Collecting, processing and using… The Importance of Data

You as an employee of Sainsburys have a responsibility to ensure you collect accurate data You may think that your job is just to keep the shelves full and not have to worry about the statistics collected Actually, you have to look at the bigger picture. This information is very important to Sainsburys, we need it to operate effectively Obtaining it starts with you guys…

Lets take working on the shop floor for example You’re job is to keep the shelves full but you also need to record the appropriate data for this The sort of things that need to be recorded are: amount of items sold, time on shelves, and the times they were sold To record this information you will use handheld barcode readers These are used to count the items on shelves and send it to our computer systems You will have to use these on a regular basis throughout your shift to keep track

How We Use Data This is how we use the data from these barcode readers:

Forecasting We can use this information to determine how much of a product was sold and at what time. Knowing this we can plan for the future. For example, from the handheld scanners we know that on Friday evenings we sell more alcohol than at other times. Knowing this we can make sure that enough alcohol is on the shelves for Friday evening. If we didn’t do this, you guys would be running around like headless chickens making sure the shelves were stocked up! By our predictions we know roughly when you need to check the alcohol section.

Making Decisions We need good information from you in order to run a good store and collectively, a good business. Decisions are made on many different levels from the data collected by you. Some decisions are made by your supervisor. Such as how many staff to allocate to the dairy section. Some are made by your department, such as how many staff to employ on the shop floor. Further on, decisions are also made by your manager. These could be things like how much sunscreen to order this summer based on last years sales. Finally this data will be used by head office to make decisions on things like whether to expand the store or not. Or whether it is a good place to start trials of a new ‘Sainsburys Finest’ product range. All these people rely on the data provided by you. They need to make important decisions that will have a big impact on Sainsburys. That’s why this data needs to be accurate. If we make decisions on wrong data it could be the wrong decision. So remember, when you feel like cutting corners, you could be responsible for the failure of one of our product line.

Monitoring Activities Our stores are like big machines with turning cogs. The information is passed around different parts of the machine which need this information to keep turning. It is inevitable that occasionally things get out of sync and need manual correction. To be a good machine we need to know when there are errors so we can fix them and how to prevent these errors occurring again in the future. We do this by monitoring the different parts of the machine. We employ certain people to check everything is running smoothly. Within this machine as well as other things, you are effectively a ‘sensor’ which gives readings. These readings are important to keep the machine running. These readings could be things like how long a sandwich has been in the fridge. After a while that sandwich will turn bad and we are not allowed to sell it. We need to get that sandwich in the fridge as soon as possible so it has the maximum amount of display time. If it is not sold we lose money. With the data collected by you we can see how long that sandwich has been in the fridge. We can use this to make sure the sandwiches are getting from the supplier to the fridge as soon as possible and if they aren’t why not? We can answer this question only if you collect the data in the first place.

Monitoring Activities We also make sure that a log is kept of every job that is done. This is usually by way of a record sheet. When you complete a scheduled task you will have to sign and date a log to show that job has been done. This is so that every process is accounted for. By doing this, someone else can come along and double check the records. They should be able to see what job was done, at what time and by who. This can be very important for many different reasons such as: 1 – A customer complains of food poisoning from one of our fresh food items. If we have kept a log of regular temperature checks of the food, we can show that it wasn’t because we didn’t keep it cool enough. 2- You have to deliver a pallet of vodka to another person and it goes missing. If you have signed it over on the tracking sheet which follows the pallet, you can prove that you were not in possession of the vodka at the time. See, collecting and processing data correctly may save your own skin one day.

So Remember… Incorrect data causes problems. Stick to these rules and you should be fine. Your data should be: 1. Valid – Correct and verifiable 2. Reliable – It can be trusted 3. Timely – Available when needed 4. Fit for purpose – Appropriate and presented correctly 5. Accessible – Usable by others 6. Cost Effective – Only collect it if we need it 7. Accurate – Correct enough to be useful 8. Relevant – Only what is necessary 9. Detail – Don’t go too in-depth if it’s not necessary 10. Source – Use other data only from trusted sources 11. Understandable – Keep your writing legible and your documents neat Stick to these rules and your data will be useful to yourselves and more importantly the company.

Zzzz…. You can wake up now!