DSGi is to introduce the productivity management tool already used by its PC World stores to the Currys and Dixons Travel chains.

The software, from supplier Torex, allows stores to budget payroll spend, accurately estimate the workload in individual stores and optimise staff schedules using sales forecasts, historic sales data and customer flow data for each store.

“Putting all of those things together allows us to tell how many people we need in each store by hour, by day, for every week of the year,” said DSGi head of productivity Jon Naylor.

“We want to be sure we have adequate resource to serve our customers – and very often while we’ve got adequate resource across a week, we might have too many people at 10am, but not enough at 2pm.”

The financial benefits of the tool will depend on improved performance at each store.

“We clearly saw positive benefits when we did this in PC World, particularly in terms of customer satisfaction and conversion rates,” Naylor explained.

The implementation of the productivity management tool is the latest move in DSGi’s drive to standardise IT infrastructures across its European businesses.

The Torex product replaces software that was built in-house.

DSGi has used the Torex application at its 160 PC World stores since 2003, and will now extend it to cover a further 510 stores under the Currys, Currys.digital and Dixons Travel fascias.