Streamlining Starbucks Merchandise Flow

Beyond brewing coffee, each store also manages shelves of tumblers, mugs, and beans. At this branch, manual stock notes slowed everyone down and left managers making decisions with incomplete data.

Inventory updates took too long, stock errors piled up, and shelves sometimes looked like they had a mind of their own—overloaded one day, half-empty the next. Staff felt frustrated, and managers couldn’t see the full picture until it was too late. In short: chaos lived in the backroom.

I observed staff routines and mapped the merchandise journey—from delivery box to shelf. Along the way, I spotted gaps where multitasking and manual logs caused frequent errors.

• Real-time stock dashboard
• Quick update buttons (one-tap restock log)
• Low-stock alerts for proactive action
• Daily summary report for manager

The solution was a lightweight, tablet-based system designed for speed and clarity. Staff could log restocks with a single tap, managers received real-time dashboards of inventory levels, and low-stock alerts helped prevent surprises. The interface was intentionally simple: clean layouts, quick actions, and no unnecessary clutter.

The results spoke for themselves. Stock discrepancies dropped by nearly 30%, restocking time was reduced by 20 minutes per day, and managers gained the confidence to make data-driven decisions. More importantly, the staff felt relieved—less time fighting stock, more time brewing coffee. What once felt like a daily hassle became an invisible process, quietly working in the background.