Opening a Store: Prepare the Back of House

The back of house supports every customer-facing promise. If goods cannot be received, identified, held and brought to the floor in a clear sequence, the team spends trading time searching, moving cartons or asking who owns the next step.

Walk one typical delivery from arrival to its final destination. Confirm who receives it, how the expected delivery is checked, where items wait for processing, how stock is recorded and who moves priority product to the sales floor. Follow the store's approved controls for stock security, discrepancies and damaged goods.

Then test capacity and movement. Compare planned launch stock and delivery patterns with the storage plan, replenishment path and the work area the team needs. Check where people, goods and customer-facing activity meet. Ask the operations or property owner to confirm technical, access, safety and security requirements.

Include the people who will use the space. Confirm where colleagues find supplies and approved equipment, complete routine tasks and access staff facilities. Rehearse a small part of the daily routine with the assigned roles. If the plan depends on one person or on space that is not confirmed, record that as a readiness issue.

For each gap, note the location, operating effect, owner and date to resolve it. Keep the issue open until the responsible owner confirms a workable arrangement and the store team can retest the process. Do not make changes to the space or company control procedures without approval.