January 2021 - HMY

Month: January 2021

Why are Project Managers a key part of shopfitting projects?

Posted on by Maria
  • Project Managers play an essential role in ensuring the smooth development of retail projects. They anticipate problems and coordinate the different stages of the project.
  • The greater the complexity of the retail project, the greater the need for a role that defines and supervises the best work methodology.

 

What are Project Managers?

Project Managers are a key figure in shopfitting and retail expansion projects. They are responsible for controlling the information and making sure the project is carried out as efficiently as possible. 

Their tasks include:

  • Analysing and defining the costs of the whole project.
  • Anticipating and minimising setbacks.
  • Coordinating all the stages of the project.

Project Managers are so important in all sectors that one of the most renowned certifications in the business world is the PMP (Project Management Professional) awarded by the Project Management Institute. The extremely high quality standards of this international institution are practically considered as an MBA for those who receive this certification.

 Almost all sectors entrust Project Managers with their projects, from IT companies to public bodies. Of course, this process includes the subject we are dealing with: shopfitting projects. 

At HMY, we consider this certification as an industry standard. This is why our Project Managers hold this certification, or work according to the methodology of the Project Management Institute.

 

“In many cases, Project Managers become the Brand Custodians, the reference to the brand within the organisation and the ones in charge of guaranteeing the service and quality level of the deployment processes in each country.

In international roll-outs, the figure of the Global Project Manager is essential when building the local teams that can give support in each country to the Branch Offices of the brands in the local language, thus increasing the success rate”.

David Proietti, Global Project Manager at HMY

Do you know all the stages and disciplines involved in a comprehensive shopfitting project? At HMY, we have prepared the 1st 360º Shopfitting Guide for you.


Download it!

 

Which role do Project Managers play in shopfitting projects?

The work methodology of retail projects, where the number of stages, disciplines and interlocutors can be decisive, has been developed around the figure of Project Managers. 

If Project Managers did not assume the coordination and control of projects, those responsible for each stage and trade would need to manage coordination tasks that would take them away from their main work and, therefore, affecting productivity. 

This would cause an increase in errors and delays that give rise to unaffordable costs in each project, also bearing in mind that the more complex the project is, the greater the probability of making these mistakes.

 Some clients or suppliers may have developed shopfitting projects (or even still do so) without including the role of Project Managers, as they may consider it is not that important. Nevertheless, in most of these cases this will be because they have probably worked with a similar figure: Quantity Surveyors This role is focused on technical knowledge. Over time, Quantity Surveyors mastered the methodologies of project management, thus turning into Project Managers.

To sum up, these are the tasks corresponding to Project Managers, and the stages where they take part in retail projects:

  1. Analysing the tender from the brand or retailer [LINK a infografía de Factores para la elección de un proveedor de Shopfitting], and helping the commercial team gather the necessary information to be awarded the project.
  2. Being familiar with the company and its network of partners and suppliers. 
  3. Being experts in the sector they work in, knowing what the competition does and how they carry out their shopfitting projects to learn and improve.
  4. Preparing a time and cost planning. This planning is included in the tender. 
  5. Creating the necessary communication structure for the project information to correctly reach the departments involved on time.
  6. Selecting and monitoring external collaborators or developers if the project requires.
  7. Making sure all departments comply with the planning and helping solve issues that may arise during the project.
  8. Anticipating the logistical and assembly deployment, ensuring all those involved in the process hold the required work, transportation and installation permits.
  9. Controlling live performance.
  10. Preparing a final report on the project and the following stages.

“In an international deployment such as Yamaha’s, the figure of Project Managers is key to ensure the project completed on time, with quality, and on budget. Furthermore, Project Managers are in charge of planning with the team and centralising with the brand the monthly evolution of the roll-out, optimising production to reduce stock and logistics costs”. 

 David Proietti, Yamaha Project Manager at HMY

 

Establishing a work methodology in retail projects

As explained, the main responsibility of Project Managers in the retail sector is to establish the most appropriate work methodology to develop the shopfitting project and act as a coordinator and controller.

This expertise is made up of two key aspects:

  • Being a great project management professional.
  • Having a thorough understanding of the retail sector, the stages that make up expansion projects and the trades involved in the process.

In order to help readers in this regard, at least with the second aspect, we have prepared this first 360º Shopfitting Guide, which you can download here for free.

Key factors to choose a shopfitting supplier

Posted on by Maria
  • How to choose the best shopfitting supplier for your project?
  • We analyse the areas and factors on which major brands, multinational brands and retailers base their decisions to choose a shopfitting supplier.

All projects begin with a brief defining the objectives of the project, the audience or buyer whom the project is addressed to, the strategy, etc.

The great challenge of the brief is to generate a clear explanation, ensuring that shopfitting suppliers understand the project and to provide them with enough information to meet the level of service and quality that is sought.

In other words, when we go from the brief to the tender of the shopfitting project.

 

How are tenders usually organised?

The most common structure of retail project tenders is as follows:

  1. Presentation of the company, the brand, its objectives and its consumers.
  2. Breakdown of tender or objectives.
  3. Key factors shopfitting suppliers must deal with.
  4. Planning and deployment proposal.
  5. Other requirements to be met by the chosen shopfitting supplier.
  6. Pricelist.

The presentation of the company and the breakdown of objectives are defined by the client, while the planning and deployment proposal is essential for each project, and varies from one supplier to another. There is no one correct way to organise a deployment. Moreover, different options can be found to meet the objectives.

