Tackling The Store Operations Challenge

Jonathan Rende, SVP & GM Product at PagerDuty, overseeing a significant platform expansion and launch of new products and integrations.

Organizations in the digital age can no longer afford downtime or problems. Whether it’s retailers’ loyalty programs not collecting points or shipping companies suffering from logistics software outages, downtime is money.

For many organizations, their shops or locations may not have dedicated IT teams on site to help troubleshoot and fix problems. This means on-site employees are forced to submit tickets to central IT, who then try to fix problems with the help of the individual shop manager or barista. This is a hugely disruptive and costly process that angers customers and bogs down non-experts in IT remediation.

Many retailers and organizations face the prospect of relying on central IT, but there is another way. Automation solutions that support workflow, runbook and infrastructure can play a huge role in resolving store issues in machine time, freeing on-site staff from the burden of remediation and allowing them to focus on creating the perfect in-store experience for customers.

How Is The In-Store Experience Changing?

Retailers today are embracing various types of technologies to enhance the in-store experience. They are increasingly integrating online platforms with physical stores to create a seamless, omnichannel shopping experience for customers. This integration will provide customers, regardless of channel, with consistent product information, pricing and promotions, enabling customers to shop using their preferred methods.

But adoption of these new technologies sometimes comes at a cost. Managing all these new technologies is an enormous operational challenge, and central IT teams will be under pressure to troubleshoot problems remotely. Organizations won’t be able to reap the benefits of these technologies until they can properly manage the in-store experience. In-store service failures can mount up to millions of dollars in losses, so IT must find a way to improve the reliability of services offered in the store.

Enter store/office operations—the adoption of real-time operations that optimize omnichannel experiences. With store/office operations, friction both in-store and on digital platforms is reduced by automatically detecting and taking real-time action on failures across point-of-sale (POS) systems, endpoints, IT systems, and more. From here, automated processes and runbooks can trigger diagnosis, remediation and maintenance of affected systems and services. With real-time operations, teams can bridge central and distributed teams and workflows to rapidly mobilize and reduce risk.

Here are four examples where store/office operations can address on-site issues:

Loyalty Program Failures

Loyalty programs are vital for customer retention, offering discounts and incentives that encourage repeat business. These loyalty programs are often closely integrated with POS and other retail systems, meaning failures can be highly disruptive for in-store staff and customers. If there is any issue with a loyalty program, then usually a store manager will need to file a ticket and then work with IT on lengthy troubleshooting that could take days to complete and run up costs for the business.

Real-time operations can drastically reduce this downtime by implementing automated runbooks for each store where, with the push of a button, central IT can reset loyalty systems as soon as possible. This helps to minimize disruption and ensure a seamless customer experience.

POS Failures

POS systems are crucial for integrating mobile orders with in-store pickups, driving substantial revenue. When issues arise, central IT must troubleshoot remotely, often communicating with non-technical staff like baristas. This process is inefficient and interrupts daily operations.

Automating the resolution of common POS issues can eliminate the need for constant central IT involvement. Automated diagnostics and repairs can be executed swiftly, reducing the need for ticket submissions and minimizing operational interruptions. This approach enhances both the employee and customer experiences, ensuring that stores can maintain smooth operations and optimal customer satisfaction without relying heavily on remote troubleshooting.

Digital Experience Failures

Big box stores are increasingly focusing on personalized and immersive in-store experiences with smaller footprints and interactive displays that complement online offerings. However, technical failures in these digital systems can significantly diminish customer satisfaction and sales effectiveness. Automation can ensure continuous monitoring and immediate resolution of issues, maintaining the functionality of interactive displays and personalized setups. Automated alerts and self-healing processes can be implemented to swiftly address outages, ensuring customers have a seamless and engaging shopping experience. This proactive approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also optimizes the efficiency of in-store digital systems where there are no technical personnel locally available to fix issues when they happen.

Equipment Failures

Many retailers are experimenting with the concept of checkoutless payments, whereby the store tracks what you pick up and you are billed automatically. All in-store sensors tracking this need to be managed, updated and made resilient through automation to stay ahead of issues but also quickly rectify them remotely. Automated systems can detect problems and initiate repairs without human intervention, ensuring smooth logistics operations and the prevention of costly delays.

Conclusion

In an era where seamless customer experiences are paramount, technical failures in physical locations such as shops and offices can be devastating. And when you remember that online sales only account for a fraction of all global retail sales, more effective in-store support is required to safeguard the digital experience in-store. Process automation can revolutionize how on-site technical issues are resolved, freeing staff to focus on delivering the perfect in-store experience.

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