Simplify Workflow:

PROCESS REDESIGN
(Retail)

Enabling Enterprise

What
is

Process
Redesign?
Published by SPRING Singapore
1 Fusionopolis Walk, #01-02
South Tower, Solaris
Singapore 138628
Tel: 6278 6666
Fax: 6278 6667
www.spring.gov.sg
SPRING Singapore 2013
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication should be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying or
otherwise, without prior permission of the
copyright holders.

Process redesign refers to changing or simplifying the steps

in the key processes to remove wasteful activities that do not
add value to customers, and focus on improving activities
that do.
An example is given here, where process redesign has reduced a 4-step
process to a 2-step process.

Step 1

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure

that the information contained herein is
comprehensive and accurate, SPRING
Singapore will not accept any liability for
omissions and errors.

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Process Redesign

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Why

How

should I use

do I use

Process
Redesign?

Process
Redesign?
Simplify workflow with process redesign.

Reduce

Process redesign begins with the management. Communicate the benefits

of process redesign to all employees and demonstrate top managements
commitment to it.
Identify processes to improve and use the 4-step approach to simplify each
process. This approach is illustrated below, with examples included under
each step.

Mistakes by
employees
and suppliers

Waste

Costs

STEP 1
List the steps in the current process

Sort inventory

Return or discard
expired/spoilt
products

Identify
inventory
sold

Increase

Employee
morale

Efficiency

Revenue

Place order

Look for the

right supplier

Decide products
to be ordered

Receive and
inspect
products

Display
products

I have 8 steps in one of the key

processes in my retail shop.

STEP 2
Look out for the different types of waste and find out the
causes of the waste in each step

Work with the employees involved in each step to identify the wastes.

Determine the wastes in each step

SPANNER

HAMMER

Use the Fish Bone Diagram and the 5 Whys to find out the causes of each waste.
These are illustrated below:
Step 1:
Sort
inventory

Fish Bone Diagram

Employees are not aware of the defects
Employees are complacent and negligent

Employees do
not highlight
the defects

Waste:
Defects
There is
a recent
change of
supplier

Supplier
Job roles
has provided are not
a batch of
assigned
defective products

Employees
do not perform
quality checks

A Direct Cause
B Indirect Cause

On the diagonal lines A , write the direct causes of the waste. For example, if
there are 3 direct causes to the waste, there should be 3 diagonal lines.

Step 2:
Return or
discard
expired/spoilt
products

On the short horizontal lines B , write the factors (indirect causes) that result
in the direct causes of the waste.

Waste
Inventory
- Messy and disorganised inventory
Movement
- Unnecessary movements needed to reach the product
Causes
No proper labelling and allocation of inventory storage space
Disorganised inventory, restricting movement

Waste
Defects
- Effort and raw materials wasted in sorting defective
products
- Money spent on non value-added activities such as
discarding defects
Waiting
- Time wasted for rework or sorting of defective products
Inventory
- Storage space occupied by defects that could be put to
better use
Causes
No quality checks on products
No SOPs
Customer specifications not communicated clearly

5 Whys
Write down the waste and ask why five times to identify the causes.
Example:
Waste: Overprocessing
Why? Employees are not clear of the specifications.
Why? There is no communication or training provided to employees.
Why? There are no standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Why? Company is not aware of the importance of SOPs.
Why? There is no benchmarking or survey done to assess

current performance.
Generally, by the fifth why, the company should be able to get to the real
root cause of the waste.
4

Step 3:
Identify
inventory
sold

Waste
Underutilised manpower
- Inefficient manual counting process that is error-prone
- Easily misplaced written records
- Difficulty in performing analysis
Waiting
- Time wasted during manual counting
Causes
Unaware of availability of software for tracking purposes
Not enough knowledge of how to use technology to
improve the step

Step 4:
Decide
products to
be ordered

Step 5:
Look for the
right supplier

Waste
Underutilised manpower
- Inefficient manual process of tabulating products
Waiting
- Time wasted during manual process of tabulating
Inventory
- Storage space occupied due to ordering of too much stock
Causes
Unaware of availability of software for tracking purposes
Not enough knowledge of how to use technology to
improve the step

Causes
No records of past defects for tracking purposes
No SOPs for checking and handling defects

Waste
Underutilised manpower
- Inefficient manual process of searching namecards for
contact information
Waiting
- Time wasted during manual process of searching
Over-processing
- Objective cannot be easily achieved in a simple step
Causes
Unaware of availability of software for tracking purposes
Not enough knowledge of how to use technology to
improve the step

Step 6:
Place order

Step 7:
Receive
and inspect
products

Waste
Underutilised manpower
- Effort wasted on periodic checks with supplier on
delivery status
Waiting
- Time wasted calling supplier
- Non real-time update from supplier
Over-processing
- Repeated calls made to get update of status