It is from the third point onwards where suppliers must show their full potential in a tender, as explained below in detail:








 

Key factors to choose retail suppliers

Most commercial equipment manufacturing companies can prepare a plan or present a price proposal, but not all of them can respond to the factors that determine whether a supplier is in line with the approach of the brand or retailer and if their services can cover all needs.

Key factors to be considered when choosing a retail supplier

  • Industry expertise

How is the bidder organised technically and geographically? What project management methodology do they follow? Can their Project Managers coordinate international expansion projects and control the entire project, or do they have limitations? What management successes and certifications have they achieved?

  • Industrial capacity

What disciplines and materials does the supplier master? What is their capacity to scale up production? Multi-material capacities and average production time play a significant role in this regard. As we do at HMY, suppliers should offer clients a single point of contact, regardless of whether the commercial equipment includes different materials and electrifications. Furthermore, being able to swiftly scale the manufacturing process of these elements is a great added value in expansion projects.

  • Quality: Methodology and Certifications

Brands and retailers should establish guidelines for minimum criteria for the finalist suppliers. However, suppliers should be able to guarantee their quality levels live up to expectations. At this point, brands and retailers usually set criteria such as maximum tolerances in the gaps between parts of the same element, and require certain tests to be carried out to check whether materials are resistant to corrosion and discolouration over time and to contact with objects and chemicals.

  • Project and Supplier Sustainability

Today, sustainability is essential in almost all tenders. In this regard, shopfitting suppliers must offer guarantees that the project will meet the requirements of current consumers. What is the origin of the materials? Are the designs and engineering processes eco-friendly? What is the impact of logistics on the project as a whole? Are the inks and paints used by the supplier eco-friendly? In line with our SmartEco project and the principles of eco-friendly design, at HMY we use Fujifilm-certified eco-friendly inks and water-based paints, limiting VOCs such as ketones, benzenes or formaldehydes.

  • Value Engineering

One of the aspects brands and retailers value the most, and that most shows the expertise of the supplier, is knowing what improvements they can make to furniture designs and technology in terms of materials, production process, savings, packaging, etc. Brands are expected to provide the visual guide, and suppliers to provide the technical guide.

  • Scalability

How will suppliers organise their production and logistics for projects to grow in line with the needs of brands and retailers? Many tenders are pilot projects where clients assess the overall capability suppliers before entrusting them with the full deployment of the project.

  • Agility and Versatility of the Elements

The more comprehensive the client’s retail expansion strategy is, the more point of sale formats the tender includes. From flagships to shop-in-shops, through pop-up stores. Suppliers must prove they can act with as much autonomy as possible when adapting clients’ designs to these formats while sticking to the essence of the brand and adapting the budget to the said formats.

  • Logistics and International Installation Capacity

Suppliers must prove their management strategy centralises resources and establishes action will be carried out with a deep local knowledge of each area where the brand will operate. Glocality is the key concept big brands are looking for. A good installation is key for success in the last mile.  Installers should have received previous training regarding the client’s concept.

As explained, many factors must be taken into account when choosing a shopfitting supplier to make sure your retail business meets the objectives set efficiently and sustainably.

 

Solutions for omnichannel in retail: 7 sins and 10 commandments

Posted on by Maria
  • All Retail digitisation strategies commit at least one or two sins. We present the 7 deadly sins that can condemn an omnichannel project.
  • Download our guide and learn, not only the sins, but also the 10 commandments of a successful digitisation strategy.
  •  

Omnichannel and the digital transformation have been the subject of debate in retail for years. 

After the first stage of development and technical tests, retail is now in a second stage, in which the digitisation of stores is a lever to achieve business objectives, beyond surprising the customer with audio-visual content.

What has it taken to get here? 

Basically 2 factors:

  1. An evident technical improvement.

Polishing the developments and finding, or building, standards that allow sufficient scalability so that the costs are viable, and we can talk about ROI of technology at the point of sale.

2. Assimilation capacity and understanding of the potential business.

Brands and retailers understanding the possibilities of technology and, suppliers, understanding the retail sector. Moreover, together organising a digitisation strategy for their points of sale–which we give you the answers for in this article.

 Having laid the foundation for your own digital transformation, this article and our downloadable guide present the 7 sins and 10 key commandments for successful point-of-sale transformation:

1st SIN: not measuring the ROI of technology due to laziness

2nd SIN: focusing on quantity instead of quality due to gluttony

3rd SIN: having multiple suppliers due to lust

4th SIN: making consumers angry with frustrating implementations

5th SIN: doing what the competition does out of jealousy

6th SIN: being too proud to collaborate

7th SIN: being too proud and thinking ‘I don’t need that’






Common mistakes? It may be, but just as not all business decisions are made based on ‘the rule book’, it is not uncommon to find that aspects left to chance or undefined at the start of a retail digitisation project result in discontinued technologies that are not profitable.

One of the obvious consequences of digitisation is that fewer brands and retailers commit these sins every day. Which is why it was necessary to internalise the 10 commandments that should serve as a guide: 

1: Thou shall put the consumer first when making decisions.

2: Thou shall not take the word omnichannel in vain.

3: Thou shall honour integration.

4: Thou shall honour data.

5: Thou shall not kill the project before it has begun.

6: Thou shall not use impure technologies. Always bet on quality.

7: Thou shall not steal ideas. You shall be original.

8: Thou shall not create false expectations for the consumer.

9: Thou shall not allow bad quality content.

10: Thou shall not covet easy developments over necessary ones.

If you would like to know more about the sins and commandments of omnichannel in retail, download the Guide Keys to Omnichannel in Retail: 7 Sins and 10 Commandments, which explains what you have just read in more detail.


Download it for free!