Overview

Similar to drivers and location types, distributions also require a method to aggregate distributions of similar types across your enterprise. This aggregation is accomplished using distribution types.

Updating staffing requirements for multiple stores requires the ability to identify specific stores’ drivers and distributions. You can use various filters, but staffing requirements are so complex that they require drilling down to the requirement and distribution details level. Only these details can actually identify the locations that require the updates. This process requires driver and distribution type entities to maintain uniqueness. (A driver must be unique to a store and a distribution type must be unique to a store and that store’s hierarchy.)

That is, given a distribution type and a target staffing requirement where the distribution type must be applied in a mass update, the application must identify a named distribution in order to apply the update to the required stores.

For example, imagine Store A and Store B have the driver of type Front Store Sales and a distribution of type Front Store Sales Distribution and a single staffing requirement that exists at both (cashiering). If you select Staffing Requirements (within the Operations section) and select Store A and Store B (within the Results section) for an update, the related drivers and distributions are shown in the Entity Details section.

The Entity Details section also provides users with a pop-up list of the applied driver types and distribution types. Those type values are used as a proxy for the actual drivers and distributions used when the application performs an update. That is, it is the proxy that makes the staffing requirements unique to a particular store. You should use the driver types and distribution types to distinguish between locations and, accordingly, to understand how to perform your updates.

Based on distribution type, you should be able to find a single distribution for any store requiring an update; the aim is to have a single distribution that matches the distribution type per store.