Waste
Defects
- Effort and raw materials wasted in sorting defective
products
- Money spent on non value-added activities such as
discarding defects and providing feedback to supplier
Waiting
- Time wasted reordering another product
- Time wasted during delivery of product
Inventory
- Storage space that could be put to better use while
waiting for supplier to collect or exchange product

Step 8:
Display
products

Waste
Underutilised manpower
- Effort needed to sort products for display
- Effort needed to reprint and replace price tags with
price changes
Waiting
- Delay in accurate pricing
Inventory
- Storage space taken up during process of displaying
products
Causes
Unaware of availability of software for tracking purposes
Not enough knowledge of how to use technology to
improve the step
Lack of housekeeping knowledge

Causes
Unaware of availability of software for tracking purposes
Not enough knowledge of how to use technology to
improve the step

STEP 3
Redesign the process
I want to redesign my current process
by combining steps to reduce waste.

Redesign the process by combining sequential steps that have the same causes.
For any change that is considered, ask the following questions:

What is the change?

Who is involved in the change?

How can the change be made?

What are the costs of the change?

Who bears the costs of the change?

What are the benefits of the change?

How can the benefits of the change be shared?

Do the benefits outweigh the costs of the change?

SPANNER

HAMMER

Step 1:
Sort
inventory

Step 2:
Return or
discard
expired/spoilt
products

B
A

Current + Future Benefits

Current + Future Costs

Process Redesign
Label inventory storage space with markings indicating
space allocated for different types of inventory
Arrange inventory that is depleted quickly in more
accessible places
Place heavy objects closer to the floor

Waste
Defects
Waiting
Inventory

Evaluate if the change is worth making by measuring the total current and
future benefits of the change against the total current and future costs of the
change.
If the total current and future benefits exceed the total current and future
costs, implement the change.

Waste
Inventory
Movement

Change!

Process Redesign
Analyse past sales to better understand customer
demand and know how many items to order from
supplier
Improve storage/display of products to minimise
defects caused by mishandling

Waste
Inventory
Over-processing
Underutilised manpower
Waiting
Step 3 -6:
Integrated
Point-of-Sales

Process Redesign
Use an integrated Point of Sales (POS) system that:
- Records products sold
- Automatically updates stock list
- Performs customer demand forecast based on past sales
- Places order with supplier when inventory is low
relative to sales forecast
9

Waste
Waiting
Defects
Inventory
Step 7:
Receive
and inspect
products

10

STEP 4
Implement the change

Process Redesign
Put more effort in inspecting products that have been
recorded to have defects
Call the supplier to demand better quality management
and advise the supplier to engage productivity
consultants if products are frequently defective or if
deliveries are often late

Waste
Underutilised manpower
Waiting
Inventory
Step 8:
Display
products

Process Redesign
Heavier products should be arranged on the lower
sections of the shelves
Use electronic LED price and product labels to change
the price and name of products easily
Put products of the same category together so that
customers know where to find them
Organise products properly to reduce time spent
deciding where to display them
Display small, cheap and attractive products at the
cashier to increase sales
Use adjustable shelves to accommodate sizes of
different products

Talk to employees about

the change you are going
to implement

Make one small change

at a time

Encourage employees
to look for further
improvement in their
individual areas and
give feedback

Celebrate successes
along the way to improve
employees morale

Reward good ideas and

efforts in improving
productivity

11

After implementing process redesign, I have

combined steps 3 to 6 into just 1 step and reduced
wastes in the other 4 steps.

WHERE
can I get

HELP?

Sort inventory

2
Return or discard
expired/spoilt products

3 -6
Integrated Point-of-Sales

7
Receive and inspect
products

8
Display products

12

You can access the Process Redesign (Retail) tool online at

www.waytogo.sg or approach advisors for assistance at any of the
SME Centres.
SME Centre@ASME
Association of Small and Medium Enterprises
T: 6513 0388
E: enquiries@smecentre-asme.sg
W: www.smecentre-asme.sg
SME Centre@SCCCI
Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
T: 6337 8381
E: enquiry@smecentre-sccci.sg
W: www.smecentre-sccci.sg
SME Centre@SICCI
Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
T: 6508 0147
E: sme@smecentre-sicci.sg
W: www.smecentre-sicci.sg
SME Centre@SMCCI
Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry
T: 6293 3822
E: gadvisory@smecentre-smcci.sg
W: www.smecentre-smcci.sg
SME Centre@SMF
Singapore Manufacturing Federation
T: 6826 3020
E: query@smecentre-smf.sg
W: www.smecentre-smf.sg

SPRING Singapore

1 Fusionopolis Walk, #01-02 South Tower, Solaris, Singapore 138628

Tel: 6278 6666 Fax: 6278 6667
www.spring.gov.sg