With the current state of the economy, everyone is trying to do whatever they can in order to save some money. That has many consumers buying in bulk at big box/outlet stores in an effort to spread their money out just a little bit more.
Outlet stores operate like a cross between a warehouse and a retail establishment, which poses some differences and potential problems with actually getting the material from receiving to the sales floor where customers have the opportunity to purchase.
It’s absolutely crucial for these types of environments to have safe and reliable equipment in order to meet the customer’s needs. The employees need to be able to move large quantities of product literally among the customer base during business hours, so safety is a huge concern. No outlet store can operate successfully with loud and difficult to operate equipment – all material handling equipment needs to be easy to operate and not overly disruptive to the consumer experience.
Once the safety of the employees and customers has been taken care of, reliability is the second biggest concern. Even the slightest failure of material handling equipment in a big outlet store could spell disaster as much of the material moves directly from receiving to the sales floor in bulk loads. If the equipment is not functioning for even a short period of time, there could be dozens and dozens of lost sales and potentially lost customers.
Properly trained, reliable employees and reliable equipment are two of the biggest keys to the success of big box and outlet stores. Reliable equipment ensures that the material hits the sales floor in a timely manner and is available for sale when the customers are looking for it.