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OPERATIONS AND SUPPORT FUNCTIONS
The Shoprite Group
The Shoprite Group of Companies is the largest food retailer in Africa. The Group operates 827 corporate outlets, employs 61 500 people, and trades with more than 4000 suppliers. Its loyal customers effect more than 40 million transactions per month.
The Shoprite Group, with its headquarters just outside Cape Town, has 698 outlets in South Africa and a further 129 in the rest of Africa and beyond such as Angola, Botswana, Ghana, India, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It has also extended its services to the islands of Madacascar and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean Islands and, most recently, to Nigeria, the world's fifth largest oil producer.
Since the retail industry is one business where you get to understand how the business operates, how to buy and sell, to market, merchandise and control costs; career opportunities exist in various other areas of our Company.
Human Resources
This division is classically driven by the philosophy of “Our People are Our Power”. The Group is committed to driving transformation in the workplace in line with a finalised comprehensive Employment Equity Plan for its South African business, and will use this vehicle to enhance its human resources to face all the challenges of the future.
More than 62% of employees have service records of over 10 years and staff turnover remains stable, indicating high levels of job satisfaction as well as the ability of the Group to supply a variety of career opportunities.
Training remains a high priority with the bulk of course material being developed internally to ensure relevance while complying with international standards. Courses range from basic skills to senior management development courses.
The Skills Development Act allowed the Group to establish and implement retail learnerships and created the opportunity to train unschooled employees. Shoprite was the first retailer to register at the South African Institute for Chartered Accountants to train future chartered accountants.
Shoprite uses the latest technology to successfully manage their Human Resources. The Group’s human resource management systems are internationally recognised as the most advanced in the retail industry.
Information Systems
Shoprite’s IT Department has earned a reputation as a technological innovator in the retail sector by following a “best of breed” approach to provide for rapid business expansion and develop the ability to adapt to fast changing market conditions.
The Group has an online Business-to-Business (B2B) website which enables electronic purchases and orders between the company and suppliers, also enabling suppliers to monitor stockholding down the branch level. Shoprite is gradually moving towards a complete vendor managed inventory solution.
The Group continues to improve transparency of information to improve interaction between its staff and business partners.
Money Market activities generate 21-million customer transactions per month. Systems constantly need to be updated to handle transactions more effectively. New systems have been developed to handle product additions such as pre-paid electricity, virtual airtime, and transport and event tickets.
Shoprite aims to embrace and maximise new and improved technologies to further raise efficiency levels of the Group.
Finance
The Shoprite Group of Companies is a listed company with shares that are characterised by stability and healthy growth.
The efficiency of any internal financial control system is dependent on the strict observance of prescribed measures.
Internal auditors monitor the operation of the internal control systems and report to management and the directors on findings and recommendations. The internal audit department comprises fully qualified personnel with appropriate training and experience.
Shoprite’s Code of Ethics commits it to the highest standards of integrity, conduct and ethics. Business is run strictly according to fair commercial competitive practices.
The Group’s financial department boasts the services of chartered accountants, economists, article clerks, bookkeepers and administrative staff.
Legal service
Shoprite enjoys the professional services of the country’s top experts. Lawyers specialising in matters commercial, labour, tax contracts, international law, patents, human rights, local and international finance, all constitute an integral part of this Group’s diverse spheres of business.
Shoprite also has its own legal department which ensures that every jot and tittle of the law is adhered to.
Supply Chain Management
Shoprite is the largest distributor of fast-moving consumer goods and the leader in associated technology.
The Group actively controls the distribution of products from the time of manufacture to the time when the customer purchases the item from the shelf at retail outlets. In other words, Shoprite has moved away from the inefficient direct-to-store-delivery as used by traditional retailers.
The Shoprite Group has more than 220 000 m2 of distribution space, with the largest centres being 50 000 m2 in Cape Town and 65 000 m2 in Gauteng.
The Group is also active in the distribution of temperature sensitive goods ranging from fresh fruit and vegetables to perishable and frozen food. These centres can control both the temperature and the humidity levels in order to enhance the quality of products, hence maintaining the cold chain.
Shoprite distributes product by road, rail, air and sea to 17 countries with each country’s language, import regulations and lead-time adding to the complexity of supply. The challenge is to satisfy customer demand even in the most remote locations in Africa.
