PurposeGrocery sellers that have entered the online business must now carry out order fulfilment activities previously done by the customer. Consequently, in a context of online sales growth, the purpose of this study is to identify and implement best practices in order to redesign the order picking process in a retailer with a store-based model.Design/methodology/approachTo identify different work alternatives, an approach is developed to analyse the methods used in distinct stores of one large Spanish grocer. The methodology employed is a three-step statistical analysis that combines ANOVA and MANOVA techniques to settle on the best alternatives in each case.FindingsSubstantial improvements can be achieved by analysing the different working methods. The three-step statistical analysis identified best practices in terms of their impact on preparation time, allowing a faster working method.Practical implicationsTo manage business processes efficiently, online grocers that operate store-based fulfilment strategies can redesign their working method using a criterion based on their own performance.Originality/valueThis is one of the few contributions focusing on the improvement of e-grocery fulfilment operations by disseminating best practices through decision-making criteria. This study contributes by addressing the lack of approaches studying the order picking process by considering its various features and applying best practices.
The digital transformation is having a major impact on the consumer product market, pushing food retailers to foster online sales. To avoid large investments, e-grocers are tending to use their existing physical stores to undertake the online order picking process. In this context, these companies must choose in which traditional stores must prepare online orders. The aim of this study is to identify which store features affect order preparation times. The action research approach has been used at a Spanish e-grocer to analyze the characteristics that differentiate picking stores from each other; furthermore, the preparation times for a sample of online orders have been measured. The data were analyzed statistically using one-way ANOVA to define the optimal store in terms of size, assortment, backroom and congestion. The study shows that three of the four characteristics are significant on the preparation time. Therefore, e-grocers using a store-based model can use this information to focus their efforts on optimizing this process, assigning online order picking to the most appropriate stores. The approach used allows the study to be suitable for different retail context. Moreover, the results serve as support for strategic decision-making of researchers and e-grocers seeking to become more competitive in this continually growing market.
Purpose: Employee participation is considered a fundamental pillar to implement continuous improvement. Based on this consideration, this article presents an action research case study in a large food manufacturer where employee participation is implemented. The experience has a two-fold objective: improve performance of the production system and make the participative philosophy deep-rooted among workers.Design/methodology/approach: The authors implement a structured participation system, establishing an approach of empowerment and focusing on the creation of suitable organizational structures. Under those premises, improvement teams were created on each of the firm’s production lines. Once the participation of the workers is finished, they were given a questionnaire to assess how deep-rooted the participative culture had become.Findings: The results show a remarkable improvement in the efficiency of manufacturing processes, as well as the consolidation of a participative philosophy. However, there are notable differences in the results obtained for each improvement team.Research limitations/implications: The differences obtained in the results highlight certain issues that future research must tackle. These include the way in which the staff should be rewarded for their participation or what the influence of the organizational context is when setting improvement objectives.Practical implications: The positive results obtained support the methodology proposed by the authors for structuring participation. Organizations can set up projects of this type to improve their competitiveness while at the same time strengthening the commitment of their personnel.Originality/value: This is one of the first studies in the field of employee participation that jointly assess the economic area and the cultural and organizational plane.
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