Please note. This is general information, not legal, financial or CA advice.
Ask a showroom owner how long a typical customer visit takes and you will usually get a number. Ask where that time goes, and the answer is often less clear. A value stream map is a simple way to see it, step by step, on one sheet of paper.
This is the last article in our Lean for Jewellery Retail series. It brings the other tools together: once the map shows where time is lost, you can use the eight wastes to name the problem, PDCA to test a fix and an A3 to follow up the stubborn ones.
What a value stream map is
A value stream is the full set of steps needed to deliver something to a customer. A value stream map (VSM) is a visual display of those steps, with key data for each: how long the step takes, how long the customer or item waits before it, who does it and any problems. In manufacturing, it follows the product. In a showroom, we follow the customer.
How to map a showroom visit
- Choose the journey and the edges. For example: ‘customer walks in’ to ‘customer leaves with the packed purchase’.
- Walk it with a colleague. Stand where the customer stands. Do not rely on memory or on what the SOP says should happen.
- Write each step in order. One box per step, in simple words.
- Add the data. For each step, note the working time (someone is actively serving or doing the work) and the waiting time before it (the customer or the item is idle).
- Mark the value. Colour each step: would the customer value this? (Green for yes, red for no.)
- Add up the totals. Total working time, total waiting time, total elapsed time and the value-added time.
An illustrative example
The times below are made-up numbers to show how the map works. They are not measurements from any real showroom. Replace them with your own.
| Step | Wait before (min) | Working time (min) | Valued by customer? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Greeting and seating | 3 | 2 | Yes |
| 2. Understanding the need, showing first designs | 0 | 12 | Yes |
| 3. Fetching more designs from another counter or the vault | 6 | 3 | No |
| 4. Trying on, discussing with family | 0 | 15 | Yes |
| 5. Weighing and price estimate | 4 | 3 | No |
| 6. Owner approval of a discount | 7 | 1 | No |
| 7. Bill entry at the billing desk | 8 | 6 | No |
| 8. Payment and packing | 3 | 5 | No |
| Total | 31 | 47 | 78 min elapsed |
The valued steps are 1, 2 and 4: 2 + 12 + 15 = 29 minutes. The elapsed time is 31 + 47 = 78 minutes. So:
Value-added ratio = 29 ÷ 78, which is about 37%.
Waiting alone is 31 of the 78 minutes, which is about 40%. In this example, the biggest waits come at billing (8 minutes), at the owner’s approval (7 minutes) and while fetching more designs (6 minutes).
A note on the ‘valued by customer?’ column: some ‘No’ steps, such as weighing or billing, are still necessary. They are not value in the customer’s eyes, but the business needs them. The aim is not to delete them. It is to make them quicker and to remove the waiting around them.
Reading the map
Look at the map and ask four questions:
- Where is the longest wait? That is usually the best place to start.
- Which steps depend on one person? The owner’s approval in our example is a single point of delay.
- Which steps are repeated or reversed? Fetching more designs from far away is motion and transport waste.
- What would the customer say if they saw this map?
From map to action
In the example, a showroom might try:
- Pre-pulling a small range of designs for the likely budget before the family sits down, so step 3 is shorter.
- Agreeing a discount band that the floor manager can approve, so that step 6 needs the owner only for exceptions. (The band is a business decision for you to make.)
- A second person preparing the bill details while the salesperson finishes with the customer, which shortens step 7. The PDCA article shows how to test a change like this in one week.
Then draw the map again. A ‘future state’ map, with the target times for the changed steps, helps the team see what you are aiming for.
Other journeys to map
- A repair, from drop-off to pick-up.
- A custom order, from enquiry to delivery.
- An old-gold exchange, from the customer’s arrival to the credit note.
- An online enquiry, from the first message to the showroom visit.
Try this this week. Pick three customers who buy this week, with their permission to note the visit as part of staff training. Walk alongside and write the time at each step. Draw the boxes, colour the valued steps and add up the totals. You now have your own value-added ratio and a clear first target.
The Lean for Jewellery Retail series
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a value stream map?
A simple drawing of every step a customer (or a piece of jewellery) passes through, with the time each step takes and the time spent waiting between steps. It shows where time goes and which steps add value.
What is the value-added ratio?
The share of the total journey time that is spent on steps the customer values. Divide value-added time by total elapsed time. A low ratio is not a failure. It shows where to look first.
Do we need to time real customers?
Yes, ideally with a stopwatch or a phone note for a handful of real visits, with a team member walking alongside. Estimates are fine for a first draft, but real times often surprise people.
Is this only for the showroom?
No. The same method maps a repair, a custom order or an old-gold exchange. Start with the journey that your customers talk about most.
Next step
If you would like help applying Lean in your showroom, workshop or back office, book a consultation with APJ Advisory. We will look at how your business runs today and talk through practical options. You may also like our guides to written SOPs for jewellery and retail stores and policies and SOP designing.
Quick question? Ask Khushi, our website assistant, using the button at the bottom-right of this page. She answers in English or Hindi and can book a consultation for you.
Please note. This is general information, not legal, financial or CA advice.
