Keep Your Store Up to Date

You can’t afford to have a store that is not a good representation of your brand. This is where your customers come to meet you and do business; it must be fully optimized and up to date. It can be disappointing to have a store where old and expired products are on the shelves – it doesn’t speak well of your image. You have to present a worthy image of your company to everyone that walks in. Many of the big stores run daily checks before opening to ensure that everything is in place.

Here are ways to keep your store up to date.

Get Backed Up

Do you have substitute for the machineries you use? You should have back up for everything you – even internet. Back up is what you can resort to when the main machinery fails. There is nothing bad in having more than one point of service. One is good; two is better. More, have plan B for everything, even to logistics. This will ensure that disappointments don’t negatively affect your business. Human beings are not immune from disappointing; so also are machines. This is a major reason you can rely solely on one piece of equipment.

Check Your Store Thoroughly

It should be a practice to check your store thoroughly for any problem. Many problems that occur are cumulative. Months of neglect would have led to the destruction of some things if not for last minute sightings during inspections. Check the air conditioning, check the server room, check the warehouse, see how optimized your computer systems are, check on the electricity and wiring, etc. make sure everything is working right. You may need to service some machinery or fix some things to have your store fully up to date.

Start by Mapping out Your Store

How your store is arranged should be a priority to you. Just like the architectural plan for a building, there must be a plan for a store. The plan here relates to the arrangement of shelves, POS, refrigerators, and other things needed in a store. Your store floor plan must be drawn in a way that will give you the best you can get from that space. More, you should consider complementary items and how close they should be to each other.

If you are not good in mapping out your store, get an experienced person in this line. It may cost you some money but it is a worthy investment.

Create a Contingency Plan

Do you have a plan for unforeseen circumstances? You should have a contingency plan to help you envisage situations that may arise. You shouldn’t be caught unawares. For instance, if your cashier falls sick, there should be a ready substitute. The store shouldn’t be left hanging due to someone’s absence. More, you should substitute for everything even to ventilation systems – you don’t want to make customers uncomfortable.

It can be endearing to seem perfect in the eyes of customers. As much as you may not be able to predict unexpected events, you should prepare for them and this will make you one step ahead of your competition.

Routinely Check and Update Equipment

Everyone, at least almost, wants to have shopping smooth and fast. No one wants to stay long on a queue for hours before being attended to. More, your store loses respect when you are apologizing for fallouts which could have been remedied beforetime. Routinely check and update the equipments you use. Check your cameras, check the point of service, check the refrigerators, and check everything. Be sure all the equipments are working. It is out of place if you conduct checks once in two days. Due to frequency of use, it is not impossible that a major malfunction is ensuing. Thus, you cannot just stay put in your office and hope everything is well.

Don’t try to manage equipment that is badly malfunctioning. It can be very disappointing if it stops working in the presence of customers.

Get Rid of Old Products and Broken Equipments

Why fill up space with old products and broken equipments when the space can be utilized for something else? Don’t keep them unless they are extremely useful. Always look for ways to get more free space as new products are coming in. How would you successfully maximize your floor if a large part is filled up with stuffs that you barely need? Be economical with your space; allow free space. Free space has been noted to add to the ergonomics of workplace.

Check your shelves for products which have stayed for too long. Some might have even expired; get them away and replace them with new products.

Stay On Top of Inventory Counts

Do you have an accurate data of what is in your store? You should be on top of inventory counts. You should know how things go in and out of your store. Customers would come to check for products and you should not have them disappointed. Don’t leave inventory in the charge of other people; deal with it personally. Check the goods you have on the shelves and that which you have in the store regularly.

Secure Your POS from Hackers and Fraudsters

You should be careful with your POS. The fact that fraudsters are everywhere cannot be ruled out. Ensure that your firewall is never down. Get protective software that can detect malware and spywares. Furthermore, get cameras to focus on your POS area; with this you can monitor how things move and detect any irregularity going on. Don’t fall victim by being careless. You can have regular bank reports delivered to you to ensure that payments are indeed made.

In conclusion, ensure that things are going well on the inside of your store. Be diligent. Pay attention to details. You can never be too sure; conduct checks and get inventory reports. Enhance your brand image by seeming perfect. You need to give a picture they can always remember and admire.

The Retail Pharmacy Association of America is here for all of your OTC retail pharmacy needs. Hopefully you have found value within this article on the Keep Your Store Up to Date.We are interested in what you would like to learn more about, please let us know in the comments below.