Improving Internal Communications Process in a Retail Company

Master's thesis is devoted to topical issue of improving internal communication process in retail companies. The Object of the research is the Moscow retail chain of baby goods stores. The Subject is the internal communication process from the perspective of ‘Stores-Central Office (CO)’. The problematic issue is a poor quality of communication between the trade outlets of baby goods retail stores and CO, caused by insufficient formalization and bad process management. The aim of the thesis is to draft proposals for improving the process of internal communication and increase its efficiency for retail stores. The theoretical basis of the thesis includes the works on the problems of the communication process management, regulation of business processes, and analysis of large databases. The major methodological approach for the analysis of the internal communication, carried out by means of sending and receiving emails, is the «Big Data». Results: analysis of the existing system of internal communications and a list of problems in the communication process; design of the database structure of emails, as well as its analysis and identification of the main factors influencing the decline in the efficiency of communications; development and implementation of a system for improving internal communications process, selected on the basis of the compliance matrix; evaluation of the effectiveness of communications "before" and "after" the implementation of the system. Practical significance: increased efficiency of communications by 14%; standardized 52% of requests from stores employees; increased the timeliness of sending newsletters by 31%; an increase in working time for the formation of high-quality newsletters by 28% (through standardization of similar requests).