Optimization Design On Layout Of Supermarket

Nowadays, supermarkets have become an essential part in our daily life, and people get used to shop there. While enjoying the convenience supermarkets brings to us, people are upset in having to queue because of the impropriate layout. Obviously, the pace of life is speeding up, and people tend to be reluctant to wait in queue. That means, people would like to reach to their potential goods, and leave after checkout as soon as possible. Similarly, the managers of supermarkets would like the same thing in that this could prevent the congestion in supermarkets and provide an attractive and comfortable shopping environment for new comers. Once the path dependence of customers is formed, they would always choose this particular supermarket. Therefore, it's a burning question to design an appropriate layout from the entrance to exit to reduce the time customers'spent in selecting products and checking out, and in short, to fulfill consumers'need in the shortest time.In this paper, the service operation management theory, the queuing theory and the consumer psychology and behavior theory are first used to analyze the problems exist in a well-known supermarket in Changchun. The paper is closed by putting up an optional design in the layout of this supermarket from the entrance to the select and purchase setting, along with the scan and checkout setting.This paper is divided into four parts as follows.The first Chapter is an introduction. In this part, the background information and meaning of this research are primarily elaborated; then, a thorough review of research in this area at both home and abroad is made; finally, the main content of this paper is listed.The second chapter introduces respectively the service operation management theory, the queuing theory and the consumer psychology and behavior theory. In addition, the demanding communities, the arrival process, queuing structure, queuing rules, and basic queuing management strategies in queuing system are also introduced. Together with analysis of the influence of supermarket layout to consumers'psychology and behavior, all these give a basis to the following optimization of the above-mentioned supermarket.In Chapter three, two consumer-concerning questions about shortening the time in the select and purchase process, the scan and checkout process are put up by questionnaire. In the process of observing and researching the supermarket, the main problems in the current layout are put forward, which includes the entrance setting, the product sub-regional confusion,, appropriate product display and so on. These problems listed above explain why the shopping time in a supermarket is so long. Take the unreasonable product sub-regional confusion for example, it takes long for consumers to search for a certain product, and this obviously lengthens the unworthiness waiting time.Basing on the survey data of a real supermarket in Changchun, this paper presents the following data: client arrive, service time, and the longest tolerant time when checking out. The time consumers have to wait is drew by the analysis of the client arrive ratio, service efficiency, the amount of the checkout counters a supermarket opens. And this is proportionate to the longest tolerant time. The ratio is used to tell whether the checkout counters in a supermarket is appropriate. If not, the supermarket would have to adjust the amount of the checkout counters to shorten the waiting time. At last, through the comparison of the multi- checkout counters with one line, and the multi- checkout counters with many lines, this paper comes out with the advantages and disadvantages of both of the queuing rules. This lays a data basis for the queuing specification of the following chapter.In chapter four, the rules in layout optimization of supermarkets are listed including orderliness, disperse, convenience and hierarchical progression. The optimization consists of the entrance setting, the select and purchase layout, and the scan and checkout layout. First, supermarkets should consider dividing consumers into different flows to avoid congestion. The entrance should be set in the place with large population, to shorten the walking time. A map of the supermarket should be placed beside the entrance to guide consumers. Second, optimization of the current select and purchase layout should be carried out. In this paper, the sub-regional confusion is optimized according to the characteristics of products, and therefore, forms a clear region diagram to lessen the aimless time in selecting goods. Finally, the scan and checkout layout is optimized. That means to some extent, break up the original integration of the scan and checkout process, and form a dispersing scan and checkout layout. In this way, the efficiency of the scan and purchase process is improved, and the waiting time consumers spend is shortened.