Plenty of data and anecdotal evidence exists on the benefits of implementing technology in your operation, but retailers may still hesitate because of the investment of time and money tech requires. Fortunately, when it comes to innovation, cutting-edge isn’t the only option; straightforward and simple solutions also exist.

To help you take those steps toward streamlining your operation and improving efficiency, Paint & Decorating Retailer shares five solutions from retailers who found even the most ordinary processes can produce extraordinary results. These solutions have improved employee training, allowed team members to spend more meaningful time with customers and revamped operational processes.

Efficiency Follows Function: Even without an IT staff, learn the functional changes you can make to improve efficiency at PDRmag.com/functional-innovation.

1 | Triboro Paint Center

Design Fusion System
Simple in its design but highly effective in practice, the Decor Fusion Benjamin Moore Dealer Version system in place at Triboro Paint Center has saved employees time and effort. The operation added the program to the store in Warwick, Rhode Island, as a pilot in October 2021. Soon after, store manager Brooke Robison says they implemented it in the other two locations in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, and Foxboro, Massachusetts.

When a customer purchases paint, the tinting machine sends the formula to the point-of-sale (POS) system. The paint formula prints on the receipt and is stored in the POS system for easy access the next time the customer wants that color.

“When we scan the receipt, the formula pops up on our computers, and we can mix the customer’s color,” Robison says. “When we have the original formula, it makes it easier to tweak the color as needed.”

With the tinter-to-POS system at Triboro Paint Center, every paint formula prints on the customer’s receipt and all are saved in the POS for easy future reference.

With a desire to integrate new technology wherever it makes sense, Warwick manager Evan St. Onge implemented the program at his store first.

“Evan loves integrating new technology into his store, and he’s truly ahead of the curve on innovation,” Robison says. “He has a younger staff in their 20s and 30s, and they are easily able to adapt to program changes.”

Robison says they often discover new innovations like this one from industry sources and on social media paint groups.

While she wasn’t sure how employees would embrace the technology at the other stores, Robison says they have welcomed it and appreciate the time and effort it saves.

“While this program is something customers might not ever know about, it allows our employees to make their in-store experience easier,” Robison says. “And it helps get them in and out of the store quicker.”

Find More Solutions: Attend the 2023 NHPA Independents Conference for more innovation insights. Learn more at YourNHPA.org/conference.

2 | JC Licht

Vehicle Tracking
With over 60 locations in the Chicagoland area, JC Licht has been serving the paint needs of DIY and professional customers for over a century. Growth through innovation has become a major driver for recent successes for the operation with Jason Greenberg, vice president of growth and innovation, focusing on the ways technology can improve efficiencies.

One of those systems put into place is tracking for the company’s delivery vehicles. Greenberg says the company has 48 delivery vehicles and uses GeoTab to track their locations. The tracking devices allow JC Licht to assess which stores are utilizing the delivery vans most often. Using the data from the tracking devices, the company moves vans from stores that aren’t using them as frequently and reassigns vehicles to stores that need them.

JC Licht implemented GeoTab to track delivery trucks. It is utilizing the data to help drivers choose more efficient routes and reduce delivery times to customers.

“We’re moving to a more centralized hub for deliveries, which should improve efficiency. It will reduce miles driven by the vehicles, reduce delivery time to customers and ultimately improve customer service,” Greenberg says. “We would not be able to change our delivery strategy without the data from the trackers.”

Another helpful process for Greenberg and JC Licht has been the addition of DaySmart’s online scheduling for window treatment in-home consultations.

Customers can schedule in-home consultations on the JC Licht website without having to call to make an appointment, Greenberg says. Along with offering customers increased convenience, the program has eliminated the amount of time JC Licht backend staff spend on scheduling, freeing those associates to do other tasks.

“Since we implemented online scheduling in January, we’ve booked significantly more appointments,” Greenberg says. “It’s helped us get better marketing data through the prompts it asks when a customer sets an appointment. It also improves customer satisfaction by making it easier to schedule and quicker to book an appointment, which results in better sales.”

3 | Clement’s Paint

QR Codes
After a session of in-store training from a paint vendor, Tristen Mendez, store manager at the Parmer location of Clement’s Paint, came away with an idea to connect with younger customers and provide a higher level of service—add QR codes to different products in the store.

During the training, the sales rep emphasized the need to address different shopping values across generations, which Mendez says resonated with him.

