Industry
Specialty retail HCM that handles selling AND making.
From educational products operations to specialty beauty retail with in-store services, we design HCM and payroll for retail businesses that don't fit a clean store-only template — multi-channel operations, salon and service workforces, vendor selection through implementation.
Our expertise
Where the depth comes from
Configurations that match retail operating reality
Specialty retail HCM rarely fits a clean store-only configuration. Our retail clients operate combined retail-and-manufacturing operations, salons embedded inside retail footprints, and high-volume hourly workforces with shifts spanning multiple states and time zones. We design the configuration around what's actually operating today — store schedules, service appointments, manufacturing time and labor, multi-state pay rules. Not around the demo template.
End-to-end engagement, from vendor selection through implementation
Some specialty retail clients come to us before they've picked a platform. Vendor-selection advisory delivers a defended recommendation through gap-analysis methodology, anchored to actual operational requirements, ending in a deck that holds up to executive scrutiny. From that recommendation, we move directly into implementation when it makes sense, or we hand the deck off and step back.
Implementation rescue when the first vendor stalled
Stalled implementations are a common entry point for specialty retail clients. The original vendor's playbook ran out of room when retail-and-manufacturing complexity surfaced. We've delivered rescue engagements that finish what didn't get to go-live: re-scoping, re-architecting payroll groups and pay rules, completing integration work, and stabilizing the live system.
High-volume hourly with service appointments
Specialty retail's labor model often combines high-volume hourly workforces with service-appointment workers (salon stylists, specialty product fitters, in-store service teams). The pay rules differ — commission structures, tip allocations, service-revenue splits, retail base plus service premium — and they need to land cleanly on the same payroll cycle without manual reconciliation. We design the earning code structure to handle both natively, so payroll runs clean rather than depending on spreadsheet adjustments.
Frequently asked
Questions we hear
We have retail and manufacturing operations under one HCM. Can you handle the configuration?
Yes. Our specialty retail engagements regularly span retail and manufacturing operations under a single HCM. The configuration discipline is the same. Design the earning code structure, pay rules, and integration logic around what each operational mode actually needs, then validate against the operations team before go-live. Multi-mode operations are the rule, not the exception.
Can you run a structured vendor selection for our HCM platform?
Yes. We've delivered vendor-selection advisory across major HCM platforms for specialty retail. The deliverable is a deck shaped by gap-analysis methodology, requirements mapped to operational pain points, recommendation defended rather than hedged. Six to twelve weeks for mid-market, three to six months for larger or multi-country selections.
Our last UKG implementation stalled before go-live. Can you finish it?
Implementation rescue is a recurring engagement shape for specialty retail. We re-scope what the original team didn't reach, re-architect the parts that don't survive operational reality, complete the integration work, and stabilize through first live payrolls. The work usually starts with a current-state assessment to call out what's salvageable and what needs rebuilding.
What's your model for ongoing support after the system goes live?
Engagement past go-live ranges from focused administrative coverage to fractional HCM management, scaled to what the client actually needs. Specialty retail operations evolve regularly. New locations, M&A activity, channel expansions, regulatory changes. We stay engaged through change requests, regression testing, and the periodic re-architecture work that keeps the system aligned with the business.
Selected work
Featured case studies
- A major US educational products and services company
Rescuing a stalled UKG implementation: a major US educational products and services company
Taking over and delivering a stalled UKG implementation with dual-operation configuration
Read the case study → - A major US specialty beauty retailer with in-store salons
Running a structured vendor selection for next-generation time and labor management: a major US specialty beauty retailer
Structured TLM vendor selection for 1,500-store retail operation with in-store salons
Read the case study →
Ready to talk through specialty retail?
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