No such thing as painless systems design

May 23, 2009 12:32 PM

What are the internal business processes I should concentrate on when evaluating a clothing retailer? What are some questions I can ask the owner to help me identify where the processes could use some improvement?

I want to ask the best questions in order to identify what processes could use some work/tweaking. And I want to do it in 1-2 emails max.

Any help coming up with good questions or ideas about what processes I should focus on to save us both time are more than welcome.

posted by ttyn to work & money (4 comments total)

What is the context? Is this a journalistic interview? A school project? A pitch for your consulting services? (if so, self-employed or big agency?)

Is the retailer just one store? A regional chain? A nationwide chain? Do you have any knowledge to start with about their systems and processes?
posted by winston at 12:57 PM on May 23

This is for a school publication.
I have no existing knowledge of their systems.
The retailer is just one store.
posted by ttyn at 1:17 PM on May 23

1)Average amount of inventory returned unsold to supplier (monthly for two years)--has this changed, compared to similar business are they carrying appropriate amount/appropriate product
2)Differences in sales between comparable sales persons ( same shift/day/merchandise): are sales persons being productive, evaluated and moved on/retained
3)Cost of financing inventory--analysis of cash flow and interest payments
4)Two year monthly average of collectibles (if appropriate )--speed up collections to reduce unnecessary borrowing
5)Changes in purchasing merchandise from suppliers based on analysis of sales
6)Objective analysis of sales by day/time and subsequent changes in scheduling/hours/staff/etc'
7)Analysis of differences between regular and one time buyers &/or thoughtful customer satisfaction survey

Just a few ideas.
posted by rmhsinc at 3:48 PM on May 23

rmhsinc, these are great!
posted by ttyn at 4:14 PM on May 23