Action is a fast-growing international non-food discounter with nearly 80,000 employees and more than 2500 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Austria and Poland. Pan Oston experienced the rapid growth of this discounter from close by and supports the organization with challenges concerning the conversion or construction of the checkout environments in the store. The logistical process, that provides stores with new checkouts and customer guidance, is a job where every moment counts. To make this process smooth Pan Oston and Action have developed a more efficient way to install checkout zone quickly and easily. By bringing suppliers together in one logistics chain, combined with the plug & play delivery of the checkouts and other accessories, Pan Oston is now able to convert a store in just one day.
Action's growth is impressive! 230 new stores were opened in 2018 by the non-food discounter. In addition to the number of stores, sales volumes also increased sharply, and with it the distance between the various stores in the various countries this give Action some challenges. With each new store opening, different suppliers, spread over several days, were going to each store resulting in:
This had to change! A proposal was made by Pan Oston to organize the logistics process differently. Since 2015, the rebuilding and construction of new stores have been coordinated by Pan Oston. By bundling everything together, Pan Oston can now build the checkout zone of a shop using only one truckload and one technician. And we do this in one day. For new construction projects, Pan Oston places new customer guidance in addition to the checkouts. To do this, one extra technician on location is needed. But still, we do it all within our one-day concept.
To save time and costs, all furniture is delivered plug & play. All hardware and software from the different partners selected by Action are assembled by Pan Oston. As a result, the checkouts at the store location are ready for use, which promotes quick and correct installation. A permanent project team at Pan Oston is busy every day with deliveries for the Action. They know about the hat and the brim and ensure that everything runs smoothly.
In addition to the cash register furniture and customer guidance, even the shopping trolleys, baskets and shop and rolls are purchased and supplied by Pan Oston. This means that renovations to the stores can be arranged, even during opening hours and without too much inconvenience. In this way, we help Action solve many logistical issue's.
The benefits at a glance:
Faster conversion Deliveries
Always on time
Minimal disruption during opening hours
Only one point of contact
Fewer suppliers in the store
Efficient and cost-effective
Quality and constant improvement
By coming together twice a year with the Action and all our partners, we keep each other sharp and ensure continuous improvement of the process. We deliver multiple stores, with outliers of as many as 16 stores, per week. This demands something from our organization and flexibility.