Consulting Services That Helped Schneider’s Liquor Company
- Optimize operations, sales, and inventory management
- Tailor employee training and performance measurement systems
- Enhance cash flow and profitability through strategic initiatives
Jon, Rick, and Josh Genderson’s Experience Working With American Management Services:
We thank American Management Services for working with us to improve our company over the last five months.
We look forward to our continuing relationship.
David Engel has done an excellent job identifying and implementing fundamental changes to how we execute and manage our business in operations, sales, inventory, and finance, resulting in documented increased profitability.
Benefits realized as a result of the project are increased profits and increased performance from our managers and employees.
This directly results from Amserv’s strategies, analyses, and implemented advice.
This process also benefits our company by helping us identify areas of untapped competence of certain employees and how to harness that competence for improved operations and profits.
Very significantly, Josh Genderson (the heir apparent) has developed his business acumen substantially and has taken a pivotal role in the Amserv process.
Josh has stepped up to provide valuable assessments and business judgment in developing the many exciting company improvements implemented. For Amserv’s influence here, we are grateful.
Below is a partial listing of specific, notable accomplishments which have made us more efficient and effective.
A descriptive summary of the improvements, systems, changes, and other profits actions implemented by our company through Amserv’s work and guidance include:
- Our sales personnel are utilizing consistent and much more effective sales techniques. These techniques, approaches, and scripts were documented, training and coaching sessions were held weekly, and a system to produce sales and financial flash reports was established for monitoring and ensuring performance. Sales improvements were implemented and training conducted at the direction of David, resulting in a tremendous increase in our average ticket and average profit per sale. We now track the sales personnel’s activity and results weekly. We know precisely how much “value-added gross profit” each salesperson provides, resulting in an average profit per ticket increase over last year’s experience… ranging between $5 to $7 per ticket since strategies and training were completed. These dynamics translate into a $500,000 to $700,000 annual profit improvement or $1.5MM to $2.1MM over the three-year measurement period (for this improvement alone).
- As part of the sales plan, David implemented a gross profit-based compensation plan eloquently “restructuring” our consultants’ compensation plan to ensure that we pay only for true “value added” sales performance. We now only reward profit and customer satisfaction, enhancing interactions with our customers. As we have learned, we should reward what we want. The structure also makes us financially indifferent to poor short-term performance (eliminating our frustrations and costs associated with employee inconsistency).
- We structured how we “pull” from our warehouse and other storage areas to re-stock merchandise. Our inventory is now organized for fast retrieval, and we eliminated significant unnecessary movement. This results in substantial cost and operational savings, increased inventory controls, and speeds up customer service.
- We have dramatically changed our planogram facings based on Amserv’s insightful analyses of our margins on various categories. David uncovered some fascinating profit dynamics, and we have repositioned many items and their shelf locations and prominence. We are eager to capture the additional profits resulting from the appropriate presentation and representation of merchandise, access to inventory, and our sales consultants’ ability to interact and communicate more efficiently and effectively with our customers about our product offerings.
- Amserv identified actions required to increase our cash flow, capital, and operational efficiency through purchasing restraints, rationalizing store, and warehouse stock levels, and better controls on purchasing. We have identified excess and dead stock and have implemented systems to control dead stock levels.
- Our ‘Service’ levels have increased by approximately 25%. “Serviced” customers were defined during the project as those customers with which our consultants interact and influence toward the purchase of appropriate product offerings. We learned through this process that increased customer interaction by our sales consultants greatly benefits customer satisfaction and our profits. “Service” levels are now a key metric and performance level indicator at our company.
- We have learned from this process that monitoring and measuring employees, operational and sales performance, and key metrics weekly enables us to adjust and correct for unfavorable short-term results, preventing unfavorable long-term results. This new approach puts us in better control of our business’s performance and profits.
- We have implemented price increases on certain items resulting in an immediate “kick” to profits. We did this confidently based on thoughtful analyses and observation of our previous pricing strategy. This change has been successful.
- We have also implemented new policies and procedures throughout the company and improved policies and procedures in many key areas. Amserv has provided our managers with the tools to effectively enforce compliance with policies and procedures through management systems and specific punishment and incentive plans. Our managers are pleased to have these tools and are excited to utilize this new approach. They will use these new tools to make them more effective as managers.
- We have implemented new timekeeping policies and procedures which reduce payroll expenses and avoid unnecessary overtime.
- We have also gained insight into improvements and modifications to our management habits and techniques as owners and how we can change our behaviors to empower our managers. Then too, with David’s guidance, we have improved our focus as owners on activities that provide the company the most value. We have delegated many tasks and are pleased with the results (and the work lifestyle benefits).
- David has developed an incentive plan for front-line employees to assist management in gaining compliance with management directives and increasing the performance levels of these employees.
In short, we are an improved and better-focused company due to Amserv’s work. We know what items to focus on and when the focus should be applied. Proper and effective focus positively impacts our profits.
This list of improvements implemented goes on…
Frankly, we were concerned in the early going about the cost of the project, but we are glad we saw the project through.
We are very pleased with the work and results obtained by Amserv and David Engel, so we are continuing and expanding Amserv’s work at our company with a deeper assessment and strategy formulation in certain areas for which we see great additional profit improvement opportunities.
Over the next three years, we will realize over $2.5MM of profit improvement.
Our sales and profit metrics (produced weekly) have already documented our profit improvement. As we enter our busiest time of the year, we look forward to (and expect) our cash flow and financial statements to fully reflect the economic benefits of the Amserv project. In short, we expect a financial return many times our $300,000+ investment with improved financial statements.
We highly recommend Amserv and David Engle to other business owners seeking additional profits and a more valuable company.
Best regards,
- Jon, Rick, & Josh Genderson, Owners
- Schneider's Liquor Company
- (202) 543-9300
-
300 Massachusetts Avenue N.E.
Washington, DC 20002
