- March 22, 2023
- Posted by: simba001
- Category: Business Insights
Overseeing the daily operations of a minimart business in Kenya entails many responsibilities, ranging from training employees, handling suppliers/customers to growing the business.
By understanding the many aspects of minimart management and its best practices, owners can optimize their inventory and enhance customers’ shopping experiences. With proper management, minimart business owners will be able to maintain efficient control over their business and positively impact their overall productivity.
Minimart business management is the practice of operating and supervising all activities within a store. This includes working closely with staff, creating shift schedules, communicating with suppliers, and dealing with customers.
Overseeing the daily operations of a minimart business in Kenya entails many responsibilities, ranging from training employees, handling suppliers/customers to growing the business.
Minimart owners and managers have the responsibility of tracking and monitoring inventory levels to prevent stocking too much or too little products. By maintaining the optimal amount of inventory, retailers will be able to meet customers’ demands while minimizing unnecessary expenses.
Additionally, they must reach retail sales goals to ensure that the minimart remains profitable. Store managers also look after their employees’ wellbeing and assign tasks to encourage staff to meet their individual sales targets. In some cases, minimart managers may also assist in strategizing for advertisements on the sales floor and promotions to increase revenue.
The 3 core components of standard minimart business management include:
1. Control inventory
You’ll always need to keep your inventory at an optimal level for your minimart business growth. It minimizes the risk of a profit deficit. For example, if your store is out of stock, customers may buy substitute products from competitors, so you lose potential sales and reduce customer loyalty. However, unsold products can take up storage space and increase inventory carrying costs. Therefore, here are some suggestions for effective inventory management:
Reduce fraud and theft
The biggest concern for minimart owners and managers is when you have fewer sales and items in actual inventory than what was recorded. Shrinkage and inventory deterioration can result from counting errors, damage, or theft. Theft can be by outsiders or sometimes from within your employees. Therefore, retailers should also know how to balance cash drawers to reconcile the flow of goods and cash. From there, you can detect any shrinkage at the earliest.
Count physical inventory regularly
Ideally, you should perform cycle counting regularly to keep track of your inventory. For example, you might consider cycle counting, a method of counting a small portion of inventory at a particular time. From there, store administration can quickly overview inventory and identify popular items that may need to be restocked. What’s more, it’s not as time-consuming as counting the entire inventory, so it avoids disrupting your daily sales operations.
Choose a suitable minimart layout
A minimart layout is the arrangement of products and materials inside the minimart. It aims to make efficient use of space for convenient pick-up and delivery, improve visual merchandising for customer experience, and reduce the risk of damage, accidents, and petty theft. When designing the store layout, you should base on the nature of your retail store management and the popularity of each item.
According to reports by the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) , the retail industry’s average turnover rate is above 60 percent.
2. Supporting and Encouraging Staff
According to reports by the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) , the retail industry’s average turnover rate is above 60 percent. Minimart owners and managers have an important role in supporting and motivating staff to enhance employee retention. For example, providing incentives or communicating with retail employees can promote a positive environment.
Managers can further reduce employee turnover by effectively administering these employment processes-
Recruiting and Hiring
One way to minimize employee turnover is by hiring dependable candidates whose skill sets align with the job description and who will fit in well with the company’s culture.
During the recruitment process, managers should indicate clear expectations for the role and ask candidates questions that provide insight into how they work under pressure.
Onboarding
Managers should conduct thorough training to ensure their new hire’s transition into the position is seamless. Comprehensive onboarding should include training on how to use the point-of-sale (POS) system and tips on increasing sales.
To monitor an employee’s onboarding progress, managers should set performance goals and milestones for new hires to meet.
Managing
Although a new employee may be fully onboarded, managers should still interact with them to make sure they are meeting their goals and making progress. It is also important that management teams listen to their store staff, encourage new ideas, and address any challenges that may arise. This is important because managers must keep store employees motivated to ensure that they work hard and productively.
3. Develop modern management tools
You always need to innovate store management processes and streamline them in the long term. However, human error is inevitable. Therefore, the following modern management software can help by automating these processes and reducing manual work.
POS system
Minimart owners can implement an omni-channel POS system to manage sales channels and have real-time reporting. It’s essential to track inventory, forecast inventory to make data-driven decisions, drive sales, and monitor financial performance. In addition, you can easily integrate POS solutions with ERP systems to connect other departments in your business, such as purchasing, accounting, and human resource management. Integrated systems can quote, invoicing, order, tax, and profit reporting support in one tool.
Inventory management software
Today’s fastest-growing and most sustainable retailers are data-driven ones. With the right inventory management solution, you don’t have to be an expert to quickly analyze your data. It gives you automated reports to identify which items are selling fast and need more buying and underperforming. Plus, you can realize the difference between online and brick-and-mortar business results to drive sales through innovative advertising campaigns and loyalty programs.
