5 Revisit the example at the beginning of this of the chapter that examines some of the principles behind supermarket layout. Then visit a supermarket and observe people’s behaviour. You may wish to try and observe which areas they move slowly past and which areas they seem to move past without paying attention to the products. (You may have to exercise some discretion when doing this; people generally don’t like to be stalked round the supermarket too obviously.)

Try and verify, as far as you can, some of the principles that were outlined in the box, and:

(a) What layout type is a conventional supermarket and how does it differ from a manufacturing operation using the same layout type?

(b) Some supermarkets are using customer tracking technology that traces the flow of customers through the shop. What are the benefits of using this type of technology for supermarkets?