Week 4 — Optimizing value in operations
Same store, same team, same Saturday. This is an X-ray, not a floor plan: two flows laid on top of each other so the one bottleneck becomes visible. Pick a move and watch the two numbers that matter — completed journeys and cost to serve.
Store floor — top-down
Baseline
Customer flow
Staff flow
Waiting / stuck
Your move
Find it · fix it · prove it
Saturday, right now
The four moves — never an A
Completed journeys
600
baseline
Cost to serve
$6.00
baseline
Baseline
On a Saturday, the paint mixing counter is the single thing capping how many customers finish. Ray's advice bar and the Lending Bench have slack — the one mixer doesn't. Find the constraint before you touch anything.
On a Saturday, the paint mixing counter is the single thing capping how many customers finish. Ray's advice bar and the Lending Bench have slack — the one mixer doesn't. Find the constraint before you touch anything.
The proof · operating cost ÷ completed journeys
| Move | Operating cost | Completed journeys | Cost to serve | vs. today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leave it alone | $3,600 | 600 | $6.00 | — |
| A · Cut a floor associate | $3,120 | 480 | $6.50 ▲ | −$1,200 / Sat |
| B · Pre-batch + roving help | $3,600 | 650 | $5.54 ▼ | +$700 / Sat |
| C · Rent a second mixer | $4,200 | 760 | $5.53 ▼ | +$1,640 / Sat |
| D · Drop-and-shop the paint | $3,600 | 700 | $5.14 ▼ | +$1,400 / Sat |