Smart & Final Improves Store Planning, Workforce Management

Smart & Final has implemented Logile Inc.'s store-planning and workforce management technology solutions in all of its stores. According to Logile, these solutions enable retailers to understand true labor costs and impacts, improve labor use, and achieve unparalleled operational optimization and visibility.

Logile's software supports compliance with regulatory requirements, including predictive scheduling, which applies to several Smart & Final market areas.  

"Previously, Smart & Final budgeted and managed labor at the store level using a sales-per-labor-hour metric. Now Logile's metric forecasting with AI machine-based learning algorithms helps us accurately forecast sales and other workload drivers, from which we can develop scheduling requirements tailored to our specific labor standards and store characteristics," said Jonathan Gestine, Smart & Final's VP of customer systems.

Smart & Final is now using Southlake, Texas-based Logile's Enterprise Standards Manager, Enterprise Labor Model, Sales & Labor Planning, Forecasting, Staffing, and Employee Scheduling solutions. The scheduling solution automates and optimizes the employee scheduling process, delivering a single scheduling system with the sophistication to effectively handle all of Smart & Final's needs across store formats, sizes and states.

Exception-based performance dashboards also provide store leaders with actionable information, such as the variance across forecasted versus scheduled versus actual hours, to make informed week-in-progress decisions that protect service levels and costs. 

"Logile helped us transition to an earned-hours program by department that is transparent to our managers and encourages sales growth," Gestine continued. "We are now scheduling associates across multiple departments at the task level — which has been transformative. Our managers have real-time visibility to make informed week-in-progress staffing and task assignment adjustments."

Commerce, California-based Smart & Final operates 256 locations, including larger-format stores under the Smart & Final Extra! banner that combine a warehouse-store format with traditional grocery offerings. All of the chain’s stores sell groceries and household essentials in both bulk and individual sizes without a membership fee. The company is No. 57 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's list of the top food retailers in North America.