RedPrairie, a provider of supply chain management services, has introduced Workload Planner, a new component of its unified workforce management system.

The update is expected to allow users to analyze and manage workload based on individual labor standards by task and by store, said RedPrairie.

According to the company, Workload Planner allows power users within a company’s workload planning group to optimize the return on labor for each store by calculating actual effort required to complete each project. The system provides what-if scenario analysis on project timing, content, priority, and phasing. As a result, organizations can use Workload Planner to phase and prioritize projects over time, while comparing demand for labor to capacity by store, by week.

As a whole, Workload Planner provides sales associates with more time on the sales floor with customers by optimizing process planning across each retail organization’s entire chain, added RedPrairie.

Noel Goggin, vice president of store execution management applications at RedPrairie, said: Previously, retailers relied on complicated manual efforts to manage each store’s workload. These processes were not only time consuming, but often resulted in costly inconsistencies such as overloading stores with work, or failing to leverage available resources. Workload Planner combines real-time visibility into store operations, inventory and labor processes, with sophisticated algorithms to deliver multi-level prioritization and precise project scheduling.