TIP TOP CASE STUDY

Table des matières

Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2

Summary of the case: ........................................................................................................ 2

I. Present and interpret check sheet, pareto and run chart (step measures) .......... 3

Check sheet....................................................................................................................... 3

Pareto chart analysis ......................................................................................................... 4

Run chart .......................................................................................................................... 4

II. Choose one of the 3 defects and proceed to analyze (step analyze) .................... 6

III. Check results of solution implemented (step control)...................................... 8

IV. Formulate recommendations (step implement) .............................................. 9

Store maintenance – 1st problem....................................................................................... 9

Out of stock – 2nd problem ................................................................................................ 9

Pricing – 3rd problem ....................................................................................................... 10

Quality product – 4th problem ......................................................................................... 10

Management problems – 5th problem ............................................................................. 10

MARIUS, ANAS, HUGO, GABRIEL

Introduction

Summary of the case:

Tip-Top market is a regional chain of supermarkets located in the Southeastern United

States. Karen Martin, manager of one of the stores, was disturbed by the large number
of complaints from customers at her store, particularly on Tuesdays, so she obtained
complaint records from the store’s customer service desk for the last nine Tuesdays.

On July 15, changes were implemented to reduce out-of-stock complaints, improve

store maintenance and reduce checkout lines and pricing problems.
 I. Present and interpret check sheet, pareto and run chart (step
measures)

Check sheet

By observing the results of the 184 complaints from the shop's customers, we can see
that the key elements for improvement in the shop are in the resolution of problems
related to :

- "Store maintenance" = 62 complaints registered

This category includes all items related to the shop (too cold, too hot, music, dirt
problems, problems finding items, lost items etc).

- "Out of stock" = 61 complaints registered

This category includes all problems related to stocks (unavailable product).

- “Price problems" = 27 complaints registered

This category includes all problems related to the price of products (bad price, double
charged, triple charged, undercharged, overcharged).

- “Quality product" = 27 complaints registered

This category includes all problems related to the quality of the products (out of date,
bad taste or smell, in poor condition).

- “Management problems” = 7 complaints registered

This category includes all problems related to the teams present in the shop (unpleasant,
slow, nasty staff).
Pareto chart analysis

Pareto analysis on TipTop

80 120%
100%
60
80%
40 60%
40%
20
20%
0 0%
Store maintenance Out of stock Price problem Quality of product

Number of complaints Cumul (%)

The Pareto chart is a graph representing the importance of different causes of a

phenomenon. This diagram makes it possible to highlight the most important causes out
of the total number of effects and thus to take targeted measures to improve a situation.

We can see from the pareto diagram that 80% of the complaints fall within the
categories "shop maintenance", "out of stock" and "price problems", which confirms the
choices made by the shop manager.

Run chart

Store maintenance
10

0
June 1 June 8 June 15 June 22 June 29 July 6 July 13 July 20 July 27

A run chart is a line graph of data plotted over time. By collecting and charting data over
time, you can find trends or patterns in the process. Because they do not use control
limits, run charts cannot tell you if a process is stable.
We note that complaints related to the "out of stock" section are only increasing, even
after the provisions put in place on 15 July.
 II. Choose one of the 3 defects and proceed to analyze (step
analyze)

We will now proceed to the analysis of one of the 3 defects: the store maintenance

The store maintenance represents 62 complaints related to the fact that the store is too
cold, or the music is not appreciated etc.
We can rely on the “Cause-and-Effect Diagram (fishbone)” to say that several factors are
at the origin of this problem and that, taken together, they create a global problem store
maintenance problem.

The various causes here come from equipment (lost items, problems finding items),
methods (wrong way to dispose of the products), and others (store too cold, too hot).

To analyze and solve the problem it is therefore necessary to try to look at causes by
causes in order to avoid this “chain of disasters”.

