Challenge
The Pen Shop is Europe’s largest writing instrument specialist and one of only two pen shop chains in the world. The company started in 1858 and has 19 branches nationwide including stand alone shops and concessions in department stores: Debenhams and House of Fraser.
In order to function efficiently and maximise profitability, The Pen Shop wished to eliminate paper and fax-based communications and to significantly improve business processes between the stores and head office. It specifically wanted to improve HR procedures and introduce electronic timesheets, cash management and ordering.
Solution
After considering several options, The Pen Shop decided to implement Retail Answers’ RAPID store management system.
The company was impressed by RAPID’s user-friendly interface, targeted communication channels and action monitoring capabilities. They also appreciated the simplicity of creating their own bespoke forms to collect information from stores in the key areas such as cash takings, staff management & timesheets.
Results
Retail Answers rolled out RAPID across the Pen Shop’s estate, creating immediate benefits including:
- All staff operations from starter details to appraisals and timesheets are done securely in RAPID which has created a robust and slick process improving staff morale
- Cash management, trading reports and orders are done weekly with store reminders and monitoring of store completion in head office
- Reduced communications costs – posting and faxing data was no longer necessary
- RAPID provides a single “go-to” place for actions, the company calendar, messages, promotional information, company policies and reminders
The Pen Shop was particularly impressed with the proactive and efficient support it received from Retail Answers, and RAPID’s easy-to-use interface meant staff were able to use every aspect with minimal training.
“We chose RAPID due to the strengths of document searching, its ability to drive actions in stores and the power of the forms designer to create our own forms. Our staff have found it easy to use and it has significantly improved business processes throughout the organisation”
Andy Briggs, The Pen Shop Finance Director
