A scheduling system for supermarket cashiers

Abstract Since customer volume in a supermarket store is constantly fluctuating during a day and through the week, cashier scheduling is not an easy task. To create an accurate schedule, a supermarket manager must spend a good deal of time trying to match cashier shifts to customer demand. In this paper, a shift selection integer linear programming model is presented which has been implemented in Stop & Shop supermarket stores in Boston Massachusetts. The model runs on a personal computer within an electronic spreadsheet environment, making it user friendly for managers. It considers both hourly labor demand constraints and availability of labor constraints for each day of the week.