A Buyers Guide

Managing Supply
Chain Labor
Connecting labor
to your supply chain
In today’s retail environment, labor planning is more complex than ever. Shoppers
expect seamless experiences, employees demand flexible and fair schedules, and
businesses must balance these priorities while controlling costs and achieving
strategic operational goals.
Traditional workforce management solutions often fail to account for the dynamic
nature of retail, where labor needs are directly influenced by dynamic supply chains.
This disconnect can lead to inefficiencies, dissatisfied employees and a diminished
customer experience.
A supply chain-aware labor planning solution bridges this gap by integrating data
across the entire retail operation. From inventory flow to demand forecasts, these
systems align staffing levels with real-time business needs, ensuring that stores
are neither over- nor under-staffed. Employees benefit from schedules that respect
their preferences while still meeting operational requirements, reducing turnover
and increasing engagement. Meanwhile, businesses gain better control over labor
costs and track time and attendance, all while remaining compliant with evolving
labor regulations.
This buyers guide will help you understand why a supply chain-aware labor
planning solution is critical for success. It will show how these tools can balance
shopper demand, employee satisfaction and business goals, empowering your
organization to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.
Solving retail’s
labor dilemma
Managing a retail workforce is a unique challenge. Labor
is scarce, costs need to be tightly controlled and sites
tend to be managed in isolation. But increasingly, neither
customers, associates nor retailers are happy with the
status quo, elevating historical challenges to a higher level.

Rising Labor Thinner Employee Omni-Channel

Costs Margins Turnover Shopping

Retail employees In 2023, 34% of retail Only 45%

have seen a 3.6% grocery store workers leave of all online
increase in total profit margins a job because grocery
compensation were just 1.6%2 of “workplace businesses are
costs1 flexibility”3 profitable4

Rising labor costs put pressure Inflation, increasing direct to Retail workers turn over at a Increasing online ordering
on store managers to increase consumer business and even higher rate than other industries incurs higher operational
revenue with efficiency or returns can cut into profit and not always for a higher costs on already thin margins,
offset increasing costs by margins for retailers, with wage. Instead, employees are cutting further into profitability
cutting hours and asking processing returns estimated demanding more of a say in their and hampering the ability to
employees to do more work to cost retailers up to 59% of work from what hours and days increase wages to retain or
for the same pay, decreasing an item’s sale price. they work to which positions attract top talent.
employee morale and quality they are in when they are
of work. scheduled.

1
Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States, June 2023 to June 2024
2
Grocery Dive, 2024
3
McKinsey, 2024
4
Food Industry Association (via Wave Grocery), 2023
Must-have capabilities for
managing a retail workforce
To meet the challenges of a dynamic retail Optimized labor costs
environment head on, you need a fully automated Labor forecasting calculates accurate labor demand to support varying labor needs down to
workforce management solution that supports the quarter hour. By incorporating historical data, seasonality and upcoming events, labor
forecasting creates a schedule that accurately and efficiently aligns labor availability with
omni-channel labor forecasting, employee input demand. Forecasting can also use what-if scenarios to allow you to consider unexpected
into working preferences, compliance with local events and adjust labor accordingly.
regulations, as well as the ability to capture time
and pay people correctly. Efficient scheduling
Labor scheduling gets you the right number of employees you need to run your store, avoiding
short- or over-staffed shifts. Established labor requirements ensure roles are covered by
employees with the skills needed to perform those jobs. The automated process assigns
shifts based on chosen criteria: minimum/maximum service levels, required skills or employee
preferences, ensuring an optimized schedule based on business needs.

Employee engagement
Give employees the autonomy to make changes to their own schedules with their mobile
devices. Employee self-service puts all the information into employees’ hands, allowing
them to review or swap shifts, update availability or request time off all from their mobile
device. With employee self-service, workers can make the changes when life happens while
management gets notified if any corrective action is needed.

Accurate records
Capture time and attendance with peace of mind knowing that automation means management
will be alerted to what they need to know and what they don’t will be automated and taken
off their plate. This automation leads to auditable trails for time off, accruals, attendance and
more, automatically ensuring compliance with any labor laws, union regulations or corporate
rules. Closing payroll data can be exported to your payroll system, ensuring alignment.

Supply chain integration

Aligning labor with the supply chain brings efficiencies found throughout the rest of the supply
chain to workforce management. Sharing data and information in real time helps reduce siloes
and creates dynamic plans. Automating labor is great, but without incorporating the rest of
the supply chain, it will not be as efficient as it can be. With input from assortment, pricing,
inventory management and more, labor can be managed efficiently and effectively.
The benefits of a supply
chain connected workforce
management solution

Higher productivity for store managers

With tools like labor forecasting and labor scheduling, store
managers can spend less time behind their desk and more
time on the shop floor. This gives them a better view of how
to improve the employee and customer experience while
doing more that may fall through the cracks without them,
like keeping the store clean and planograms in compliance.

Higher engagement for employees

The relationship between managers and front-line workers
is no longer a one-way street. With workforce management,
employees get a voice in how and where they work. They
can get more predictable schedules and hours, the ability to
choose days and hours when they work and independence
to control how they work. Add in additional support with
the manager back on the floor and workforce management
creates a better environment for frontline workers.
The benefits of a supply
chain connected workforce
management solution

Better experience for customers

The way customers shop is changing in an omni-channel world,
but customer service is still as important as ever. According
to PwC, one in three customers say they will walk away from
a brand they love after just one bad experience while 82%
of customers want more human interaction in the future,
showing that customers still have high expectations for their
retailers. With more efficient labor forecasting and scheduling,
employees are better positioned to serve customers by having
the right number of workers in the right place in positions that
they prefer, leading to better customer service from happier
employees.

Increased compliance and

lower costs for corporate
Managing labor spend is difficult in a retail environment and
going over budget can lead to headaches. Using automated
labor forecasting can ease that stress and provide a more
efficient spend, getting the labor you need but no more. Add
in time and attendance and take worries about compliance
off your plate. Automatically reject schedules that are not
compliant and flag schedules that need management
attention, preventing errors that cost time and money.
Blue Yonder workforce
management works
with your supply chain,
not around it Increase employee
engagement by up to

A bespoke supply chain solution designed to resolve specific

challenges is more effective than a generalist alternative because it
25%
aligns labor planning directly with the unique demands of the retail
environment. Scheduling labor without awareness of shipping delays
or dynamically adjusting pick capacity after a call off sick is difficult
without a connected solution.
Reduce labor
Consider how you would reinvest the benefits of automating a violations by up to

60%
workplace schedule. Freeing up a manager’s time to spend additional
time on the shop floor, safe in the knowledge that the schedule
balanced the needs of the retailer, the shopper and the associates
will yield greater benefit than if the manager had to use their time
to rework a schedule that omitted one or more of those elements.
Aligning labor to the supply chain is the surest path to ensuring that
the needs of the customer are met without sacrificing the needs of
your associates or your financial goals. 73%
of customers point to
experience as an important
factor in their purchasing
decisions1

For more information about

Blue Yonder Workforce Management:
Workforce Management: Solution Sheet
Workforce Management Mobile: Solution Sheet
85%
of online shoppers say
Strategic Workforce Planning in Action: ebook that a poor delivery
experience would prevent
Innovations in Workforce Management at Harris Teeter: Case Study
them from ordering again2

1
Experience is everything: Here’s how to get it right, PWC
2
Ipsos
 blueyonder.com

©2025 Blue Yonder Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

2024 Blue Yonder, Inc. All rights reserved.