Store Operations & Workforce Intelligence for Retail: 2-Week

The Challenge

Store operations teams are managing more complexity than ever — more locations, more shifts, more data — yet most are still running on spreadsheets and disconnected systems. Footfall data, workforce records, task logs, and sales data don't talk to each other, and the result is a blind spot at the heart of daily operations.

Regional managers can't compare store performance from a single view. Workforce planners build schedules without demand signals. And when shrinkage spikes or compliance slips, the people who need to know are the last to find out. MAQ Software helps retail organisations get started with or extend their use of Microsoft Azure — building a unified data platform, a reliable operations reporting layer, and intelligent agents that surface the right signals before problems escalate.

Key Questions

• Are your regional managers comparing store performance from a single trusted view — or stitching together spreadsheets?
• How much of your labour budget is absorbed by over or understaffing driven by manual scheduling?
• Can you correlate workforce deployment with sales or service outcomes at a store level?
• How quickly does your team detect shrinkage or compliance patterns — days, weeks, or only at month-end?

Our Approach

Week 1: Discovery & Data Landscape Audit

• Interview store operations, workforce planning, loss prevention, and IT teams to map reporting workflows and operational decision gaps
• Audit existing data sources — footfall, workforce, task management, and sales — for completeness, quality, and joinability
• Document KPI definitions across store, regional, and HQ levels and flag inconsistencies that erode trust
• Identify quick wins and high-impact gaps to prioritise in the roadmap

Week 2: Data Platform Design, Prototype & Readout

• Design a unified data model consolidating store operations and workforce data into a single source of truth on Microsoft Azure
• Build and validate a prototype operations reporting dashboard with real-time store and workforce KPIs on your actual data
• Identify opportunities to layer intelligent alerting — shift anomalies, shrinkage signals, compliance gaps
• Synthesise findings into a prioritised implementation roadmap and deliver a full stakeholder readout

Deliverables

• Data readiness report with gap analysis
• Microsoft Azure-based data platform architecture and design
• Prototype operations reporting dashboard built on your data
• Prioritised implementation roadmap on Microsoft Azure
• Executive readout deck

Key Benefits

• Get a single view of store performance across all locations — footfall, task completion, shrinkage, and labour in one place
• Reduce overstaffing and understaffing costs by grounding scheduling in actual demand signals
• Detect shrinkage and compliance issues early — move from reactive reporting to proactive alerts
• Walk away with a working prototype on your own data, not just a slide deck

Who is this for

Business Stakeholders

• Head of Retail / Store Operations
• Regional & Area Managers
• Workforce Planning & Scheduling Managers
• Head of Loss Prevention

Technical Stakeholders

• Data and Analytics Engineers
• BI Developers and Reporting Leads
• IT Directors / Heads of Data Platform

Why MAQ Software

• Retail operations depth — we understand the full store data chain from footfall to workforce to sales outcomes
• Pre-built retail accelerators — reusable data models, KPI libraries, and reporting templates for store operations use cases
• Assessment-to-delivery continuity — the same team that runs your assessment designs and delivers your implementation

Get Started

Contact CustomerSuccess@MAQSoftware.com to schedule your Assessment and take the first step toward unified store operations and workforce intelligence.