Challenges Faced by Garden Retailer

For the French retailer, the task of collecting sales records and calculating supplier discounts was tedious. Stores ordered directly from suppliers, and if volumes were large enough, the retailer was eligible for discounts. However, the only way to track sales was to have suppliers report their sales per store. This process was done by emailing an Excel file back and forth, and manually compiling the results, which resulted in an error-prone process and delays, as well as being irritating for suppliers.

An additional challenge the retailer faced was managing HR in its numerous branches – mainly when recruiting a large number of seasonal short-term staff in the spring. Many different departments were involved in approving a new employee, and it took a considerable amount of time before the new employee could finally sign the employment contract. Furthermore, French law stipulates that if short-term employees don’t receive and sign their contract within 48 hours of starting their new positions, the contract automatically converts into a permanent contract. Consequently, the retailer’s inefficient and time-consuming hiring process led to an increase in legal and financial risks.

Garden Retailer Solutions from RunMyProcess

The retailer decided to create an entire online workflow for its sales data collection process using G Suite and Google Docs with help from RunMyProcess. An automated workflow was built using the cloud-native platform RunMyProcess DigitalSuite. Each month, the stores receive an email with a link to a Google Docs spreadsheet, which is downloaded as an Excel file, filled out, and uploaded again via Google Docs. It is then checked and automatically compiled with the figures from the other store. By reducing the data processing and error handling time by half, the new workflow alleviated the time equivalent of one full-time employee and virtually eliminated data entry errors.

To manage its recruitment process, the garden retailer partnered with the RunMyProcess team to create an automated workflow application. Once a store manager has offered a job to a candidate, the manager fills out an online form starting the approval process. The online form contains all information needed to create the employment contract, and is then automatically forwarded to the relevant departments for approval. All participants are notified via an alarm to ensure the validation of the form in the allotted time. The improved workflow reduced the number of errors significantly and generated considerable cost savings due to lower legal risk.

Garden Retailer Results

- New workflows provide complete process visibility

- Data processing and error handling time is reduced by half

- Lower legal risk minimizes costs drastically

- Automatically triggered reminders guarantee timely task fulfillment