One of the main projects that Blockbuster stores have is re-shifting the store and making sure it is set to Blockbuster corporate standards. Re-shifting is done about 2-4 times a year depending on how many changes corporate makes to the store appearance during the year. Re-shifting the store simply means that product has to be moved around and placed in the areas that corporate feels will make the product sale better. This process can take anywhere from 2-3 months to complete. It takes this long because the general managers must make sure that everything is exactly as corporate wants.
Some of the processes involved in this project are as follows:
Ø Shift game section and add a game sell-thru bay
Ø Move sell-thru section so that it is the first thing customers see when they walk in
Ø Make sure new release wall is set up to corporate standards
Ø Candy section done to candy diagram
Ø Soda done through diagram
Ø Make room in the middle section for all Blu-Ray and HD rentals
Ø Check all sell-thru prices and validate that they are correct
Blockbuster doesn’t use a Gantt chart for there projects but they use something like it. Each part of the project that needs to get done is written down on a paper and next to them is written the time that we plan to start it and when we should be finished by. This paper is kept upfront so that any manager who comes in knows what project needs to be worked on and what has already been done. This helps to ensure that everyone is working on the project and that the project will get finished in time. Usually following a re-shifting of the stores the District Manager and Regional Manager will come out to the stores to make sure everything was done properly and that the store has finished the project in the allotted time.
These projects always seen to run longer then they should, if managed properly this could be done in a month instead of three. Usually with these projects the general manager doesn’t take charge and make sure that everything is done at the time that was decided that it should be done by. If the general managers paid more attention to what processes where being completed and working on more then one process at a time then everything would get completed quicker.
