Office Depot improves store labor efficiency

Office Depot is leveraging mobile technology to enhance store associate performance and scheduling.

The specialty office products retailer, a subsidiary of The ODP Corp., is utilizing Zebra Workcloud software and Zebra mobile solutions. Office Depot’s Zebra implementation includes Workcloud Task Management, integrated with Zebra TC5x mobile computers, which lets store managers prioritize and divide associate tasks and associates see what they need to do, what they completed, and what’s next on their task lists, all via mobile device.

According to Office Depot, Workcloud Task Management-enabled scheduling, task and reporting have helped associates to be more efficient, while field leaders have access to clear real-time reporting along with compliance and completion rates, enabling them to highlight areas of success and improvement across stores.

Office Depot is also using Zebra Workcloud Scheduling software to bolster store managers’ capacity to streamline scheduling to ensure associates with the right skills are available to serve customers at the right time while aligning with store labor budgets. 

Using this solution, Office Depot says it has reduced overtime costs by 95%, lowered time spent scheduling from approximately three hours to 30 minutes a week and saved 6% in payroll costs annually. The retailer has also achieved a 90% in-store task completion rate, an increase of 42%.

“Technology is at the forefront of everything we do from an omnichannel perspective across the globe, and working with Zebra Technologies has been a game changer for us,” said Jonas Stillman, senior director, omnichannel operations, Office Depot. “Zebra’s hardware and software have helped our stores execute at the next level and focus on what matters most: our customers.”

“We are excited Office Depot will be sharing its success in improving associate productivity and efficiency in our booth at NRF,” said Matthew Guiste, global retail strategy lead, Zebra Technologies. “Office Depot sets a great example for retailers on how to work in new ways with technology to do more, faster and better while keeping customers at the center of it all.”

[Read more: Office Depot migrates data infrastructure to the cloud]

Headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla., Office Depot employs 13,000 store associates across 1,500 stores.