“They talked about how younger generations are more into technology,” Mendez says. “While they sometimes want to talk to a live person, more often than not, they prefer to find information on their own.”

Clement’s Paint has seven locations in Austin, Texas. Mendez says tech-focused companies like Tesla and Apple also have locations in that area, which has seen an influx of younger residents in the last few years.

At Clement’s Paint, QR codes throughout the store, like the ones shown here, provide customers and employees with additional product information.

“We’re seeing a lot of younger people buying homes here and wanting to redo those homes,” Mendez says. “But they don’t want to be bombarded with a bunch of questions or salespeople when they come into the store.”

Mendez says adding the QR codes to different products was an easy way to bridge the gap with these younger customers. When choosing what products to attach the QR codes to, Mendez opts for DIY-focused products because those customers typically need more product information to make a decision than professional customers.

After he chooses a product to post a QR code with, he visits that product’s website in Google Chrome, chooses “create a QR code” in Chrome’s settings and then prints out the created QR code, which will link to the product information when scanned.

Employees also utilize the QR codes to educate themselves on a product or provide real-time information when working with a customer, elevating the high level of customer service Clement’s Paint already offers.

“When we’re explaining products, it’s easy for us to grab our phones, scan the QR codes and pull up the data sheets in front of the customer,” Mendez says. “As much as they’ve been helpful for customers, they’ve been just as useful to us.”

4 | Abbotsford Paint

Procedural Manual
Easy access to key documents is crucial to an employee’s success and cuts down on time and energy searching for information. Continually updating the procedural manual has been key to efficiency for her operation, says Katie Prus. She is manager and part owner of Abbotsford Paint and Decorating, Abbotsford Commercial Paints, Chilliwack Decorating Centre and Garrison Village Paint and Decorating in British Columbia, Canada.

“One of the things I am constantly working on is adding to our procedure manual,” Prus says. “It’s been an effective way to quickly streamline business wins for us.”

As she is training, Prus makes changes in the manual, adding new procedures or updating processes that have changed since the last time she trained an employee.

Prus also involves new employees in the updates. If she trains them on a procedure that is not in the manual, she has them type it out as a way for them to become familiar with that procedure. She then adds it to the manual.

“This process is a great addition to training and helps with retention. By typing out the steps, employees are thinking through the process and then physically going through it step-by-step,” Prus says. “After they have typed it up, they email it to me. I go over it to make sure no steps were missed and it is clear to anyone joining our team or already versed in our steps.”

The procedural manual has been helpful for shaping an efficient work environment, providing each manager with the right information when they need it and showing other employees the correct way to complete any process.

“If a staff member has a question, I try to use that as a learning moment and ask other staff members to get them thinking critically,” Prus says. “But if I am unavailable, at least they can reference the procedure manual to answer their question. Having it updated and readily available hopefully means less time wasted.”

The procedural manual includes a list of tasks to complete when an employee has free time, instructions on how to properly answer the phone, where to access training and more. It is constantly being updated and added to by Prus and the employees.

“Our saying with the procedure manual is that anyone off the street should be able to grab the book and follow a procedure,” Prus says. “This gives us a lot of hope that if something unexpected were to happen, it is all in the procedure book for them to look over.”

5 | Weiders Paint & Hardware

Human Resources Platform
From hiring to onboarding, training to scheduling, managing each employee in your operation takes time and effort. For small operations without dedicated human resources staff, keeping those tasks in line can be a daunting challenge.

To streamline processes and improve the human resource (HR) experience for both employer and employee, Ned Green, owner of Weiders Paint & Hardware, phased out some of the programs he was using for employee management and switched to Paycor for payroll, scheduling and employee timekeeping.

HR MADE EASY Weiders Paint & Hardware moved to one system to manage most of its human resources tasks, saving time and effort.

“We realized that we had so many pieces—from logins to apps—to onboard a new employee,” Green says. “The HR platform we’re using simplifies the process, so we’re not overwhelming ourselves from the administrative side, especially with the turnover that we’re seeing.

It’s taken a couple of steps out of the process for everyone and saved us so much time and energy.” The company, which has locations in Brighton, Honeoye Falls and Fairport, New York, has given up some bells and whistles the other programs offered, but the trade-off has been a simpler system that works better for management and employees.

“Starting over with a completely new system has also allowed us to start fresh and fix some issues we didn’t have the time or ability to deal with,” Green says. “Making the switch provided a way to take it all apart and build it back up.”