Store Management System, LLC is the owner-operator of five Econo Supermarkets, with stores in Humacao, Comerío, Naranjito, Barranquitas, and Naguabo. The company started operations with a supermarket in Caguas in 1987, and after three decades, has garnered around 730 employees.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. To integrate the human capital management system to other productivity measuring tools in the company.
  2. To offer visibility of payroll information, itineraries and benefits with flexible reports that allow projections and efficient management of resources.
  3. To increase the flexibility of managing data and changes in real-time.

 

Some of the features obtained through these solutions include a single point of data entry, a highly available repository of time punching data and transactions, access to a web portal for employees, and access through mobile devices or smartphones.

 

RESULTS:

  1. Reduction of 100% in the payroll processing time.
  2. Increased the level of trust by users whose functions depend on HR data, because they have the reports that they need when they need them.
  3. Maximum control of payroll, which has led managers to fulfill their objectives for the year.
  4. Increased productivity through added capacity and went from 48 cash registers to 53 registers per hour.
  5. Elimination of costs of transportation to distribute pay stubs to the stores.
  6. Employees understand the relation of their functions with performance metrics. Detailed data has allowed a correlation of their tasks with such parameters.
  7. Registered 20 employees who still received their paychecks by paper checks in direct deposit.
  8. Savings of 1.5 FTE in the payroll group.
  9. Availability of metrics associated with increased value, such as how fast and how the operation runs, as well as the fficiency per employee.

Now that he has a single entry system and the transparent integration that he was looking for, Agosto affirms that "through the measures of productivity and performance that we now possess, we can offer opportunities for development, evolution and growth to our employees within the company. Moreover, we designed the operation so that it would not interrupt with employees' studies due to work schedule."

 

Challenge

To belong to one of the leading supermarket chains in Puerto Rico with five stores is an excellent business accomplishment. Although it poses an immense challenge that founders Juan Agosto-Aponte and Efigenio Rivera never imagined when they acquired their first supermarket. Their Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Juan Carlos Agosto, is who has dealt with the challenges linked to the growth of the company since he undertook the position in 2011.

Establishing a more solid management structure and integrating all the stores' operations have been the projects that, until now, have required his full attention. Agosto summarizes the reasons to make integration one of his essential projects by declaring that "the impact of having a non-integrated system affects the measures of productivity and performance, causing a detrimental effect in our operation. I need to have all of the data and metrics integrated to measure efficiency and see it in my P&L."

Business Needs

When 50% of costs are related to personnel, one must rely on solutions that allow data access in an organized way, and whose integration with other business platforms is transparent.

In search of solutions, Store Management System tried various options and even developed its platform, but it operated for two years in a limited manner. One of its biggest challenges was the schedule change when an employee began working on the night shift and left in the morning. "This intersection of schedules ruined the productivity reports. We could not afford the luxury of having incoordination within the functions of human resources; we needed the information to enter through a single point and flow from employment to time and attendance, payroll, and all the other functions without duplications or incorrect calculations. We needed solutions and support staff with the flexibility of being able to understand the strategic needs of the business, not only its technology."

Process

After evaluating multinational and local options, Agosto decided to assess the RENOVA Solutions platform. "From the first meeting, they showed me that they knew the industry. They have a structured implementation process, and when they say three months, they mean threemonths. Their team of professionals has control and mastery of the process." Another advantage pointed out by Agosto in the implementation process is that by being a Puerto Rican company, the decision-making process is local and speedy.

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