Savers-Value Village partners with Fujitsu and The MacLaren Group to implement new Self-Checkouts—complete with cash and credit functionality— throughout their 250 locations in the United States and Canada.
To streamline operations and enhance efficiency, The MacLaren Group hand-selected 12 expert trainers for a cross-border initiative. Our mission: standardize store procedures and ensure seamless functionality of self-checkouts equipped with cash and coin recyclers.
At a Glance
Modernize the Business
Transform the business operations by seamlessly integrating Self-Checkouts (SCOs), enhancing efficiency and providing a modern, hassle-free shopping experience for customers.
Self-Checkout Mastery
Required a robust training program covering:
Technical aspects of operating the new machines.
Best practices for cash handling, balancing, and maintenance
Shrinkage Control
Strive to dramatically slash shrinkage and streamline operations, ensuring a seamless and efficient path to success.
Overview
Savers-Value Village, a thrift store retailer, sought to implement Fujitsu self-checkout (SCO) systems with cash and credit functionality throughout 250 stores in the United States and Canada.
SCO technology was new to the entire organization and required a customized training strategy for all staff. Training was designed to teach the store associates how this technology would integrate into their daily processes, and benefit the customer experience.
The Business Need
Savers-Value Village required training in both English and French to ensure seamless and consistent delivery across all stores. The MacLaren Group hand-selected 12 trainers to lead this cross-border initiative, aimed at standardizing store procedures and maintaining self-checkouts equipped with cash and coin recyclers. Additionally, the training included essential protocols for auditing and balancing the recyclers at the end of each business day, ensuring uniformity and accuracy in store operations.
The MacLaren Group Solution
To support Savers-Value Village in their transition to their new Fujitsu Self-Checkout system, The MacLaren Group developed a thorough and tailored training program that included:
Custom Training Materials
We developed training materials tailored to Savers-Value Village’s policies, procedures, and standards. These resources included job aids, leader guides, coach guides, and role-specific exercises, all designed for use in training sessions.
On-Site Training
We organized on-site, bilingual (English and French) training sessions for store managers and employees, with 2-3 days of hands-on training led by experienced self-checkout (SCO) and retail professionals. Each session was scheduled at optimal hours to ensure associates gained real, practical experience with the new Fujitsu SCO systems. Training replicated the full functionality of the SCO, enabling participants to perform essential tasks, such as cash handling, balancing, machine maintenance, and troubleshooting, through realistic, role-based exercises. This approach allowed store personnel to confidently handle real-life scenarios and become comfortable with the technology.
Dedicated Training Lead
To ensure consistent support throughout the deployment, a dedicated project lead with extensive experience in large-scale SCO and hardware rollouts was assigned to triage store-level issues. This lead also provided a virtual help desk, assisting stores with any challenges in real-time and ensuring a seamless transition to the new systems.
The Results
The training program was successfully implemented in 250 Savers-Value Village locations across USA and Canada. Store personnel were well-prepared to operate the Fujitsu self-checkouts, handle cash transactions accurately, maintain the machines, and integrate the new systems into their daily routines.
As a result, Savers-Value Village experienced a smooth transition to the self-checkout systems, with reduced operational issues and increased confidence among staff. The comprehensive training approach ensured that the self-checkouts were used effectively, contributing to improved store efficiency and customer satisfaction.