Managing a team of employees requires a well-thought-out plan of action, such as creating hourly schedules in such a way that the number of service is always appropriate. The number should be selected according to the amount of traffic on a given day. Work organization also includes optimization measures that should translate into financial benefits. Read how shopping carts can help generate savings in your store.
Shopping carts – do they affect working hours?
One of the activities performed by a store employee that requires a lot of time is stocking the store or adding individual products to the shelves on a regular basis. This is a very important issue, especially for large stores (with a lot of traffic), where it often happens that the goods on the shelves run out quickly. As you know, full shelves not only affect the aesthetics and customer perception of the store.
Properly arranged merchandise (so that the shelves look full) lets the customer know that the store is well-equipped, and therefore that he can find everything he is looking for there. That’s why it makes sense to manage the store in such a way that the shelves are always full. It also has an impact on sales results – if something is missing, the customer will go to buy it in another store and perhaps not come back to yours.
So, how do you get your employees to add goods efficiently and on time? This is where freight carts come to the rescue. They give you the ability to carry a large amount of goods at once, in a short period of time, as well as move smoothly around the premises. All this reduces the time needed to stock the store.
Shopping carts – what parameters must they have?
The basic parameters to pay attention to when matching a freight cart to a store are:
- lifting capacity – must be matched to the type of goods sold. If you have a convenience store, you can afford to buy a cart with a smaller capacity. On the other hand, if you run a building supply store, you need to buy a shopping cart suitable for carrying heavy goods;
- dimensions – shopping carts must be of such size that they can be maneuvered between racks;
- shape – the freight cart must not be too long, as this makes it difficult to turn. It should also not be too wide to pass freely to customers or another employee carrying goods. When choosing the width of the cart, it should be matched to the width of the aisles between shelves and the dimensions of the store’s aisles. What’s more, the cart must be wide and long enough to comfortably accommodate the goods sold in the store;
- type of wheels – if there are thresholds and other irregularities in the store or warehouse, choose a cart equipped with larger wheels. If the floor in your store is a smooth surface, you can buy a shopping cart with small wheels. Remember that the size of the wheels also affects the convenience of use, for example, a cart with large wheels will be more comfortable when carrying heavy goods;
- brakes – if the store has sloping sections of the floor, the cart will not do without brakes. This has implications for the safety of employees and customers, who will not be surprised by a spontaneously moving vehicle;
- type of guidance – this parameter should be selected according to the weight of the goods. Heavy things are more comfortable to pull, and lighter things are easier to push. You should also pay attention to the height of the guide handle. Too high or low is uncomfortable. That’s why it’s a good idea to make such freight carts to order.
Shopping carts – ready-made or custom-made?
Ready-made products, while often cheaper, are not always a better option. Custom-made shopping carts are tailored to the needs of a particular company. What’s more, they make it convenient for an employee to move around the store with them, thus not wasting time, for example, trying to drive an overly wide cart into a narrow store aisle. It follows that it is more cost-effective to invest in a more expensive solution, i.e. a customized freight cart. Such an adjustment optimizes the working time of the store’s staff, and thus also saves money – employees do not have to stay in the store to stock the store’s shelves under paid overtime.