Add / Updating the USL

ADDING/UPDATING THE USL

Tools have been built into i:c to facilitate and automate the processing of updating stores in the USL.

The method of update available to a person is based on their role in i:c.

Call Form updates (User Role)

The store status question "Is this store open?, is asked before the user starts entering a call form. If the user chooses Permanently Closed they are presented a form to enter a comment and upload an image to verify the store being closure. The information regarding both of these store updates are then sent to the IT Store Queue and processed one by one.

The question: Is this store open?

The choices: in a dropdown

Open
Open - not permitted to conduct visit
Permanently Closed
Temporarily Closed

The action: what happens for each choice?

Open – the call form questions are displayed as normal
Open – not permitted to conduct a visit and Temporarily Closed - the call form questions are skipped and the visit is completed.
Permanently Closed – the Edit Store form is displayed. The user is then required to enter a picture of the closed store and a comment regarding the closure.

USL Store Compare/Add/Update (Supervisor/Account Team)

Store List Compare to USL

Available at: Team / USL Store Tools / List Compare

Most of the stores used for field execution are already available in the USL, but teams are sent lists from the client stating they would like to visit the stores on the list for a project. To compare the list from the client to the USL a Store List Compare tool is available in i:c under the Store Tools link.

The external stores information is copied into the store compare template, the list is uploaded, and then the comparison is run. All the locations uploaded will be displayed and whether they were matched to a store in the USL. The list can then be downloaded and used for project execution.

Store Add/Edit

Store Tools are available in i:c to add new stores and update existing stores in the USL. If the number to add/update is less than 10 locations please use the Store Tools add/edit forms. The add form enables a person to request a store add to the USL one store at a time. The edit form provides a search screen where a person can query the USL for the store to be updated, and an edit screen to make the update(s). Please see the Add/Edit screen below.

Both the Add and Edit requests are moved into the Store Request Queue in IT where the requested are verified and approved or rejected. For rejected requests a comment is used to give feedback on the reasons for changes being rejected.

Add (request) New Store

Available at: Team / USL Store Tools / Add

The Add New Store form is displayed. The form enables the user to submit a new store be added to the USL.

All of the required fields are specified with a red asterisk.

Once the required fields are filled in the new store is saved by clicking the Save button.

The requested store is then added to the store request queue in IT to be reviewed and approved or rejected.

Edit Existing Store

Available at: Team / USL Store Tools / Search/Edit

Search

Using the search criteria filter to the store location to edit and click the Search button.

Edit Store

To edit the location information for a store click the BDS Store # link to the left of the store name.

The edit store form is opened allowing the store location information to be updated.

Close Store

The store status field enables users to request a store closure.
Changing the Store Status to Closed and clicking the save button sends a request to the store queue to close the store.
The store closed status is checked by calling the store or checking the online status before closing permanently.

Request Bulk Add/Updates (Supervisor/Account Team)

When a list of 10 locations or greater needs to be added to the USL, the process to follow is the following:

Compare the list to the USL using the store list compare tool.
Stores not matched to locations in the USL can be attached to an help center request ticket using the Information Technology – Store List category
The ticket is updated with feedback regarding the requested Add/Update(s).

CELLULAR CHAIN UPDATES

Motorola, the BDS partner in the cellular industry, has direct access to the carriers they visit in the industry and provide updates to these chains (carriers) on a regular basis. These updates are sent from the carrier contacts within Motorola to the Motorola Account Team contacts to the BDS Account team where they are submitted on a request ticket to be updated.

Motorola lists are the most up to date for cellular locations therefore the USL is updated to match the lists from Motorola with the below process.

These lists are:

Address standardized
De-duplicated
Compared to the USL
Updates are then make to the USL
Geocoded
An update summary is emailed when the ticket is closed.

HANDLING DUPLICATES

Often when new stores or store updates are sent to IT to be compared to the USL duplicates are found. This section will give an overview of the BDS definition of a duplicate and how they are handled.

A duplicate by definition are two or more addresses that point to the same physical store location. The deduping process consists of comparing attributes of store addresses to determine if any of attributes (typically store address information) are the same. When duplicates are found one address is kept and the others are completely deleted from the USL. Any data in BDS systems referencing the duplicate addresses are pointed to the remaining location. If a store/kiosk is inside a mall or shopping mall, a suite# or space# needs to be the same to be a duplicate.

For example, listed below are three addresses in the same mall. The locations may look like duplicates but are not. They have the same store name and same mall address but have different Suite (ste)#’s pointing to three different physical locations in the mall.

Diamond Wireless, 5000 Arizona Mills Cir Ste 350, Tempe, AZ 85282

Diamond Wireless, 5000 Arizona Mills Ste 6-1, Tempe, AZ 85282

Diamond Wireless, 5000 Arizona Mills Ste K-1, Tempe, AZ 85282

TOP 40 CHAIN UPDATES

BDS purchases store lists or gets them directly from a retailer contact (Best Buy, Target) for the top 40 chains.

The top 40 chains are determined by ranking the chains from highest number of store visits to lowest. These chains are updated every 6 months. These updates are generally scheduled for spring (April) and fall (August/September).

An example list of the top 40 chains:

Walmart
Lowe's
T-Mobile COR
Home Depot
T-Mobile Indirect Exclusive
Costco Wholesale
GameStop
Staples
Office Depot
Bed Bath & Beyond
Academy Sports & Outdoors
FedEx
Meijer
Dick's Sporting Goods
BJ's Wholesale Club
Kohl's
Books-A-Million
Fred Meyer
Jo Ann Fabric & Crafts
REI
Micro Center
Macy's
FedEx - Walgreens
Bass Pro Shops
C. Richard & Son
Cabela's
The Source
Golf Galaxy
Walmart Canada
Michaels
CVS
Conn's
Dillard's
Nebraska Furniture Mart
Brandsmart
Luxottica/lenscrafters
Scheels

CHAINS 40 AND BELOW UPDATES

Chains 40 and below based on store assignment rank are updated using three methods:

Requested updates from the store status question on the i:c field store call forms.
Requested updates from the i:c store tool request forms.
Bulk store request updates from the Intranet request system.

NEW CHAIN ADDS

New chains are added to the USL when the sales team or Account Team member requests them. Chain stores are generally acquired in these ways:

Chain is sent to the Account Team and the team requests the chain be added via the intranet request system.
The chain is purchased using an online store broker.
The chain is downloaded from the chain website.

The method used is based on the availability of the list, the budget of the requestor and the time available to acquire the list.