers are simply wearing too many hats to be truly effective at overseeing all aspects of operations in person and through manual processes. Therefore, more organizations are turning to automated, analytics-driven facility management systems and processes to simplify overall facilities management activities. This gives Facilities Managers access to information they may need to make informed decisions, but it reduces the confusion resulting from being imparted by too much information.
2. Complex Vendor Relationships: Even facilities administrators have to deal with increasingly complicated vendor relationships. How should suppliers be compensated, how many contractors were on site, how long were contractors on site, when they were compensated, are they going to be paid, have the work surpassed or satisfied requirements, and what other conditions have to be met under the service level agreement? Such concerns illustrate the increasing complexity of vendor-company relationships, but consider how this scenario will grow for a company with 20 locations, not to mention businesses with hundreds of locations. The sheer volume of managing these many relationships will result in reporting inaccuracies, payment delays and facilities spending unaccounted for. Nevertheless, modern technology can streamline the vendor-business process, and outsourcing the entire process to a third party puts in the hands of industry experts the trials and tribulations of managing those complex relations.
3. Aging infrastructure: Another final problem affecting retail facilities management remains the aging infrastructure. At an exponential pace, the roads, power grids, plumbing, wastewater treatment systems and buildings of today are deteriorating. Facilities Administrators can keep up with the infrastructure needs of a single facility, but proactively maintaining a facility is almost impossible if the costs associated with procurement of equipment or parts required for the repair and maintenance of facilities take longer than anticipated and come at an extremely high cost.

The top Retail Facility Management Challenges that DOMITOS can overcome

1. Fundamental Responsibilities: - These are the more intangible daily items that need to be done regardless of other "priorities". This includes such things as: - Operating in an ethical, moral and legal manner. - Awareness and adherence to building codes. - Dispatching calls and vetting vendors. - Quality control. - Keeping your stores clean and functional. There are so many items that fall into this bucket that put an immediate strain on available hours to work on other items.
2. Environmental stewardship: More and more buildings are now required to be more environmentally sustainable (acting in a way that doesn't jeopardize the environment for future generations). Programs such as LEED push companies to design their buildings with local and global ecosystems in mind. This is an area that is constantly changing, and keeping up with requirements is a job in itself.
3. Aging structures/ systems: Cost again comes into play here. Is the store in question financially viable or should it be closed? When is the lease up, and would it be better to move to another location that experiences higher traffic patterns? All of these questions will be asked before the commitment to working on an existing property is made. If the HVAC system is on its last legs, and the lease is up in 6 months, can you take the gamble and make it through with temporary repairs? What impact will this have on the store manager, associates, and customers?
4. Disruption of personal time: If you are the lone person responsible for evening and weekend calls, do not expect to have an enjoyable social life. In fact, just don't expect to have a life... Picture this: You are at your niece's wedding and your phone goes. Unfortunately, the flooded store in Tampa Bay, FL, takes priority over this once in a lifetime moment with your family and loved ones. You have to leave and miss the ceremony and family celebrations.
5. Managing vendors: These are the people who are essentially going to determine whether or not you are successful. They are in the front line and will be the people that are interacting with the store managers and associates in person. This can be a job in itself due to all of the required paperwork, insurance, tax forms, background checks, etc. You work so hard to get these guys on board, and then one of them fails to show, or doesn't perform. You are now on the hook and have to take care of the situation, will probably have extra expenses, disgruntled employees, lost revenue and yet again, even more work on your plate.