Career opportunities exist for people with an interest in international trade, including treasury functions as well as those who have studied logistics or supply chain related topics, purchasing management, commerce and industrial engineering. The supply chain’s advanced electronic systems further require the service of specialists in information technology.
DIVISIONAL STAFF FUNCTIONS
Because of the vast size of the Shoprite Group, the Company has been divided up into a number of decentralised operating divisions, which control the day-to-day running of each operation. These divisions offer a variety of office and administrative positions and these divisional staff functions are very varied. Each division has a number of important functions such as trade creditors, expense creditors, buying support staff, advertising, public relations, secretarial, payroll administration, and general clerical positions.
Food retail
The retail industry is a highly competitive and demanding industry where managers are trained to handle not only issues relating to the consumer, but also the management of service departments, personnel, sales, stock control, systems etc.
A person with a Retail Business Management or related management diploma or degree (like Marketing, Personnel or Purchasing Management), can join the company as a Trainee Manager after which he/she will receive relevant training. Training involves self-directed learning programmes and is a practically oriented course which lasts on average about 18 months. It will expose Trainee Managers to all aspects of supermarket management. After completing this course, a Trainee Manager will be qualified to be appointed in a management position in a supermarket. This in turn may later lead to promotional opportunities in specialist departments such as the Buying, Properties, Human Resources Departments etc.
Certain Trainee Managers who qualify may also enter into Learnership Programmes which will provide them with a Nationally recognised certificate in retailing.
Opportunities also exist for graduates with food science qualifications to manage in-store fresh foods departments and product development.
The Trainee Manager Programme can be seen as “the apprenticeship of retailing” which will form the basis of your future career in retailing.
Freshmark
Freshmark is South Africa’s largest fruit and vegetable distributor. They distribute produce to over 440 Shoprite Group stores as well as other retail outlets.
The two main streams of the company are procurement and operations. With a qualification in agriculture, graduates can join Freshmark as Junior Buyers involved in quality inspection and management. From there they can develop their careers to senior buyers and branch operations managers.
As Freshmark has various stand-alone units, opportunities also exist for qualified accountants or people with qualifications in Information Systems Management and Cost and Management Accounting. With a diploma one would enter the company as a clerk. A degree would guarantee a more responsible level.
Freshmark has a very large transport division where somebody with a degree in Transport Management could find great satisfaction.
Furniture
The Shoprite Group has two furniture outlets, namely OK Furniture and House & Home. OK Furniture is aimed at the general public, while House and Home caters for the more discerning buyer. House and Home is in a unique position between the general furniture stores and small specialist design companies.
Furniture stores fulfil the roles of supplier, interior advisor and financier simultaneously. Opportunities exist for people with qualifications in Sales, Marketing, and Retail Management as well as for those who have studied in a financial direction.
Once you have joined the company as Trainee Manager, further training will be given in order for you to understand every aspect of furniture retail business.
Once training has been completed, you can find employment as a branch Manager and eventually specialise in one of the various aspects of furniture retailing.
Meat Market
Operating in all Shoprite, Checkers and Checkers Hyper stores, the Meat Market Division (the largest fresh meat supplier within Africa) offers prime cuts and top quality fresh meat to the discerning meat connoisseur.
“In store” butcheries vary in size – from the smallest requiring only 3 employees to the largest requiring 20 who are totally responsible for all the manufacturing, packaging and merchandising of the extended range of products available to our customers.
Meat Markets strive to stay abreast with customer needs and only qualified butchery technicians are employed. These meat specialists are able to cater for individuals who prefer their own choice of cut as well as bulk cuts of meat.
Four butchery-training centres ensure that Meat Market specialists and assistants remain at the cutting edge of market trends, innovation, hygiene and freshness. Training is provided for all the levels of the retail meat trade.
The attaining of skills required by the Sausage-Maker, Block Man and Manager is achieved by the use of highly experienced trainers who instruct, using professionally prepared material and providing practical experience.
Further career opportunities exist with promotion to the levels of Regional and Divisional management. Students with a background of meat preparation or food technology as well as business management will find this aspect of retailing a rewarding and satisfying career.
Hungry Lion
Fast foods have, up until the Shoprite Group’s establishing of the Hungry Lion fast food chain, been a predominantly American stronghold. Hungry Lion is proudly South African.
There are currently 47 Hungry Lion outlets in South Africa and 18 in other African countries.
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