WORKbits Improves Retail Workforce Management
By Allan Maurer, TechJournal South
Labor is the number one controllable cost that impacts profit in retailing, yet most top retailers still do not have a workforce management tool, says John Orr, CEO and founder of WORKbits. Not only that, the company, one of 15 in this year's Atlanta CapVenture program, sees weaknesses in offerings of existing providers.
Labor costs and loaded benefits account for about 60 percent of operating expenses in retailing, eating up from 12 to 27 percent of sales revenue.
Orr says his company's workforce management products can reduce labor costs by 2-6 percent while increasing sales by .5 to 3 percent, citing figures from analysts, past clients, and real metrics from retailers.
Founded in May 2008, WORKbits raised a $500,000 seed round and is looking for a $2 million first round to completely commercialize the company's products and take them to market. "We're looking for funding to go from prototype to generally available working model," says Orr.
WORKbits has been developing its software for three months and expects it will take eight or nine months to get a working model. It plans to unveil the products at the National Retail Federation meeting in January, a major trade show.
The eight-employee company will offer three products, iPlan-it, i-Schedule it, and iTrack-it, all as Software-as-a-Service.
iPlan-it provides the ability to plan future retail based service, non service and corporate labor need along with associated costs and impact.
iSchedule-it provides the ability to schedule employees to future labor need within legal, fiscal and employee rules: optimized assisted self-scheduling
iTrack-it provides the ability to track employee progress against labor need in terms of cost, compliance and current business conditions – while mitigating risk of hour, wage, and audit regulations.
Together, they help retailers plan out their labor costs against sales per hour. "We forecast and help plan their labor needs by job throughout the year to optimize and plan the type of labor they need," says Orr.
The tools also keep companies aware of applicable federal and state labor laws.
"There are hundreds of restraints they need to be aware of," notes Orr.
Using the tools, the retailers "Marry the staff they have with their needs." Staff start and stop times are monitored. "On average," says Orr, "retail employees will steal about eight minutes a day and can end up getting a couple of extra hours a paycheck," he adds.
The company's software also automates many formerly manual processes, reducing the time managers need to spend on them.
WORKbits offers the software at costs ranging from $4 a month per employee to $8 per employee per month depending upon a number of factors and will also sell it on a traditional license basis to retailers who prefer that, again on a per employee cost basis.
Orr and his partners have brought three other solutions to the workforce management market starting in the 1990s. "This is our fourth generation solution," says Orr. "We're using the latest Web 2.0 techniques with rich applications and an easier user interface."
Older products by competitors are based on technology developed eight years ago and are more cumbersome, says Orr.
Robert Garf, VP of Retail Strategies says, "John is a thought-leader in workforce management and helped pioneer the utilization of technology in this area among some of the largest retailers in the world. I've worked with John for more than five years, and he is a credible and knowledgeable resource."
Orr's partner, Bob Brooks, executive VP of research and development at WORKbits, is also a recognized veteran of the workforce management field and was CTO and co-founder of TimeCorp Systems.
"I think it's a good time to start a business," Orr says. "Now is when smart people invest so that when there is a turnaround, they're ready to go."
While noting that he is no novice, Orr says the CapVenture program run by the ATDC and TAG in Atlanta nevertheless has taught him things he didn't know. "Even with my experience and a 60-page business plan, I'm still able to learn a lot because of the high caliber of the program and coaches.
SOURCE: WORKbits