- The first cause that puts everything else in a bad position is the "others", the overall
atmosphere. So, for example, they should try to find the temperature that best suits as
many people as possible. Same thing for the music. This will be much easier then to set
details such as problems finding items because the general atmosphere and the first
impression will be good.
- Once this problem is solved, the second cause is therefore related to equipment as
indicated earlier. As we can read, there are real problems related to the inventory: items
are difficult to find or are completely missing. The store maintenance will work much
better with orderly, tidy and structured inventory. It is necessary to monitor the latter
during delivery and check the receipts during these last. If the equipment is not properly
monitored and recorded, then the distribution methods in stores will be impacted which
brings us to the third cause.

- The third cause of those complains are related to methods. In fact, some products are
not placed correctly in the store. If the products cannot be found behind the store, then
the shelves will not be properly supplied, and this is therefore reflected in customer
complaints. You always have to be very vigilant about the presentation and the shelving
of products so that the customer does not lack anything.
 III. Check results of solution implemented (step control)

As we have seen, the causes of his complaints are quite solvable.

As for equipment, there is a big problem in storage and inventory management. You
absolutely have to be more vigilant during deliveries and redo an inventory to have the
right data. The result of this solution will be that it will be easier to have an overview of
all the availabilities of the shop to answer better to the customer’s demand.

Once this issue is resolved, it will allow method complaints to be taken care of. The result
of this solution is that if the stock is tidy and reliable, then employees will be able to
properly stock the shelves of the store to ensure that customers are not lacking for
anything, and then allow the store to make sales that it previously lacked because of this
kind of incident.

Subsequently, the other conditions must be set. Once this problem is solved, the result
will be that good weather puts customers in good conditions and that this will give them
good taste and good memories in the shop which will probably encourage them more
to buy the products.
 IV. Formulate recommendations (step implement)

We were able to observe in our study that the various complaints were mainly related
to maintenance and stock problems.

These two parties will therefore be the first to be dealt with. Nevertheless, as some
problems are linked to each other, we would like to give recommendations for each
problem encountered in the shop, prioritizing them from the most important to the
least serious.

Store maintenance – 1st problem

- The cleanliness of the shop is part of the customer experience. It is therefore
important to be vigilant about it because a dirty shop reflects a malfunction
within the brand and does not give a good image.
- The temperature in the shop should be pleasant; it is part of a customer's
shopping experience, just like music, noise and cleanliness, for example.
- The layout of the shop should also be reviewed as many products are not found
by customers.

Out of stock – 2nd problem

- A more regular inventory of stocks should be carried out. We need to increase
the safety stock and the anticipation stock. It's up to the department manager
to respond to demand. If he doesn't do this job now, his manager can give him
better training. If stock shortages are justifiable because it is the supplier who is
responsible for them, this must be communicated to the customers. In the long
term, other product references should be considered to meet customer demand.
- A better organization of the stocks by certain checks or a better organization on
the products with daily checks (expiration date) will allow to greatly advance on
these big problems of Tip Top.
 - Pay attention to the stock, they must progress about the gestion of the stock and
know what products are the most selled and command new one to avoid
problem of out-stock.

Pricing – 3rd problem

- It is essential for the manager to visit the shelves to check the quality of the work.
He must be more present in case of so many complaints. Errors in pricing are
liable to a large fine in the event of a check.

Quality product – 4th problem

- For non-fresh food, there should also be a person in charge or it should be the
responsibility of the department manager to check whether all products are
cosmetic in terms of date or appearance so that customers do not end up with
non-fresh products.
- To avoid wastage of these products there are applications such as "to good to
go" which allow unsold and shelf life dated products to be sold at low prices.

Management problems – 5th problem

- A better training of employees would avoid problems of atmosphere.
- Hiring more employees would also alleviate the waiting problem and take the
pressure off existing employees who are stressed and irritable.
- It is also possible to offer them sales training, and also to talk to the so-called
"non-hungry" employees so that they change their behaviour.